Contact My SSW Intranet

Main menu

Directories

Daniel G. Saunders

Professor Emeritus of Social Work

Daniel G. Saunders

Daniel Saunders, professor of social work, established one of the first intervention programs for men who batter and helped to establish crisis and advocacy programs for battered women in the 1970s. His research, teaching, and service center on the problems of dating and domestic violence. His specific studies focus on offender program evaluation, the traumatic effects of victimization, and the response of professionals and the public to dating and domestic violence. His research has been funded by the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institute of Justice. In addition, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholars grant to conduct research at the Te Awatea Violence Research Centre, University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Professor Saunders' most recent projects involve an evaluation of supervised visitation programs for the children of battered women and a survey of child custody evaluators regarding their beliefs about domestic violence. Based on his publication record, a 2019 report listed him in the top 100 most influential contemporary social work faculty. In 2024, the analytics company Elsevier listed him among the world's top 2% of scientists.

Research Interests/Focus

Domestic and dating violence, direct practice, program evaluation.

Contact Information

PhoneEmailRoomAddress
[email protected]4668 SSWBUniversity of Michigan
School of Social Work
1080 S. University
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Education

Year Degree   School
1979 PhD Counseling and Guidance University of Wisconsin, Madison
1973 MSW Social Work University of Wisconsin, Madison
1969 BA Psychology St. John's University, Collegeville, MN

Measurement Instruments

Inventory of Beliefs About Wife Beating (short version)
Inventory of Beliefs About Wife Beating (long version)
Studies that Used the Inventory of Beliefs About WifeBeating
Profile of Psychological Abuse of Women
Inventory of Beliefs About Wife Beating - scoring
Measures for Assessment and Evaluation in Supervised Visitation and Exchange Programs

Publication List and Repository

Full list of publications on Google Scholar Citations
Publications available in University of Michigan's Deep Blue repository

Key Findings from Research on Immigration and Crime

Sanctuary Communities, “Open Borders,” and Harm to Migrants

Resources on Autocracy and Defending Democracy

Organizations & Experts on the Rise of Autocracy & Defense of Democracy
Books on the Rise of Autocracy & Defense of Democracy
Year Description
2015 Saunders, D.G. (2015, April). Fathering challenges/fathering opportunities: Engaging intimate partner abusers through their roles as fathers. Keynote address at a conference at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
2015 Saunders, D.G. (2015, April). Typologies of intimate partner abusers and their implications for danger assessment and interventions. Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
2015 Saunders, D.G. (2015, April). Child custody evaluations and domestic violence: New research and implications for practice. Presentation for the Violence Research and Prevention Program, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
2015 Saunders, D.G. (2015, March). Child custody evaluations and domestic violence: New research and implications for practice. Waikato University, Hamilton, New Zealand.
2015 Saunders, D.G. (2015, March). Child custody evaluations and domestic violence: New research and implications for practice. New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse, Auckland, New Zealand.
2015 Saunders, D. G. (2015, February). Finding out what's going on: How to assess motives, impacts, danger levels, and violence typologies in cases of intimate partner violence. New Zealand Ministry for Women, Wellington, New Zealand.
2008 Saunders, D., Sullivan, C., Tolman, R., & Grabarek, M. (2008). Domestic violence offenders visiting their children: An avenue for healing and change. Presented at the American Psychological Association's Summit on Violence and Abuse in Relationships: Connecting Agendas and Forging New Directions, Bethesda, MD.
2007 Saunders, D., Sullivan, C., Tolman, R., & Grabarek, M. (2007). Key findings of the national evaluation of the safe havens demonstration initiative. Presented at The City of Chicago Safe Havens Project Demonstration Initiative Experience.
2007 Saunders, D. G., Sullivan, C., Tolman, R. M., & Grabarek, M. (2007). The impact of the safe havens demonstration initiative on beliefs and practices: Reports from center staff & project directors. Presented at the Supervised Visitation & Domestic Violence: Guideposts for Advancing Practice, Policy, and Dialogue, Denver CO, U.S. Department of Justice.
2007 Saunders, D., Sullivan, C., Tolman, R., & Grabarek, M. (2007, January). Domestic abuse survivors perceptions of safety and reports of abuse in the context of supervised visits and exchanges. Presented at the SSWR Annual Meeting: Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries, San Francisco, CA.
2007 Saunders, D., Sullivan, C., Tolman, R., & Grabarek, M. (2007, January). Evaluation of a project to enhance the safety of domestic violence survivors in the context of supervised visitation and exchange. Presented at the SSWR Annual Meeting: Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries, San Francisco, CA.
2006 Saunders, D., Sullivan, C., Tolman, R., & Grabarek, M. (2006, November) Survivors' perceptions of supervised visitation and exchange: Preliminary findings from the Safe Havens Demonstration Initiative National Evaluation. Presented at the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, Final Meeting of Safe Havens Demonstration Site Grantees, Santa Fe, NM.
2006 Saunders, D., Sullivan, C., Tolman, R., & Grabarek, M. (2006, October). Survivors' perceptions of supervised visitation and exchange: Preliminary findings from the Safe Havens Demonstration Initiative National Evaluation. Presented at the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women,The Safe Havens Landscape: Integrating Safety for Victims of Domestic Violence into Everyday Practice, An Institute for Safe Havens Grantees, St. Paul, MN.
2005 Saunders, D., Sullivan, C., Tolman, R., & Grabarek, M. (2005, September). Safe havens demonstration initiative evaluation: Current status and new results. Presented at the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, Safe Havens National Steering Committee Meeting Seattle, WA.
2005 Saunders, D. G. (2005, August). Group interventions for men who batter: A summary of program descriptions and research. Presented at the United States Department of Defense Domestic Violence Intervention/Treatment Protocol Development Working Meeting, Alexandria, VA.
2004 Saunders, D. G. (2004, April). Interventions for men who batter: Some promising innovations. Keynote address presented at the Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Batterers' Treatment Providers Association, Appleton, WI.
2003 Saunders, D. G. (2003, June). The effectiveness of programs for men who batter: What do outcome studies tell us? Presented at the International Research Exchange, Prague, Czech Republic.
2003 Saunders, D. G. (2003, July). Offender intervention outcome studies: What can the domestic violence & sexual assault fields learn from each other? Keynote address presented at the 8th International Family Violence Research Conference, University of New Hampshire.
2003 Saunders, D. G. (2003, September). Comparisons between domestic violence and sexual assault intervention programs: Potential lessons for research and programming. Poster presented at the 8th International Conference on Family Violence, San Diego CA.
2003 Saunders, D. G. (2003, October). The place of a typology of "maritally" violent men within a nested ecological model: A response to Holtzworth-Munroe and Meehan. Presented at the meeting: Toward a National Research Agenda on Violence Against Women: A National Research Conference, University of Kentucky Center for Research on Violence Against Women.
2002 Anderson, D. K., Saunders, D. G., Yoshihama, M., Bybee, D. I., & Sullivan, C. M. (2002). Levels of stress and coping as predictors of psychological well-being among women who have left violent relationships. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Work Research, San Diego, CA.
