Treatment for Men Who Are Abusive to Their Partners

October 30, 2017 updated by: Timothy A Sparklin, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Behavior Therapy for Partner Violent Men

This study will develop an individual behavior therapy for men who are violent toward their partners and will compare the therapy to standard group treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

To date, treatment interventions for domestic abuse perpetrators have been conducted almost exclusively in groups. However, the efficacy of such treatments relative to no treatment has not been thoroughly evaluated. Evidence suggests that individual treatments may be more effective than group treatments. This study will combine motivational enhancement therapy with cognitive and behavior change techniques to treat men who abuse their partners.

This study will be conducted in two phases. In Phase 1, an individual cognitive behavior therapy (ICBT) manual will be constructed. During Phase 2, participants will be randomly assigned to receive either 16 sessions of ICBT or 16 sessions of standard group therapy. Data on abusive behavior outcomes and secondary treatment targets will be collected from participants and their partners every 3 months for 1 year after the study.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

60

Phase

  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Columbia, Maryland, United States, 21045
        • Domestic Violence Center of Howard County

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Involved in male-to-female physical aggression in the past 12 months or has a history of severe male-to-female aggression in a relationship
  • Current involvement in a primary intimate relationship (cohabiting, dating, or married) for at least 6 months, with partner contact at least once per week
  • Willingness to provide written consent for partner contact
  • Partner provides verbal assent for the use of information during an initial phone interview and agrees to be re-contacted for scheduled follow-up interviews

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Psychotic symptoms or severe mood disorder
  • Mental retardation, autism, dementia, delirium, catatonia, or other severe cognitive disorders
  • Severe head trauma in the past two years
  • Seizure disorder
  • Current diagnosis of alcohol dependence or drug dependence. Participants must be in remission for at least 6 months if a past diagnosis is present.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Individual Versus Group Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Partner-Violent Men study of physical assault, emotional abuse, and injury as reported by the male participant and his relationship partner
Time Frame: Three month intervals for one year after the initiation of treatment
Physical assault, emotional abuse, and injury as reported by the male participant and his relationship partner
Three month intervals for one year after the initiation of treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Collaborators

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Christopher M. Murphy, PhD, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

June 1, 2002

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2005

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2005

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 8, 2003

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 8, 2003

First Posted (Estimate)

October 9, 2003

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 1, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 30, 2017

Last Verified

October 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R21MH064562 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • DSIR AT-AS

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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