NCT05287711

Adjunctive Motivational Alcohol Intervention to Prevent IPV

Adjunctive Motivational Alcohol Intervention to Prevent Intimate Partner Violence

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 300 (estimated)
• Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development · Federal
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This is a study to provide much-needed experimental data on the efficacy of a brief alcohol Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) pre-group intervention for Veterans receiving group treatment for IPV perpetration. The investigators will compare those assigned to receive this 2-session MET intervention to those receiving a 2-session Alcohol Education (AE) intervention or a 2-session standard treatment as usual (TAU) telephone monitoring intervention. The investigators will examine whether MET leads to greater reductions in alcohol use problems and IPV perpetration, and increased help-seeking behavior for alcohol use problems. Participants will be 300 Veterans drawn from the Strength at Home IPV intervention program across the entire Veterans Health Administration system.

Detailed description

Veterans exposed to trauma are at elevated risk for perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) and for the development of alcohol-related problems. Despite commonly found associations between alcohol misuse and IPV, the investigators are aware of no prior research in Veterans examining the impact of adjunctive alcohol interventions for those receiving IPV intervention. The investigators propose to provide much-needed experimental data on the efficacy of a brief 2-session alcohol Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) pre-group intervention for Veterans receiving group treatment for IPV perpetration. More specifically, the investigators propose to examine whether those assigned to receive this 2-session MET intervention, relative to those receiving a 2-session Alcohol Education (AE) intervention or a 2-session standard treatment as usual (TAU) telephone monitoring intervention, evidence greater reductions in alcohol use problems and IPV perpetration, and increased help-seeking behavior for alcohol use problems. Participants will be 300 Veterans drawn from the Strength at Home IPV intervention program across the entire Veterans Health Administration system. Participants will be randomized to their pre-group conditions and then assigned to Strength at Home groups for IPV, and will receive referrals for substance use treatment in the VA system or the community. Participants with clinically relevant alcohol use problems, as determined by baseline screening measures, will complete assessments of alcohol use, readiness to change, IPV and help-seeking behavior at baseline, post IPV intervention group (3 months after completion of 2-session alcohol intervention), and four separate 3-month follow-ups after the post-treatment assessment. Differences between conditions on the major outcome variables involving alcohol use, IPV, help-seeking, and treatment engagement will be examined with random-effects regression models using an intent-to-treat approach. Study findings may assist in enhancing the efficacy of IPV interventions for the Veteran population to help ensure the safety and well-being of Veterans and their families.

Conditions

• Alcohol Use and Intimate Partner Violence

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Motivational Enhancement Therapy	In Session 1, the therapist provides personalized feedback on a range of assessment variables, including alcohol consumption levels, negative consequences from alcohol use, and family risk of alcoholism. Sessions 2-4 are follow-through sessions in which the therapist attempts to help the Veteran participant establish or reaffirm a commitment to an action plan for addressing alcohol concerns.
BEHAVIORAL	Alcohol Education Control	Will consist of 4 weekly individual sessions, approximately 60 minutes each. AE therapists will explain that their job is to provide the Veteran participants with information and education about the effects of alcohol, and that it is up to the Veteran participant to use this information as he sees fit. In each session, the Veteran participant will watch an educational videotape in a comfortable consulting room and will be given an opportunity to discuss the videotape with the project therapist for approximately 10 minutes. Written educational materials will supplement the information provided in the videos, and the therapist will ask several structured questions to determine whether the Veteran participant understood the material presented in the video.
BEHAVIORAL	Treatment as Usual	Supportive telephone monitoring sessions that ensure equal spacing between assessments across conditions and equal number of therapist contacts.
BEHAVIORAL	Strength at Home	IPV intervention which consists of 12 weekly, 2-hour cognitive-behavioral sessions offered in a closed group format and co-led by doctoral level male and female therapists. Strength at Home is based on a social information processing model of trauma and IPV and provides material covering psychoeducation regarding trauma and IPV, conflict and anger management skills, assertiveness training, and skills in stress management and communication.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-09-01
• Primary completion: 2028-09-30
• Completion: 2028-09-30
• First posted: 2022-03-18
• Last updated: 2025-11-20

Locations

3 sites across 1 country: United States