Comparing a Fatherhood Focused Individual Intervention to Batterer Intervention to Reduce IPV and Child Maltreatment

NCT ID: NCT04165291

Last Updated: 2024-04-04

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 60 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2020-09-01
• Study Completion Date: 2023-08-30

Brief Summary

This randomized trial will test a newly developed intervention aimed at fathers who have a history of family violence compared to a standard batterer intervention program.

Detailed Description

This study will expand on Fathers for Change (F4C), a novel intervention for fathers with histories of perpetrating intimate partner violence (IPV). F4C is designed to meet a significant unmet intervention need for fathers who have a history of family violence who are not helped by currently available batterer intervention programs (BIPs). BIPs that are currently available nationally have shown limited efficacy with high rates of repeat violence.

This project will provide needed data to further develop F4C and move to a Stage II efficacy trial by: 1) revising the BIP group intervention manual to be delivered in an individual treatment format; 2) develop a fidelity measure for F4C and the BIP; 4) conduct a stage 1b randomized trial (consistent with the stage model of intervention development) to show initial feasibility, acceptability and intervention signal with the targeted population.

Sixty fathers with a history of IPV who have already failed a treatment as usual group BIP will be randomly assigned to F4C or an individually delivered comparable dose of BIP. Reflective functioning and emotion regulation will be examined as the mechanisms through which Fathers for Change reduces IPV and child maltreatment risk behaviors.

Conditions

Intimate Partner Violence

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: DOUBLE

Study Groups

F4C

Participants randomized to the Fathers for Change (F4C) program.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

F4C

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Fathers for Change (F4C) focuses on: 1) the fathering role to facilitate engagement, 2) RF to understand self, partner and children and emotion regulation skills to reduce IPV and child maltreatment. F4C focuses on understanding of emotional experiences, how they impact thinking and behaviors related to partners, co-parents and children. F4C clients will meet individually with their F4C therapist for 50 minutes per week over 16 weeks.

BIP

Participants randomized to the Batterer Intervention Program (BIP).

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

BIP

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The Batterer Intervention Program (BIP) is a psychoeducational intervention that will be delivered in 50- minute individual weekly sessions over 16 weeks. The intervention focuses on the impact of violence on victims, power and control tactics, and societal influences supporting men's violence toward women. The intervention includes didactics and experiential exercises including role plays to teach anger management skills.

Interventions

F4C

Fathers for Change (F4C) focuses on: 1) the fathering role to facilitate engagement, 2) RF to understand self, partner and children and emotion regulation skills to reduce IPV and child maltreatment. F4C focuses on understanding of emotional experiences, how they impact thinking and behaviors related to partners, co-parents and children. F4C clients will meet individually with their F4C therapist for 50 minutes per week over 16 weeks.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

BIP

The Batterer Intervention Program (BIP) is a psychoeducational intervention that will be delivered in 50- minute individual weekly sessions over 16 weeks. The intervention focuses on the impact of violence on victims, power and control tactics, and societal influences supporting men's violence toward women. The intervention includes didactics and experiential exercises including role plays to teach anger management skills.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• A reported an incident of IPV (pushing, slapping, kicking) within the last 12 months prior to screening (based on court/police records, partner or self- report);
• have at least one biological child aged 6 months to 7 years with whom they have contact in person or by phone/facetime etc. at least monthly;
• are able to complete assessments in English;
• agree to have their female coparents (mother of the youngest child) contacted as collateral informants and for consent for participation of their shared child.

Exclusion Criteria

• Men who have an active full/no contact protective order pertaining to their child since this will preclude participation in the father-child play assessment (many men will have full no-contact orders with their partners, but it is more common for men to still be allowed at least supervised contact with their children even with a full/no contact order with their partner);
• physiological addiction to a substance that requires detoxification. Fathers will be evaluated using the Addiction Severity Index and urine toxicology screens. If fathers report difficulties with physiological withdrawal from substances (e.g. delirium tremens, shaking, nausea) they will be referred for detox services. They can be re-evaluated following a detox program with documentation from the detox center of successful completion and clean urine screen.;
• anyone with a cognitive impairment that will not allow for understanding of the study interventions (a mini mental state score <25);
• anyone with a current untreated psychotic disorder;
• anyone currently suicidal or homicidal based on screening using the BSI.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: MALE
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Yale University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Carla Stover, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Associate Professor at the Yale University School of Medicine Child Study Center

Locations

Carla Stover

Hamden, Connecticut, United States

Countries

United States

Provided Documents

Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Other Identifiers

1R21HD099318-01A1

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

2000026789

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id