Clinical trial NCT04517994: Implementation of Strength at Home for Military Couples
Official title: Strength at Home Couples Program to Prevent Military Partner Violence
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Intimate Partner Violence
Keywords: Prevention
Domestic Violence
Military Couples
Veterans
Marital Relationship
Trauma
PTSD
Implementation
Lead sponsor: Boston VA Research Institute, Inc.
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: United States Department of Defense
First posted: 2020-08-19
Enrollment: 150
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The Strength at Home Couples program is designed to enhance intimate relationships and prevent intimate partner violence (IPV) among service members and their partners in light of the unique stressors and experiences of this population.

Detailed description: A Hybrid Type-I Implementation-effectiveness research design will allow the research team, comprising investigators with expertise in treatment development, efficacy and effectiveness research, and implementation science, to simultaneously investigate the effectiveness of SAH-C in a military population while identifying any barriers to implementation that would need to be addressed before SAH-C could be successfully implemented on a larger scale.

SAH-C derives from a unique fusion of interventions for trauma and IPA, integrating elements of cognitive processing therapy for PTSD,39 couples therapy for PTSD,40 and a cognitive behavioral intervention for IPA.41 SAH-C consists of 10 two-hour weekly sessions, co-led by two therapists. This was the minimum length deemed necessary to incorporate components addressing the proposed IPA mechanisms and is consistent with the briefest IPA interventions.42 During each session, couples are provided assignments to practice skills together and to assist with the consolidation of material. A group couples format is used because group cohesion among clients appears to be associated with IPA prevention.43 Group interventions also use less time and resources than individual-based interventions.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Couples must be in an intimate relationship
* Must be over the age of 18
* Both members of the couple report no occurrence of physical IPA in the past 3 months and no severe aggression in the past 12
* At least one member reports at or below a score of 100 on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale
* Both members must provide research consent

Exclusion Criteria:

* Will be excluded on the basis of reading difficulties that preclude valid completion of the assessment instruments

Primary outcomes:
measure: Domestic Violence Prevention - Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2)
timeFrame: Intake/Pre-Treatment
measure: Domestic Violence Prevention - Change in CTS2
timeFrame: Post-treatment (after 10 weeks of class)
measure: Domestic Violence Prevention - Change in CTS2
timeFrame: 3-month post-group follow-up (3-months after last class)
measure: Relationship Satisfaction: Dyadic Adjustment Scale
timeFrame: Intake/Pre-Treatment
measure: Change in Relationship Satisfaction: Dyadic Adjustment Scale
timeFrame: Post-treatment (after 10 weeks of class)
measure: Change in Relationship Satisfaction: Dyadic Adjustment Scale
timeFrame: 3-month post-group follow-up (3-months after last class)
measure: Domestic Violence Prevention - Multidimensional Measure of Emotional Abuse (MMEA)
timeFrame: Intake/Pre-Treatment
measure: Domestic Violence Prevention - Change in MMEA
timeFrame: Post-treatment (after 10 weeks of class)
measure: Domestic Violence Prevention - Change in MMEA
timeFrame: 3-month post-group follow-up (3-months after last class)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Suicidal Ideation
timeFrame: Intake/Pre-Treatment
measure: Suicidal Ideation
timeFrame: Post-treatment (after 10 weeks of class)
measure: Suicidal Ideation
timeFrame: 3-month post-group follow-up (3-months after last class)
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Tacoma
country: United States
facility: Joint Base Lewis McChord
state: Washington
Study officials:
References: