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Purpose

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.

Condition

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 18 Years
Eligible Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

Men: 1. Identify as a man 2. Provide consent for the research team to contact his intimate partner(s) for data collection purposes; 3. Court-referred for IPV intervention in Washington state Women: 1. Identify as a woman 2. Were or currently are an intimate partner involved in an incident of IPV with a court-referred participant

Exclusion Criteria

  1. demonstrates active psychosis that may interfere with their ability to participate in group 2. expresses prominent suicidal or homicidal ideation that requires hospitalization 3. does not possess proficiency in spoken English 4. periods of incarceration after study enrollment

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Intervention Model Description
Single site, controlled trial. All participants will be randomized at the individual level to SAH or TAU, with a 1:1 allocation ratio.
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
Strength at Home (SAH) 		Participants randomized into this arm with receive a trauma-informed intimate partner violence (IPV) intervention program.
  • Behavioral: Strength at Home (SAH)
    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.
Active Comparator
Treatment as Usual (TAU) 		Participants randomized into this arm with receive a standard IPV intervention program in the state of Washington.
  • Behavioral: Treatment as usual for IPV
    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.

Recruiting Locations

BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Psychiatry
Boston, Massachusetts 02118
Contact:
Casey Taft, PhD
978-380-0576
taft@bu.edu

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
Boston University

Study Contact

Casey Taft, PhD
978-380-0576
taft@bu.edu

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.