Implementation of Strength at Home for Military Couples

NCT04517994 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: CDMRP-PT140092
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 150
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

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.

Conditions

Intimate Partner Violence

Keywords

Prevention; Domestic Violence; Military Couples; Veterans; Marital Relationship; Trauma; PTSD; Implementation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (9)

• Domestic Violence Prevention - Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2)

  Changes of physical and psychological IPV as evidenced by change in CTS2 responses. Each item response option ranges in value from 0-7 with 0 being the minimum value and 7 being the maximum value. Scale is a 78-item measure with higher scores meaning greater conflict.

  Intake/Pre-Treatment

• Domestic Violence Prevention - Change in CTS2

  Changes of physical and psychological IPV as evidenced by change in CTS2 responses. Each item response option ranges in value from 0-7 with 0 being the minimum value and 7 being the maximum value. Scale is a 78-item measure with higher scores meaning greater conflict.

  Post-treatment (after 10 weeks of class)

• Domestic Violence Prevention - Change in CTS2

  Changes of physical and psychological IPV as evidenced by change in CTS2 responses. Each item response option ranges in value from 0-7 with 0 being the minimum value and 7 being the maximum value. Scale is a 78-item measure with higher scores meaning greater conflict.

  3-month post-group follow-up (3-months after last class)

• Relationship Satisfaction: Dyadic Adjustment Scale

  Changes in relationship satisfaction as evidenced by answers to the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Items 1-15 options: Always Agree, Almost Always Agree, Occasionally Disagree, Frequently Disagree, Almost Always Disagree, Always Disagree. Item 16-22: All the Time, Most of the Time, More Often than Not, Rarely, Never. Item 23: Every day, Almost Every Day, Occasionally, Rarely, Never. Item 24: All of them, Most of them, Some of them, Very few of them, None of them. Items 25-28: Never, Less than once a month, Once or twice a month, Once or twice a week, Once a day, More often. Items 29-30: Yes/No. Item 31: Extremely Unhappy, Fairly Unhappy, A Little Unhappy, Happy, Very Happy, Extremely Happy, Perfect. Item 32: six statements in which the participant picks the statement that best describes how they feel about the future of their relationship. Overall score ranges from 0 to 151; higher scores indicating a more positive adjustment and lower level of distress within relationship.

  Intake/Pre-Treatment

• Change in Relationship Satisfaction: Dyadic Adjustment Scale

  Changes in relationship satisfaction as evidenced by answers to the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Items 1-15 options: Always Agree, Almost Always Agree, Occasionally Disagree, Frequently Disagree, Almost Always Disagree, Always Disagree. Item 16-22: All the Time, Most of the Time, More Often than Not, Rarely, Never. Item 23: Every day, Almost Every Day, Occasionally, Rarely, Never. Item 24: All of them, Most of them, Some of them, Very few of them, None of them. Items 25-28: Never, Less than once a month, Once or twice a month, Once or twice a week, Once a day, More often. Items 29-30: Yes/No. Item 31: Extremely Unhappy, Fairly Unhappy, A Little Unhappy, Happy, Very Happy, Extremely Happy, Perfect. Item 32: six statements in which the participant picks the statement that best describes how they feel about the future of their relationship. Overall score ranges from 0 to 151; higher scores indicating a more positive adjustment and lower level of distress within relationship.

  Post-treatment (after 10 weeks of class)

• Change in Relationship Satisfaction: Dyadic Adjustment Scale

  Changes in relationship satisfaction as evidenced by answers to the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Items 1-15 options: Always Agree, Almost Always Agree, Occasionally Disagree, Frequently Disagree, Almost Always Disagree, Always Disagree. Item 16-22: All the Time, Most of the Time, More Often than Not, Rarely, Never. Item 23: Every day, Almost Every Day, Occasionally, Rarely, Never. Item 24: All of them, Most of them, Some of them, Very few of them, None of them. Items 25-28: Never, Less than once a month, Once or twice a month, Once or twice a week, Once a day, More often. Items 29-30: Yes/No. Item 31: Extremely Unhappy, Fairly Unhappy, A Little Unhappy, Happy, Very Happy, Extremely Happy, Perfect. Item 32: six statements in which the participant picks the statement that best describes how they feel about the future of their relationship. Overall score ranges from 0 to 151; higher scores indicating a more positive adjustment and lower level of distress within relationship.

  3-month post-group follow-up (3-months after last class)

• Domestic Violence Prevention - Multidimensional Measure of Emotional Abuse (MMEA)

  Changes of physical and psychological IPV as evidenced by changes in MMEA scores. MMEA is a 28-item measurement tool with scale responses ranging from 0 to 7 where higher scores indicate greater emotional abuse.

  Intake/Pre-Treatment

• Domestic Violence Prevention - Change in MMEA

  Changes of physical and psychological IPV as evidenced by changes in MMEA scores. MMEA is a 28-item measurement tool with scale responses ranging from 0 to 7 where higher scores indicate greater emotional abuse.

  Post-treatment (after 10 weeks of class)

• Domestic Violence Prevention - Change in MMEA

  Changes of physical and psychological IPV as evidenced by changes in MMEA scores. MMEA is a 28-item measurement tool with scale responses ranging from 0 to 7 where higher scores indicate greater emotional abuse.

  3-month post-group follow-up (3-months after last class)

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Suicidal Ideation

  Intake/Pre-Treatment

• Suicidal Ideation

  Post-treatment (after 10 weeks of class)

• Suicidal Ideation

  3-month post-group follow-up (3-months after last class)

Study Arms (2)

Active Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL

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.

Behavioral: Active Treatment

Supportive Treatment

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

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.

Behavioral: Supportive Treatment

Interventions

Active Treatment BEHAVIORAL

See arm description.

Active Treatment

Supportive Treatment BEHAVIORAL

See arm description.

Supportive Treatment

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• 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

You may not qualify if:

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

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Boston VA Research Institute, Inc.: lead
• United States Department of Defense: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Joint Base Lewis McChord

Tacoma, Washington, 98431, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Wounds and Injuries; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

Interventions

Palliative Care

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Mental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Patient Care; Therapeutics; Health Services; Health Care Facilities Workforce and Services

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Psychologist, Behavioral Sciences Division, National Center for PTSD; Assoc. Professor of Psychiatry

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 26, 2018
• First Posted: August 19, 2020
• Study Start: September 1, 2015
• Primary Completion: September 30, 2021
• Study Completion: September 30, 2021
• Last Updated: April 28, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-04

Locations

US (1)