Exploring the Relevance of Moral Development As a Treatment Issue in Batterer Intervention (Report‪)‬

The study reported in this article investigated the pretreatment level of moral reasoning of 92 African American and white batterers beginning court-mandated treatment and whether the current standardized treatment program was effective in altering the level of moral reasoning of these batterers. A nonequivalent control group design was used. Analysis of the pretest data indicated that the entire sample of batterers was using a level of moral reasoning two standard deviations lower than adults in general. Analysis of the posttest data demonstrated that there was no significant increase in moral reasoning at the conclusion of the treatment program. Implications of the findings for creating culturally relevant intervention strategies for batterers are discussed. Key words: batterers; moral development; treatment