Implementation of Strength at Home for Military Couples

Boston VA Research Institute, Inc.

Status: Completed

Conditions: Intimate Partner Violence

Treatments: Behavioral: Supportive Treatment; Behavioral: Active Treatment

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT04517994

CDMRP-PT140092

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Full 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.

Enrollment: 150 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

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

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

150 participants in 2 patient groups

Active Treatment

Experimental group

Description:

The intervention includes components from empirically validated interventions for intimate relationship difficulties and PTSD. This includes core themes of trust, self-esteem, power and control, conflict-management skills, and communication skills training.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Active Treatment

Supportive Treatment

Active Comparator group

Description:

Broadly based on the principles and techniques of client centered (Rogerian) therapy, and the fundamental principles and practices for experiential group psychotherapy as specified by Yalom. The group also draws upon the work of Murphy's Supportive Therapy protocol specifically for group intervention with domestic abuse perpetrators.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Supportive Treatment