2002 Saunders, D. G., & R. Hamill. (2002, January). Offender interventions to end violence against women: A research synthesis for practitioners. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Law and Justice, Center for Social and Economic Studies, Division on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, Washington, DC.
2002 Saunders, D. G., Holter, M., Pahl, L., Tolman, R., & Kenna, C. (2002, September). Evaluation of domestic violence training for caseworkers: What survivors report. Paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Family Violence, San Diego, CA.
2002 Saunders, D. G., Holter, M., Pahl, L., & Tolman, R. (2002, August). The evaluation of a domestic violence training for caseworkers. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the National Association of Welfare Research and Statistics, Albuquerque, NM.
2001 Saunders, D. G., Holter, M., Pahl, L., & Tolman, R. (2001, October). Predictors of caseworkers' use of the family violence option. Paper presented at the Trapped by Poverty/Trapped by Abuse conference, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
2001 Saunders, D. G., Bellamy, C. D., McPherson, M. D., & Faller, K. C. (2001, September). Evaluation of an interdisciplinary child welfare training project. Paper presented at the 6th International Conference on Family Violence, San Diego, CA.
2001 Saunders, D. G., Fennell, J., Deichert, K., & Kenna, C. (2001, July). Partner selection by men who batter: Relationship to their personality disorders & violent behavior. Poster presented at the 7th International Family Violence Research Conference. University of New Hampshire.
2000 Saunders, D. G., Tolman, R. M., & Plichta, S. (2000, September). Domestic violence and receipt of welfare associated with emotional well-being in a nationally representative sample of the United States. Presented at the 5th International Conference on Family Violence, San Diego, CA.
1999 Callahan, M. R., Tolman, R. M., & Saunders, D. G. (1999, April). Is adolescent dating violence victimization related to psychological well-being? Poster presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Albuquerque, NM.
1999 Saunders, D. G., Holter, M., Pahl, L., & Tolman, R. M. (1999, April). The evaluation of a domestic violence training for caseworkers. Presentation at the conference, Trapped by Poverty/Trapped by Abuse, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
1999 Saunders, D. G., Tolman, R. M., & Plichta, S. (1999, April). Relationship among woman abuse, welfare, and emotional well-being in a national sample of U.S. women. Presentation at the conference Trapped by Poverty/Trapped by Abuse, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
1999 Saunders, D. G. (1999, April). Beyond interventions: The promise of prevention strategies. Keynote address presented at the conference, Healing Domestic Violence Trauma, Somerset, NJ.
1998 Saunders, D. G. (1998, September). An empirical review of the response of professionals to battered women: Implications for esearch on advocacy and primary prevention. Presentation at the conference, Advocacy Research for Battered Women, University of Washington.
1998 Saunders, D. G. (1998, July). Behind the scenes: Practical and ethical issues encountered in a treatment study of men who batter. Paper presented at Program Evaluation conference for family violence researchers, University of New Hampshire.
1998 Saunders, D. G., & Anderson, D. (1998, July). Evaluation of a domestic violence training for child protection workers & supervisors. Paper presented at the conference on Program Evaluation for family violence researchers, University of New Hampshire.
1997 Saunders, D. G. (1997, November). How effective are batterer's programs? What do we know about what works? Keynote address presented at the Maryland Statewide Roundtable on Abuser Intervention Programs.
1997 Weisz, A., Tolman, R., & Saunders, D. G. (1997, June). Predictions of harm by battered women: Do battered women know best? Paper presented at the Fifth International Family Violence Research Conference, University of New Hampshire.
1997 Saunders, D. G., & Tolman, R. (1997, June). Leader methods and group cohesion related to outcome in groups for men who batter. Paper presented at the Fifth International Family Violence Research Conference, University of New Hampshire.
1997 Saunders, D. G. (1997, June). Fitting the offender to treatment: The need for multiple treatment models in working with men who batter. Paper presented at the Fifth International Family Violence Research Conference, University of New Hampshire.
1997 Chang, H. S., & Saunders, D. G. (1997, June). Predictors of attrition in two types of batterers' counseling. Paper presented at the Fifth International Family Violence Research Conference, University of New Hampshire.
1996 Ai, A., & Saunders, D. G. (1996, June). Gender differences in post-CABG psychosocial recovery: Implications for interventions. Poster presented at the 60th Annual Meeting of the Society of the Psychological Study of Social Issues.
1996 Saunders, D. G. (1996, November). Empowerment counseling for battered women: Awareness of the need for social change as a factor in trauma recovery. Poster presented at the 12th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, San Francisco, CA.
1996 Saunders, D. G. (1996, September). Cognitive-behavioral and process-psychodynamic treatments for men who batter: Interactions between offender traits and treatment type. Paper presented at the Symposium on Psychosocial Interventions at the Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research and the National Institutes of Health, Washington, DC.
1996 Saunders, D. G. (1996, October). Differentiating the methods and content of cognitive-behavioral and process-psychodynamic groups for men who batter. Presented at the 12th Annual Symposium for the Empirical Foundations of Group Work, Ann Arbor, MI.
1995 DeKeseredy, W. S., Saunders, D. G., Schwartz, M. D., & Alvi, S. (1995). The meanings and motives for women's use of violence in Canadian college dating relationships: Results from a national survey. Paper presented at 1995 annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology.
1995 Saunders, D. G. (1995, July). Matching domestic violence offender types to treatment methods: Evidence from an experimental comparison of two treatments. Paper presented at the 4th International Family Violence Research Conference, University of New Hampshire.
1994 Saunders, D. G. (1994, June). Working together to end domestic violence. Keynote address presented at the 15th Annual Meeting of the Erie County Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
1994 Saunders, D. G. (1994, November). Attributions and expectations about domestic violence as risk factors for PTSD. Poster presented at the 10th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Chicago, IL.
1994 Saunders, D. G. (1994, November). Cognitive-behavioral and process-psychodynamic treatments for men who batter: Interactions between offender traits and treatment outcome. Poster session presented at the 28th Annual Meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, San Diego, CA.
1993 Saunders, D. G. (1993, May). Leader methods and group cohesion related to outcome in groups for men who batter. Presented at the Ninth Annual Symposium on Empirical Group Work, Ann Arbor, MI.
1993 Chang, H., & Saunders, D. G. (1993, May). An analysis of attrition in batterers' counseling. Paper presented at the Ninth Annual Symposium for Empirical Group Work, Ann Arbor, MI.
1993 Saunders, D. G. (1993, January). Traumatic stress symptoms of battered women: Implications for practice and research. Presentation at the Brown Bag Seminar, University of Michigan, School of Social Work, Ann Arbor.
1993 Saunders, D. G. (1993, February). Cognitive-behavioral vs. process psychodynamic treatment for men who batter: Summary of preliminary findings. Paper presented at the conference, Working with Men Who Batter: A Research and Practice Update, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
1993 Saunders, D. G. (1993, October). Predictors of recidivism among men who complete treatment for woman abuse. Paper presented at the symposium, Domestic Violence: Outcomes and Risk Factors, Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Phoenix, AZ.
1992 Hamberger, L. K., & Saunders, D. G. (1992, April). Medical diagnostic characteristics differentiating battered and non-battered outpatient women. Poster presented at the meeting of the Society for Teachers of Family Medicine, St. Louis, MO.
1991 Saunders, D. G. (1991, August). Preventing injuries from marital violence. Presented at the First National Intentional Injury Work-In-Progress Monitoring Workshop, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
1991 Hamberger, L. K., & Saunders, D. G. (1991, August). Battered women in non-emergency medical settings: Incidence, prevalence, and physician inquiry. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.
1991 Kindy, P., & Saunders, D. G. (1991, October). A method for evaluating physicians' responses to battered women in primary care settings. Poster presented at the 12th Forum for Behavioral Science in Family Medicine, Chicago, IL.
1990 Saunders, D. G., & Kindy, P. (1990, April). Physicians' responses to battered women in primary care settings: The effects of training and gender. Presented at the American Educational Research Association, Boston, MA.
1990 Saunders, D. G. (1990, June). The traumatic aftermath of violence against women. Presented at the NIMH Research Scientist Development Awardees Conference, Chevy Chase, MD.
1990 Saunders, D. G. (1990, November). The tendency to arrest victims of domestic violence: A preliminary analysis of officer characteristics. Paper presented at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Baltimore, MD.
1989 Saunders, D. G., & McDonald, L. (1989). Physical abuse among siblings: Causes and consequences. Workshop presented at the conference, Family Violence: The Connections Among Its Many Forms, Madison, WI.
1989 Saunders, D. G. (1989). Typologies of men who batter: Implications for treatment and research. Presented at the conference, Family Violence: National and International Perspectives on Research, Policy and Practice, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia.
1989 Saunders, D. G. (1989, November). Who hits first and who hurts most? Evidence for the greater victimization of women in intimate relationships. Paper presented at the 41st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Reno, NV.
1988 Dexter, H. R., Penrod, S. D., Linz, D., & Saunders, D. G. (1988). Exposure to media violence and the blaming of assault victims. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of APLS.
1988 Pyle, R. L., Perse, T., Mitchell, J. E., Saunders, D. G., & Skoog, K. (1988). Abuse in women with bulimia nervosa. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, Toronto.
1988 Saunders, D. G. (1988, July). Are there different types of men who batter? An empirical study with implications for treatment. Paper presented at the Third National Conference for Family Violence Researchers, University of New Hampshire.
1988 Saunders, D. G., & Perse, T. (1988). Agoraphobia associated with woman abuse among patients of an anxiety disorders clinic. Paper presented at the Fourth World Congress on Victimology, Lucca, Italy.
1988 Saunders, D. G., & Parker, J. (1988). Legal sanctions and treatment follow-through among men who batter. Paper presented at the 40th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Chicago, IL.
1987 Saunders, D. G., & Rose, K. (1987, July). Attitudes of psychiatric and non-psychiatric medical practitioners toward battered women: An exploratory study. Paper presented at the Third National Conference for Family Violence Researchers, University of New Hampshire.
1985 Saunders, D. G. (1985, December). Men who batter: Who are they and what helps them change? Keynote address presented at the conference, Breaking the Silence: Second Annual Institute on Domestic Violence, Anchorage, AK.
1977 Saunders, D. G. (1977, May). Violence hits home: Woman battering as a widespread social problem. Paper presented at the conference, Violence Hits Home, University of Wisconsin, Platteville.
1974 Saunders, D. G., & Garfinkel, J. (1974, December). Communication and contract training in a group for couples. Paper presented at the 12th Annual Conference of the International Group Psychotherapy Society, Chicago, IL.
1973 Saunders D. G. (1973, December). Behavior therapy with complex problems: A case illustration. Paper presented at the meeting of the Family Service Board of Directors, Madison, WI.

Contact Us Press escape to close