Partner Violence and Anger Management

Study Overview
=================
Brief Summary
-----------------
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of the Brøset anger management model in reducing violent behavior amongst clients who are violent in intimate partnerships and who voluntarily seek help. Violence in intimate partnerships constitutes a serious problem worldwide and there is reason to believe that cognitive behavior therapy has some effect on the reduction of violent behavior. However, there are currently too few randomized controlled studies to conclude about the effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapy for this client group.

Official Title
-----------------
Partner Violence and Anger Management: a Randomised Controlled Study of the Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Conditions
-----------------
Domestic Violence, Spouse Abuse

Intervention / Treatment
-----------------
* Behavioral: The Brøset anger management model
* Behavioral: Ordinary group treatment


Participation Criteria
=================
Eligibility Criteria
-----------------
Inclusion Criteria: fluent in Norwegian language is in a partner relationship at inclusion. Partner relationship is defined by having an intimate partner at present, or being in regular contact with a former intimate partner so that violence is possible (e.g. they have children) admits being violent to his partner (physical, mental and/or sexual) Exclusion Criteria: psychosis alcohol- or drug addiction to a level that hinders group participation free from intoxication.

Ages Eligible for Study
-----------------
Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
-----------------
Male

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
-----------------
No

Study Plan
=================
How is the study designed?
-----------------

Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: The Brøset anger management model<br>Group treatment | Behavioral: The Brøset anger management model<br>* manualised structured cognitive treatment program 15 weeks (30 hours)<br>|
| Active Comparator: ordinary group treatment<br>Group treatment | Behavioral: Ordinary group treatment<br>* group treatment 8 weeks (16 hours)<br>|

What is the study measuring?
-----------------
Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| violent behaviour, reported by partner and client | measured by using the Conflict Tactics Scale Revised (CTS2), instrument for measuring violence in intimate partnerships(10), which consists of 78 questions (0-7) about different aspects of violence (frequence of physical, psychological, sexual and material violence) | 3 months between assessments, 1 year duration, i.e. baseline and 4 follow-up assessments. In accordance with the original Norwegian protocol. | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The client's and their partner's mental health | measured by using the Hopkins Symptoms Check List (HSCL-25, with 25 questions about the presence and intensity of anxiety and depression symptoms, and symptoms of somatoform character) | 3 months between assessments, 1 year duration, i.e. baseline and 4 follow-up assessments. In accordance with the original Norwegian protocol. | 
| The client's and their partner's health service use and absence due to sickness |  | 3 months between assessments, 1 year duration, i.e. baseline and 4 follow-up assessments. In accordance with the original Norwegian protocol. | 
| Changes in emotional dysregulation | Emotional regulation will be assessed by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS, Gratz & Roemer, 2004). | 3 months between assessments, 1 year duration, i.e. baseline and 4 follow-up assessments. In accordance with the original Norwegian protocol. | 

 Terms related to the study
=================
Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
-----------------
Behavior therapy, Group therapy