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NCT Number: NCT06526247

Evaluating Interventions for Intimate Partner Violence Use in Washington State

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.

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Key information

Conditions

Intimate Partner Violence Alcohol Drinking Behavior Drinking Behavior Mental Disorders Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders, Traumatic Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

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

Exclusion criteria

  • 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

Treatment and study plan

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.

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.

Primary outcomes

  1. IPV assessment

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months. 9 months, 12 months

    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.

  2. Psychological IPV assessment

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months. 9 months, 12 months

    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.

  3. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months. 9 months, 12 months

    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.

  4. Alcohol use

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months. 9 months, 12 months

    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.

  5. Alexithymia assessment

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months. 9 months, 12 months

    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.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Treatment Satisfaction

    Time frame: 3 months, 6 months. 9 months, 12 months

    Participants' satisfaction will be assessed with a 4-item measure used in a study conducted by the Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Casey Taft, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

978-380-0576

Samuel Frank, BA

CONTACT

[email protected]

617-353-4123

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Boston University

Other

Collaborators

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

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Jul 29, 2024
Registry last updated
Jun 23, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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