Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Aug 27;25(1):2945.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-24056-6.

Women's experiences of changes in related men's impulsivity and domestic violence following men's participation in the ReINVEST clinical trial

Amanuel Kidane Hagos  1 , Eden Thain  2 , Sarah Cox  2 , Lee Knight  3 , Peter Schofield  4 , Tony Butler  5
Affiliations

Women's experiences of changes in related men's impulsivity and domestic violence following men's participation in the ReINVEST clinical trial

Amanuel Kidane Hagos et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Impulsivity, a behaviour often associated with reactive violence to perceived provocation or stress is a key risk factor for Domestic Violence (DV) perpetration. This study explores the experiences of women on related men's changes in impulsivity and DV following men's participation in the ReINVEST clinical trial that investigated whether the commonly used antidepressant sertraline would reduce impulsivity and domestic violence.

Methods: The study conducted in-depth interviews with 27 women ex(partners) and family members living in New South Wales, Australia. Critical Realism and Self-Determination Theory (SDT) underpinned the analysis and interpretation of findings.

Results: Most women (92.3%, n = 24) reported some or significant changes in impulsivity and DV or intimate partner violence (IPV) following the participation of related men in the trial. Many changes were reported at the individual (e.g., self-regulation), partner or family (e.g., feeling safer), and social levels (e.g., employment). Analysis using critical realism and SDT identified three themes (Determination to change, Enabling environment, and Continuum of changes) that illustrated the underlying mechanisms and causal explanations of the changes women experienced among themselves and the trial participants.

Conclusions: The experiences of women revealed the benefit of antidepressant sertraline in reducing impulsivity and DV or IPV when supported with other interventions (e.g., counselling and follow-up support by clinicians). The behaviour change processes described using critical realism and Self-Determination Theory (SDT) demonstrated the potential of SDT-grounded approaches in reducing impulsivity and its associated effects on intimate partner violence (IPV) or domestic violence (DV).

Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12613000442707, registered on 18/04/2013.

Keywords: Critical realism; Domestic violence; Impulsivity; ReINVEST; Self-determination theory.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The University of New South Wales granted ethics approval for the study (HC17771). Written and verbal informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to interviews. The study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication: Not Applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic description of the themes and sub-themes and their relationships
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Continuum of changes women experienced among trial participants
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Australian Institute of Health. and Welfare Family, domestic and sexual violence: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; 2024 [Available from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/family-domestic-and-sexual-violence
    1. Krug EG, Mercy JA, Dahlberg LL, Zwi AB. The world report on violence and health. Lancet. 2002;360(9339):1083–8. - PubMed
    1. World Health Organisation. Definition and typology of violence, WHO.: 2002 [Available from: https://www.who.int/groups/violence-prevention-alliance/approach
    1. Sardinha L, Maheu-Giroux M, Stöckl H, Meyer SR, García-Moreno C. Global, regional, and National prevalence estimates of physical or sexual, or both, intimate partner violence against women in 2018. Lancet (London England). 2022;399(10327):803–13. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Prisoners in Australia Australian Bureau of Statistics; 2019 [Available from: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/prisoners-aus...

LinkOut - more resources