Strength At Home: Veterans' Program (PTSD-Focused Therapy for Anger and Relationship Conflict Among OEF/OIF Veterans)

August 27, 2020 updated by: Casey Taft, Boston VA Research Institute, Inc.

Strength At Home: Veterans' Program (Formerly: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)-Focused Therapy for Anger and Relationship Conflict Among Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Veterans)

This is a research study funded by the Department of Defense to test a therapeutic intervention for male combat veterans who engage in intimate partner violence (IPV). The investigators hope to decrease the recurrence of relationship aggression and help veterans manage anger. The primary aim of the study is to test the intervention.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The purpose of this project is to develop, standardize, and test an intervention for combat veterans exposed to trauma who engage in intimate partner aggression (IPA). This intervention, formerly labeled PTSD-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Partner Violence (PFCBT), and currently called the Strength at Home, Veteran's Program, incorporates components of interventions for IPA and trauma and will target mechanisms implicated in the relationship between trauma and IPA. This project addresses a number of the research gaps in this area of research including: (a) the development of a novel treatment approach to improve functioning and well-being of affected individuals; (b) tertiary prevention (of repeated IPA) during re-integration; and (c) examination of the efficacy of a program providing support for the families and caregivers of veterans with combat history.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

135

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02130
        • National Center for PTSD/VA Boston Healthcare System
    • Rhode Island
      • Providence, Rhode Island, United States, 02908
        • Providence VA Medical Center

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 to 80 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Any era veteran
  • Over the age of 18
  • In a relationship within a female partner within the last 6 months
  • At least one act of male-to-female physical aggression over the previous 6 months or at least one act of male-to-female severe violence in the past 12 months
  • Male participant must consent for partner contact

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participant evidences severe organicity or active psychosis
  • Reading difficulties prevent valid completion of the assessment instruments
  • Participant expresses prominent suicidal or homicidal ideation
  • Participant meets diagnostic criteria for alcohol and/or drug dependence, if not in early full remission or sustained partial remission

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
  • Masking: SINGLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Group
PTSD-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Partner Violence
Behavioral: PTSD-Focused CBT for Partner Violence
PTSD-Focused CBT (PFCBT) will consist of 12 2-hour weekly sessions,led by two project therapists. In each session, group members will discuss materials and do assignments to practice skills.
Other Names:
  • Strength at Home
  • Veterans Program
NO_INTERVENTION: Waitlist
Control group - no intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Intimate Partner Aggression as Measured by the Conflict Tactics Scale
Time Frame: Pretreatment (baseline), Posttreatment (12 weeks), 3 month follow up (24 weeks)
Revised Conflict Tactics Scale-2 (CTS2). The CTS2 is the most widely used measure of IPV, with excellent internal consistency reliability, content validity, and construct validity.76,88 Combined partner reports will be used such that scores of partners who report a greater frequency of specific CTS2 behaviors will be used in analyses to reduce the impact of response biases and the underreporting of abuse. The CTS2 will also be given every four weeks during the course of active intervention. Scale response options range from 0 to 7. Higher overall scores mean more conflict.
Pretreatment (baseline), Posttreatment (12 weeks), 3 month follow up (24 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Multidimensional Measure of Emotional Abuse (MMEA)
Time Frame: Pretreatment (baseline), Posttreatment (12 weeks), 3 month follow up (24 weeks)
Change of physical and psychological IPV as evidenced by reduction 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.
Pretreatment (baseline), Posttreatment (12 weeks), 3 month follow up (24 weeks)
Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder as Assessed by the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL)
Time Frame: 6 month follow-up (72 weeks)

PTSD was used as a predictor instead of an outcome measure to determine if PTSD status was associated with poorer treatment response compared to the treatment as usual group. Refer to Creech and colleagues (2017). The structured interview utilizing CAPS was used to assess the frequency and intensity of the PTSD symptoms. Response options range from 1 "Not at all" to 5 "Extremely" for a total symptom severity score range of 17-85. Higher scores indicate symptoms severity of PTSD.

Creech, S. K., Macdonald, A., Benzer, J. K., Poole, G. M., Murphy, C. M., & Taft, C. T. (2017, July 20). PTSD Symptoms Predict Outcome in Trauma-Informed Treatment of Intimate Partner Aggression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000228
6 month follow-up (72 weeks)
Relationship Satisfaction as Measured by the Dyadic Adjustment Scale
Time Frame: 6-month follow up (72 weeks)
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.
6-month follow up (72 weeks)
Trait Anger as Measured by the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) and Aggression as Measured by the Aggression Questionnaire
Time Frame: 6-month follow up (72 weeks)

57 items assessing the intensity of anger as an emotional state (State Anger) and the tendency of an individual to experience state anger, or anger proneness (Trait Anger).

The Trait Anger scale measures individual differences in the disposition to experience anger. The Anger Expression scale provides an index of the frequency of anger expression. Response options are 1 (not at all/hardly ever), 2 (somewhat/sometimes), or 3 (Very Much/Often). There are several subscales and, in general, higher scores indicate great feelings of anger, more likely to express anger, etc.
6-month follow up (72 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Boston VA Research Institute, Inc.

Collaborators

United States Department of Defense

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Casey T. Taft, PhD, VA Boston Healthcare System
  • Principal Investigator: Suzannah Creech, PhD, VA VISN 17 Center of Excellence

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

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

March 1, 2009

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

September 1, 2014

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

September 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 6, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 15, 2011

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

September 16, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

September 16, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 27, 2020

Last Verified

August 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PT073945

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.

Clinical Trials on Domestic Violence

Clinical Trials on PTSD-Focused CBT for Partner Violence

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Bahrain

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe