Christoph Liel
German Youth Institute
Christoph Liel is senior researcher at the German Youth Institute, Department of Family and Family Politics. He holds a Dipl. and a M.A. in social work and is involved in the "Kinder in Deutschland" Kid 0-3 national prevalence studies on psychosocial burdens conducted by the National Centre on Early Prevention. As social worker he has long-term clinical expertise in family counseling and treatment of perpetrators and is joint founder of the German umbrella organization for batterer programs. His current dissertation project focuses on fathers at risk for child maltreatment.
Research fields: risk assessment and intervention studies in social work, father involvement in child protection, risk epidemiology and data-collection on child maltreatment
Objectives: Gender-based treatment of perpetrators is tried and tested albeit little researched in Europe. Little is known on evidence in preventing further domestic violence and reducing child abuse potential. Most programs delivered in community settings have a “one size fits all” concept and there is a lack of standardized assessment measures and data-collection. This study aimed to validate a Risk Inventory for Domestic Violence (RiP - “Risikoscreening für Partnergewalt”) and to investigate perpetrators’ risk of domestic re-assault and child maltreatment in three German projects.
Methods: Based on international longitudinal studies on batterer programs RiP for appraisal by professionals (6 Items) and battered women (3 Items) was compiled. Measures of risk indicators were adapted from research literature. RiP was tested in Dusseldorf, Munich and Rosenheim. The Interpersonal-Reactivity-Index (IRI) and a shortened German version of the Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI) were used for perpetrators’ self report.
Results: Data from 161 male perpetrators were available. RiP demonstrated good sensitivity showing differences between subgroups and identifying generally antisocial batterers. Longitudinal results show significant improvements in almost all dynamic risk indicators assessed by professionals (1 Item, d=.30, n=78), battered women (3 Items, d=.51, n=44), and in perpetrators’ cognitive empathy (IRI, d=.40, n=62). However, self-reported risk of child maltreatment (CAPI, n=46) did not change. Criterion validity of RiP was good by using Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) as external criterion in a subsample (rs=.43, n=70).
Conclusions: The study supports RiP as a suitable tool for risk assessment and evaluation in batterer treatment. Funded by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Older Citizen, Women and Youth RiP is implemented as an online-tool for German batterer programs in 2016 and 2017. RiP is likely to be used for systematic data-collection in social work, maybe linked with official data on domestic re-assault in future projects.
