The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning men make of their violence toward intimate partners and to examine if and how these meanings and constructions of violence predicted who drops out of batterer treatment prior to program completion. We used both qualitative and quantitative data collected from 154 men court-mandated to participate in a batterer intervention program. The qualitative findings indicated that the men in this sample minimized and denied responsibility for the violence they used towards their intimate partners while simultaneously rationalizing and justifying their violent behavior. Such findings provide insight into how denial and minimization and, more broadly, men's constructions of masculinity might predict their tendency to drop out of batterer treatment. Furthermore, building upon our qualitative findings, logistic regression analysis revealed that men who were lower income, no longer intimately involved with the women they abused, and who reported lower levels of physical violence and higher levels of hostility were more likely to drop out of the batterer treatment program.

Because male athletes have exhibited aggressive tendencies in a variety of settings, they may be at risk for using violence both within and beyond their sports involvement. Five former college/professional hockey players were interviewed to determine their perspectives on the nature of aggression and violence in sports competition as well as in social relationships.The informants were asked aboutathletes’violence and aggression toward teammates, acquaintances, and female intimates. This analysis includes participants’ experiences, observations, and explanations of the instances of violence in hockey culture. The study findings yield (1) a greater understanding of the ways in which hockey socialization and athletes’notions of masculinity combine to create a culture of aggression and violence and (2) two major factors—consumption of alcohol and the objectification of women—that contribute to exporting violence outside the athletic arena.

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Racism and White supremacy culture shape the experiences of youth and adults in mentoring programs, which is detrimental to the development of BIPOC youth. The aims of this paper are to a) show why anti-racism training and education for adult mentors is necessary for promoting the positive development of BIPOC youth and b) offer a framework for anti-racist education and training for mentors. We review research showing how mentors’ attitudes about race, ethnicity and culture can harm their relationships with BIPOC youth and research on general mentor training, anti-racism training for mentors, and general diversity and anti-bias training in the workplace. Crossing disciplinary boundaries to inform developmental science, we draw upon critical mentoring, culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogy, and ethnic/racial identity frameworks, and propose four components for anti-racist education and training for mentors: a) acknowledging, confronting, and interrupting racism, b) facilitating youth critical consciousness, c) supporting positive identity development in youth, and d) mentors and mentees as active agents and partners. At the foundation of these pillars is decentering and interrupting Whiteness and youth as co-constructors of knowledge. We offer suggestions for future research and practice in anti-racism training for mentors, which also have implications for youth-adult relationships across settings.

Highlights• Critical action and reflection led to social justice conversations with mentors.• More critical action led to higher sociopolitical efficacy.• Social justice conversations with mentors led to critical action and reflection.• Natural mentors support youth critical consciousness in a variety of ways.