Guilty or self-affirmed: which men convicted of violence against their partner are more willing to change?

Abstract

Purpose. We aimed to investigate the factors influencing male perpetrators’ intentions to change violent behavior toward female partners. Method. In experimental Study 1, we examined the effects of a writing manipulation across three conditions (self-affirmation, threat to moral integrity, control) on perpetrators’ self-reported intentions to change their violent behavior and willingness to ask for forgiveness. We explored the moderating roles of self-deception, subjective well-being, moral self-concept, and offense-related guilt. In longitudinal Study 2, we tested a model with two parallel paths to change: (1) “happy path,” which proposed that self-deception promotes intentions to change and seek forgiveness via increased well-being and a positive moral self-concept; (2) “remorse path,” which proposed that guilt related to the offense leads to the same outcomes, highlighting the role of accountability and moral discomfort in fostering behavioral change. Results. In Study 1, we observed no differences between conditions, but we found that offense-related guilt enhanced the effect of the threat condition on both the intention to change violent behavior and the likelihood of asking for forgiveness while simultaneously reducing the effect of the self-affirmation condition on these outcomes. Study 2 provided correlational evidence supporting the remorse path. Conclusions. Acknowledging the magnitude of the problem we are addressing and the vast differences between what perpetrators say and what they do, our findings suggest that focusing on remorse appears to be better than focusing on selfaffirmation in increasing male perpetrators’ intentions to change and seek forgiveness. Future research should investigate whether intentions actually translate into victim safety.