Strength at Home Couples Program (PTSD-Focused Relationship Enhancement Therapy for Returning Veterans)
1 other identifier
interventional
156
1 country
2
Brief Summary
The purpose of the project is to develop and test a couples-based relationship enhancement group intervention for married or partnered Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)/Operation New Dawn (OND) veterans to prevent the perpetration of intimate partner aggression (IPA) among participants.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Feb 2009
Longer than P75 for not_applicable
2 active sites
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
January 22, 2009
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
January 23, 2009
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
February 1, 2009
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
October 1, 2014
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
October 1, 2014
CompletedJuly 12, 2017
July 1, 2017
5.7 years
January 22, 2009
July 11, 2017
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Evidence of change in incidence and frequency of intimate partner physical assault and psychological aggression assessed by questionnaires and clinical interviews.
Change determined by assessments pre and post treatment, 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months following treatment
Secondary Outcomes (1)
Evidence of change in risk factors (i.e. PTSD symptoms, anger, relationship satisfaction) implicated in the development of IPA assessed by questionnaires, clinical interviews, and psychophysiological measurements.
Change determined by assessments pre and post treatment, 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months following treatment
Study Arms (2)
Strength at Home Couples Group
EXPERIMENTALPTSD-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Couples
Supportive Group Therapy
PLACEBO COMPARATORSupportive therapy for couples
Interventions
A multiple site randomized trial will compare 10 sessions of PF-RET to 10 sessions of a supportive group therapy. PF-RET focuses on 1) deployment stress and traumatic experiences impacting intimate relationships; 2) communication between intimate partners; 3) conflict and anger management; and 4) closeness and intimacy.
A general support group designed to enhance support for healthy relationship building.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- couples must have been in a committed relationship for at least six months
- veterans and their partners must be over the age of 18
- male members of the couple report no occurrence of physical aggression during the last six months in their current relationship on the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2; Straus et al, 1996)
- female members of the couple may report that they have engaged in low level aggression during the past six months in their current relationship on the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2; Straus et al., 1996)
- one partner of the couple averages at or below a score of 29 on the 6-item Quality of Marriage Index (QMI; Norton, 1983) or a 100 or below on the Dyadic Adjustment Score (DAS; Spanier, 1976), which are cutoff scores often used to distinguish distressed and non-distressed couples (e.g., Slep, Heyman, Williams, Van Dyke, \& O'Leary, 2006), or one member of the couple endorses veteran-perpetrated psychological aggression (defined as scoring above the 75%ile on the CTS2 minor psychological aggression subscale, or any endorsement of items on the severe psychological aggression subscale on the CTS2 or the Dominance/Intimidation scale of the Multidimensional Measure of Emotional Abuse, MMEA; Murphy \& Hoover, 1999;)
- both members of the couple provide research consent
You may not qualify if:
- reading difficulties prevent valid completion of the assessment instruments
- the participant evidences severe organicity or active psychosis
- the participant expresses prominent suicidal or homicidal ideation
- the participant meets diagnostic criteria for alcohol and/or drug dependence, if not in early full remission or sustained partial remission
- female members of the couple report their violence includes the use of weapons during the past six months in their current relationship on the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2; Straus et al., 1996)
- violence perpetrated by female members of the couple produces injuries in men
- male members of the couple indicate they are fearful of the female partner
- male members of the couple report they are physically violent in any way during the past six months or severely violent in the past 12 months of their current relationship on the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2; Straus et al., 1996)
- male members of the couple have had any bruising or injuries inflicted by the female partner during the past six months in their current relationship. Criteria b through d will be assessed using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI; Sheehan et al., 1998) and clinical interview
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (2)
National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System
Boston, Massachusetts, 02130, United States
Providence VA Medical Center
Providence, Rhode Island, 02908, United States
Related Publications (5)
Norton, R. (1983). Measuring marital quality: A critical look at the dependent variable. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 45, 141-151.
BACKGROUNDStraus, M. A., Hamby, S. L., Boney-McCoy, S., & Sugarman, D. B. (1996). The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2): Development and preliminary psychometric data. Journal of Family Issues,17, 283-316.
BACKGROUNDSpanier, G. B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38, 154-28.
BACKGROUNDMurphy CM, Hoover SA. Measuring emotional abuse in dating relationships as a multifactorial construct. Violence Vict. 1999 Spring;14(1):39-53.
PMID: 10397625BACKGROUNDTaft CT, Creech SK, Gallagher MW, Macdonald A, Murphy CM, Monson CM. Strength at Home Couples program to prevent military partner violence: A randomized controlled trial. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2016 Nov;84(11):935-945. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000129. Epub 2016 Sep 5.
PMID: 27599224DERIVED
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Casey T Taft, Ph.D.
National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Suzannah Creech, PhD
Providence VA Medical Center
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- DOUBLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Purpose
- PREVENTION
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Principal Investigator
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
January 22, 2009
First Posted
January 23, 2009
Study Start
February 1, 2009
Primary Completion
October 1, 2014
Study Completion
October 1, 2014
Last Updated
July 12, 2017
Record last verified: 2017-07