From External Pressure to Internal Responsibility: Motivational Change among Men Participating in Domestic Violence Counselling Programmes in Albania

Motivation is a central mechanism in behavioural change processes within domestic violence perpetrator interventions. Many men initially enter counselling programmes because of external pressures, including court mandates, probation requirements, police referral, family pressure, or child protection involvement. However, sustainable change requires a gradual movement from compliance with external demands toward personal responsibility, autonomous motivation, and commitment to non-violent behaviour. Despite the expansion of perpetrator programmes across Europe, limited empirical research has examined motivational change among participants in the Western Balkan context. This study examines motivational pathways among men participating in structured domestic violence counselling programmes implemented by the Office for Men and Boys (ZDB) in Northern Albania during 2025. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, the Transtheoretical Model of Change, and motivational interviewing principles, the study explores how participant motivation evolves during counselling. A descriptive longitudinal design was applied using monitoring data from 78 men enrolled in ZDB programmes. Data were collected through the Work With Perpetrators European Network (WWP EN) Impact Monitoring Toolkit across programme phases, with particular attention to referral pathways, reasons for participation,and reasons for remaining engaged. Findings show that mandatory institutional referrals represented 79.59% of recorded referral pathways, while voluntary referrals represented 20.41%. At programme entry, external motivations predominated, accounting for 56.00% of reported reasons for participation, compared with 30.00% internal motivation and 14.00% combined motivation. By the middle phase of the programme, internal motivation increased to 47.06%, while external motivation decreased to 35.29%. Participants increasingly reported personal goals such as stopping abusive behaviour, improving family relationships, becoming better fathers, taking responsibility for harm, and developing healthier communication skills. The study suggests that perpetrator counselling can support a progressive transition from externally regulated attendance to internal responsibility for change. This motivational transition may represent an important process mechanism linking programme participation with engagement, retention, and behavioural transformation. The findings highlight the need to integrate motivational approaches into perpetrator programmes while maintaining strong referral and monitoring systems.

motivation, behaviour change, domestic violence, perpetrators, counselling programmes, Self-Determination Theory

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