What is the role of 'relational influence' in behaviour change work with domestic abuse perpetrators?

Domestic abuse is a global and national crisis. Behaviour
change programmes such as Domestic Abuse Perpetrator
Programmes (DAPPs) have been found to be useful in
supporting male domestic violence perpetrators to move away
from abusive ways of being.
"Relational influence" is the interpersonal process by which
people in close relationships affect each other's thoughts,
emotions, and behaviour (Huston, 1983). To date, there has
been no research on the role of relational influence in
behaviour change programmes with abusive men.
Working in collaboration with a Children's Centre, a leading
DAPP provider, and Respect, the national accreditation body
for DAPPs, this study will employ a national survey of DAPP
facilitators, followed by ethnographic observations of a DAPP
programme, and 12-15 interview clusters surrounding 12-15
domestic abusers in the same DAPP who have experienced
some change away from abusive behaviour. In order to study
the role of relational influence in abusive men's behaviour
change, the interview clusters will consist of interviews with
the perpetrators themselves, their DAPP facilitators, and
those close to the perpetrators who helped them change
(approximately 45 interviews in all).
Understanding how DAPP facilitators and people in abusive
men's lives help them desist from abusing would illuminate
pathways toward change in practice and fill gaps in academic
knowledge about how others can help men move away from
ways of being shaped by hegemonic masculinities that harm
women and children.