https://aub.ie/MilitaryREACH-Taft2024

Taft, C. T., Rothman, E. F., Gallagher, M. W., Hamilton, E. G., Garza, A., & Creech, S. K. (2024). Examining strength at home couples to prevent intimate partner violence on a military installation: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 92(4), 202–212. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000863

Strength at Home Couples (SAH-C) is a group intervention designed to prevent and reduce intimate partner violence (IPV) among military couples. This randomized controlled trial examined whether participants in the SAH-C and the support group control conditions reported reduced IPV (i.e., physical, psychological, sexual, and coercive control) or suicidality immediately postintervention and 3 months later. 71 couples were randomly assigned to the SAH-C intervention, and 67 couples were assigned to the control. In general, Service members and partners in both groups reported decreases in psychological IPV and coercive control.

https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000863

Mental health
Physical health
Deployment
Other

Army

Guard
Reserve

Guard/Reserve member

Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)

Quantitative Study

Taft, Casey T., Rothman, Emily F., Gallagher, Matthew W., Hamilton, Evelyn G., Garza, Anissa, Creech, Suzannah K.

Objectives: In this study, the effectiveness of a couples-based group intervention to prevent intimate partner violence (IPV), Strength at Home Couples (SAH-C), was examined on a military installation relative to a comparison intervention, Supportive Prevention (SP). It was expected that greater reductions in use of physical, psychological, and sexual IPV behaviors, as well as reduced suicidality, would be found among service members and their partners in SAH-C relative to SP. Method: Participants included 138 couples randomized to SAH-C and SP through a clinical controlled trial embedded in a hybrid effectiveness implementation study which took place on a military installation. The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales and Multidimensional Measure of Emotional Abuse were used to measure IPV, and 13 Military Suicide Research Consortium common data elements were used to assess suicidality. Results: Service members randomized to SAH-C evidenced greater reductions based on effect sizes across the assessment time points for all IPV variables, including use of overall physical IPV, severe physical IPV, sexual IPV, psychological IPV, and coercive control IPV relative to those randomized to SP. Partners of service members demonstrated a similar general pattern for reductions in use of IPV, but findings were not as robust as for service members. Both service members and partners demonstrated greater reductions in suicidality based on effect sizes when randomized to SAH-C relative to SP. Conclusions: Findings extend prior work demonstrating the promising effects of SAH-C delivered in the military context and highlight the possible benefits of SAH-C in preventing self-harm thoughts and behaviors.

Article
REACH Publication

military, deployment, healthcare experiences, healthcare attitudes, healthcare preferences

https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2024-43297-001.html

Research Summary

  April 2024