Evaluating Interventions for Intimate Partner Violence Use in Washington State

NCT06526247 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: H-44938
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 800
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Intimate partner violence (IPV), specifically physical and psychological aggression toward an intimate partner, represents a public health crisis that affects millions of Americans each year. There currently exists very little evidence from randomized controlled trials for the effectiveness of abuser intervention programs designed to prevent and end perpetration of IPV in the general population. This is troubling considering that approximately half a million men and women are court-mandated to these programs each year. The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial evaluating the effectiveness of the Strength at Home (SAH) intervention in reducing intimate partner violence (IPV). The overarching aim of this study is to determine whether outcomes achieved through SAH are non-inferior to those achieved through standard IPV interventions offered in the state of Washington (treatment as usual; TAU) among court-involved men who have used IPV. The specific aims are: 1.1: Compare the frequency of physical and psychological IPV, the primary outcomes of interest, across conditions as reported by the male participants and their intimate partners across Time 1 (baseline) and four 3-month follow ups (Times 2-5). It is expected that reductions in physical and psychological IPV perpetration observed in SAH will be non-inferior to those observed in TAU over the course of the year. 1.2: Compare symptoms of PTSD, alexithymia, and alcohol use problems across conditions and assessment time points as reported by the male participants. It is expected that reductions in PTSD symptoms, alexithymia, and alcohol use problems observed in SAH will be non-inferior to those observed in TAU over the course of the year. 1.3: Compare treatment satisfaction across conditions as reported by the male participants across the four 3-month follow ups (Times 2-5). It is expected that treatment satisfaction in SAH will be comparable to or greater than treatment satisfaction in TAU.

Conditions

Intimate Partner Violence

Keywords

Strength at Home (SAH); Trauma-informed; Treatment as Usual (TAU); Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); Alcohol use; Washington state

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• IPV assessment

  The revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2), a 20-item instrument, will be used to assess IPV. The Physical Assault (12 items) and Psychological Aggression (8 items) subscales will be administered. Each of the 20 items is scored by the frequency of occurrence of the item with 8 choices 1-7 and 0.

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months. 9 months, 12 months

• Psychological IPV assessment

  The 7-item Restrictive Engulfment subscale of the Multidimensional Measure of Emotional Abuse (MMEA) will be used as an additional measure of psychological IPV. Each item has 7 potential responses from 0=never to 6= more than 20 times. Scores can range from 0 to 42, with higher scores being associated with more psychological IPV.

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months. 9 months, 12 months

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms

  The 20-item PTSD Checklist for DSM 5 (PCL-5) will be used to assess PTSD symptoms. It is a self-report measure. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale \[0 to 4\] and summed. Scores range from 0 to 80 with higher scores associated with more PTSD symptoms. A total score of 33 or higher may indicate severe PTSD.

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months. 9 months, 12 months

• Alcohol use

  The 10-item Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) will be used to assess problem drinking behavior over the past six months, with higher scores reflecting greater alcohol misuse.

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months. 9 months, 12 months

• Alexithymia assessment

  The 20-itemToronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) will be used to assess alexithymia. The TAS-20 uses cutoff scoring, with scores of 52-60 indicating possible alexithymia, and scores above 60 indicating alexithymia.

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months. 9 months, 12 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Treatment Satisfaction

  3 months, 6 months. 9 months, 12 months

Study Arms (2)

Strength at Home (SAH)

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants randomized into this arm with receive a trauma-informed intimate partner violence (IPV) intervention program.

Behavioral: Strength at Home (SAH)

Treatment as Usual (TAU)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants randomized into this arm with receive a standard IPV intervention program in the state of Washington.

Behavioral: Treatment as usual for IPV

Interventions

Strength at Home (SAH) BEHAVIORAL

SAH is a group intervention that incorporates elements from interventions for violence and trauma. It is administered during 20 two-hour weekly sessions. The program uses a social information processing model based on the premise that trauma negatively impacts one's ability to interpret and respond to social situations effectively. It underscores the importance of cognitive behavioral strategies to monitor one's thoughts and responses to interpersonal situations.

Strength at Home (SAH)

Treatment as usual for IPV BEHAVIORAL

Treatment as usual for IPV includes court-mandated interventions that require a minimum of 26 two-hour weekly sessions in Washington State and often extend substantially longer.

Treatment as Usual (TAU)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Men:
• Identify as a man
• Provide consent for the research team to contact his intimate partner(s) for data collection purposes;
• Court-referred for IPV intervention in Washington state
• Women:
• Identify as a woman
• Were or currently are an intimate partner involved in an incident of IPV with a court-referred participant

You may not qualify if:

• demonstrates active psychosis that may interfere with their ability to participate in group
• expresses prominent suicidal or homicidal ideation that requires hospitalization
• does not possess proficiency in spoken English
• periods of incarceration after study enrollment

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Boston University: lead
• Office of Crime Victims Advocacy - Washington State Department of Commerce: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Psychiatry

Boston, Massachusetts, 02118, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Alcohol Drinking

Interventions

Therapeutics; Poliovirus Vaccine, Inactivated

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

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

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Vaccines, Inactivated; Vaccines; Biological Products; Complex Mixtures; Poliovirus Vaccines; Viral Vaccines

Study Officials

• Casey Taft, PhD

  BU School of Medicine and National Center for PTSD

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Casey Taft, PhD

CONTACT

978-380-0576; taft@bu.edu

Samuel Frank, BA

CONTACT

617-353-4123; sfra@bu.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Single site, controlled trial. All participants will be randomized at the individual level to SAH or TAU, with a 1:1 allocation ratio.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 25, 2024
• First Posted: July 29, 2024
• Study Start: November 18, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2027
• Last Updated: June 23, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)