Examining Strength at Home Couples to Prevent Intimate Partner Violence on a Military Installation: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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. What is the public health significance of this article? This study describes how the SAH-C intervention may serve to prevent aggression toward one 's partner and oneself in military couples.