Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT00870545

Reintegration: The Role of Spouse Telephone BATTLEMIND Pilot Study

This study will expand the Department of Defense (DoD) one time, face-to-face post deployment BATTLEMIND training for spouses of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Guard/Reserve service members into year-long, telephone groups focusing on education, skills building and support. The goal is to build spouses' resilience to cope with reintegration, help them serve as a support system for returning service members, and ease the transition for families post-deployment.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Military Spouses Combat Disorders Mental Disorders Stress Disorders Stress Disorders, Traumatic Support Groups Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Memphis VA Medical Center

Memphis, Tennessee, 38104, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • have a spouse who participated in OEF/OIF and is at least 1 month post-deployment;
  • if not married, must have lived as married for at least one year;
  • live with the service member when not deployed;
  • have been a spouse/significant other throughout the service member's deployment period;
  • and have a telephone.

Exclusion criteria

  • current diagnosis of schizophrenia or other major mental illness;
  • auditory impairment that would make telephone use difficult; or
  • service member refusal of assent for spouse to participate.

Treatment and study plan

Telephone support groups

Behavioral

There was one intervention. Participants were enrolled in one of 14 telephone groups (each with a trained Group Leader and 6 participants) will focus on education, training in and practice of coping skills and cognitive restructuring (identifying and re-shaping negative and destructive thoughts), and support through 12 hour-long structured sessions. The content, modeled on Soldier BATTLEMIND, targets readjustment concepts based on the letters of BATTLEMIND, including Bonds, Adding and subtracting family roles, Taking control, Talking it out, Loyalty and commitment, Emotional balance, Mental health and readiness, Independence and interdependence, Navigating the system, Denial of self and a concluding session entitled Moving forward.

Primary outcomes

  1. Spouse Self-report of Depression

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 months, and 12 months

    Depression measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 at baseline, six and 12 months. Scores range from 0-27 with lower scores indicating less depressive symptoms.

  2. Anxiety

    Time frame: baseline, 6 months and 12 months

    Anxiety measured with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder -7 (GAD-7)measured at baseline, six and 12 months. Scores range from 0-21, with lower scores indicating fewer anxiety symptoms.

  3. Quality of Marriage

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 and 12 months

    Measure of marriage quality using Quality Marriage Index at baseline, six and 12 months. Scores range from 6-45 with higher scores indicating better quality of marriage.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Family Coping

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 months and 12 months

    Family problem solving measured at baseline, six and 12 months with the F-COPES measure. Scores range from 29-145 with higher scores indicating better coping.

  2. Spouse Social Support

    Time frame: baseline, 6 months, and 12 months

    Support measured with the Social Support Index at baseline, six and 12 months. Scores range from 0-68 with higher scores indicating better social support.

  3. Family Communication

    Time frame: baseline, 6 months, and 12 months

    Family communication measured with the Family Problem Solving Communication scale at baseline, six and 12 months. Scores range from 0-30 with higher scores indicating better communication.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Memphis VA Medical Center

Fed

Collaborators

  • United States Department of Defense

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2009
Primary completion
2011
Study completion
2011
First posted
Mar 27, 2009
Registry last updated
Jun 28, 2017

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.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.