Communication Skills vs. Mindfulness for IPV

Study Overview
=================
Brief Summary
-----------------
This tests the immediate impact of two brief interventions on couples reporting intimate partner violence using the proximal change experimental design. Couples will be randomly assigned to a mindfulness conditions, a communication exercise or a placebo condition. Outcome measures include observed and experimentally assessed aggression.

Detailed Description
-----------------
This pilot study is designed to test the effects of two brief interventions on communication and emotional expression between intimate partners who have experienced recent domestic violence. In addition, it will provide some basic laboratory findings on differences in distress tolerance between perpetrators and victims of domestic abuse. Specifically, using the proximal change experimental design, couples will engaged in a 7.5 minute conflict discussion while being videotaped and having their autonomic responding monitored. Then they will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a communication skills training exercise, a mindfulness condition, or a placebo control. Next, ,couples will engaged in second 7.5 minute conflict discussion. It is hypothesized that those in both the communication skills training and mindfulness condition will display more positive and less aggressive behavior in their second conflict discussion as compared to their first. It is also expected that they will administer less aggression (as measured by delivery of a loud noise) to their partner after both of the active interventions. In addition, multiple measures of distress tolerance will be administered to both partners. It is expected that couples with a characterologically violent perpetrator, he or she will evidence decreased distress tolerance and the victimized partner will evidence increased distress tolerance

Official Title
-----------------
A Proximal Change Experiment: Testing the Effects of Communication Skills Training vs. Mindfulness Techniques on Intimate Partner Aggression

Conditions
-----------------
Domestic Violence, Domestic Abuse, Family Conflict, Aggression

Intervention / Treatment
-----------------
* Behavioral: Communication Skills Training
* Behavioral: Mindfulness
* Behavioral: Placebo


Participation Criteria
=================
Eligibility Criteria
-----------------
Inclusion Criteria: Adult co-habituating couples Reporting some violence in the past year (score > 0 on CTS2 physical abuse subscale) Exclusion Criteria: Homosexual couples Children under 18 non-English speakers

Ages Eligible for Study
-----------------
Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 80 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
-----------------
All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
-----------------
Accepts Healthy Volunteers

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

Design Details

Primary Purpose: Basic Science
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: random assignment to two active conditions vs. a placebo control
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Communication Skills<br>Male and female participants will listen to a description of John Gottman's Gentle Start-up communication skills training exercise and practice the technique in the lab for approximately 8 minutes. | Behavioral: Communication Skills Training<br>* Gentle start-up is one treatment technique in the Creating Healthy Relationship Program written by John Gottman, Ph.D.<br>* Other names: Gentle Start-up;|
| Experimental: Mindfulness<br>Male and female participants will listen to a script about Acceptance/Willingness of unwanted emotions written by Amie Zarling and practice this technique in the lab for approximately 8 minutes. | Behavioral: Mindfulness<br>* Acceptance/willingness of unwanted emotions is treatment technique of Achieving Change through Value-Based Behavior (ACTV) written by Amie Zarling, Ph.D.<br>* Other names: Acceptance/Willingness of unwanted emotions;|
| Placebo Comparator: Placebo<br>Male and female participants will listen to music in lieu for 8 minutes. | Behavioral: Placebo<br>* Couples randomly assigned to this condition listen to music on headphones. This may be considered an active placebo as it is similar to a Time Out technique taught in battering interventions.<br>* Other names: Time Out Condition;|

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

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Observed aggression | Specific Affect Coding System (SPAFF; Gottman, McCoy, Coan, Collier, 1996). SPAFF categorizes 16 emotions based on facial affect, vocal tone, body language, and content of speech. | 10 minutes: Change in observed behavior/emotion from first to second conflict discussion | 
| TAPS aggression paradigm | Overt aggression will be assessed using a modified version of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP; Epstein & Taylor, 1967). The TAP is an established method to study aggression in the laboratory. It is a deceptive, competitive reaction time task in which the participant competes against an opponent which is actually the computer program. | 10 minutes: Change in aggression from first to second conflict discussion | 

 Terms related to the study
=================
Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
-----------------
intimate partner violence, aggression, batterers intervention, mindfulness, communication skills, couples