Evaluating Interventions for Intimate Partner Violence Use in Washington State

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 control trial (RCT) investigating the efficacy of the Strength at Home (SAH) intervention in reducing intimate partner violence (IPV). The overarching aim of this study is to test the efficacy of SAH with court-involved-partner-violent men through an RCT comparing those who receive SAH with those who receive other standard IPV interventions offered in the state of Washington (treatment as usual- TAU).

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 greater reductions in IPV frequencies will be evidenced in SAH than 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 greater reductions in these symptoms will be evidenced in SAH than 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 will be higher in SAH than TAU.

Conditions

• Intimate Partner Violence

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Strength at Home (SAH)

SAH is a group intervention that incorporates elements from interventions for violence and trauma. It is administered during 12 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.

BEHAVIORAL

Treatment as usual for IPV

Treatment as usual for IPV includes court-mandated interventions delivered over the 26 two-hour weekly sessions in Washington state.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Office of Crime Victims Advocacy - Washington State Department of Commerce

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Boston University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Casey Taft, PhD · BU School of Medicine and National Center for PTSD

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-11-18

Primary Completion

2027-07-31

Completion

2027-07-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations