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This study reports group leaders’ assessment of group members’ risk for reassault and level of accountability during a psychoeducational group intervention with male domestic violence perpetrators. It also examines members’ assessment of their own risk for reassault and level of accountability over the 18-week program. Group leaders and group members completed surveys every 2 weeks. Bivariate analyses examining differences in accountability rating and risk assessment between group leaders and group members show little agreement between leaders and members and few changes over time. Group leaders assessed group members as showing some increases in level of accountability near the end of the group. These findings suggest group leaders perceived increased accountability among group members, but they were rarely able to fulfill their goal of educating members about the connection between accountability and risk of reassault. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Leaders of intervention groups for batterers must continuously assess how well they are meeting their goal of reducing violence. This article reports on survey and qualitative interview data from group leaders about their risk assessments. The practitioners were aware that their information about the risk levels of members was limited. They usually chose the middle of risk scales and reported moderate confidence in their predictions. Group leaders became increasingly confident in their risk predictions over an 8-week period, while they also predicted greater likelihood of physical abuse. This research supports the need for collaboration between practitioners and researchers to increase group leaders' skills and confidence in risk assessment, especially in the early stages of group interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]