Communication Skills vs. Mindfulness for IPV

NCT ID: NCT03672942

Last Updated: 2019-04-18

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: UNKNOWN
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 50 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2019-09-15
• Study Completion Date: 2022-09-15

Brief Summary

This tests the immediate impact of two brief interventions on couples reporting intimate partner violence using the proximal change experimental design. Couples will be randomly assigned to a mindfulness conditions, a communication exercise or a placebo condition. Outcome measures include observed and experimentally assessed aggression.

Detailed Description

This pilot study is designed to test the effects of two brief interventions on communication and emotional expression between intimate partners who have experienced recent domestic violence. In addition, it will provide some basic laboratory findings on differences in distress tolerance between perpetrators and victims of domestic abuse. Specifically, using the proximal change experimental design, couples will engaged in a 7.5 minute conflict discussion while being videotaped and having their autonomic responding monitored. Then they will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a communication skills training exercise, a mindfulness condition, or a placebo control. Next, ,couples will engaged in second 7.5 minute conflict discussion. It is hypothesized that those in both the communication skills training and mindfulness condition will display more positive and less aggressive behavior in their second conflict discussion as compared to their first. It is also expected that they will administer less aggression (as measured by delivery of a loud noise) to their partner after both of the active interventions. In addition, multiple measures of distress tolerance will be administered to both partners. It is expected that couples with a characterologically violent perpetrator, he or she will evidence decreased distress tolerance and the victimized partner will evidence increased distress tolerance

Conditions

Domestic Violence; Domestic Abuse; Family Conflict; Aggression

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Communication Skills

Male and female participants will listen to a description of John Gottman's Gentle Start-up communication skills training exercise and practice the technique in the lab for approximately 8 minutes.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Communication Skills Training

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Gentle start-up is one treatment technique in the Creating Healthy Relationship Program written by John Gottman, Ph.D.

Mindfulness

Male and female participants will listen to a script about Acceptance/Willingness of unwanted emotions written by Amie Zarling and practice this technique in the lab for approximately 8 minutes.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Mindfulness

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Acceptance/willingness of unwanted emotions is treatment technique of Achieving Change through Value-Based Behavior (ACTV) written by Amie Zarling, Ph.D.

Placebo

Male and female participants will listen to music in lieu for 8 minutes.

Group Type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Placebo

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Couples randomly assigned to this condition listen to music on headphones. This may be considered an active placebo as it is similar to a Time Out technique taught in battering interventions.

Interventions

Communication Skills Training

Gentle start-up is one treatment technique in the Creating Healthy Relationship Program written by John Gottman, Ph.D.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Mindfulness

Acceptance/willingness of unwanted emotions is treatment technique of Achieving Change through Value-Based Behavior (ACTV) written by Amie Zarling, Ph.D.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Placebo

Couples randomly assigned to this condition listen to music on headphones. This may be considered an active placebo as it is similar to a Time Out technique taught in battering interventions.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

Gentle Start-up; Acceptance/Willingness of unwanted emotions; Time Out Condition

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

Adult co-habituating couples Reporting some violence in the past year (score > 0 on CTS2 physical abuse subscale)

Exclusion Criteria

Homosexual couples Children under 18 non-English speakers

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 80 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University of Houston

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Julia C. Babcock

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Julia C Babcock, Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Houston

Central Contacts

Alicia Vargas

Role: CONTACT

avargas5@central.uh.edu

713-743-9215

References

Babcock JC, Graham K, Canady B, Ross JM. A proximal change experiment testing two communication exercises with intimate partner violent men. Behav Ther. 2011 Jun;42(2):336-47. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2010.08.010. Epub 2011 Feb 24.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 21496517 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

STUDY00000975

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id