PTSD-Focused Relationship Enhancement Therapy for Returning Veterans & their Part

描述（由申请人提供）：通过题为“预防亲密伴侣暴力的家庭和二元重点干预措施”（U49）的RFA请求五年的支持。 拟议项目的目的是为已婚或有伴侣的“持久自由行动”/“伊拉克自由行动”退伍军人制定和测试一个以夫妻为基础的关系增强小组干预措施，以防止实施亲密伴侣侵犯行为。 这项干预措施将纳入创伤后应激障碍和IPA的几项干预措施的组成部分，并将针对创伤后应激障碍-IPA关联中涉及的机制。 这种干预方法被称为PTSD焦点关系增强疗法（PF-RET）。 受试者将被随机分配接受PFRET支持治疗（ST），均采用联合组形式，并将在干预后随访12个月。 与预防心理健康问题的建议（Mrazek & Haggerty，1994年），干预措施将针对与IPA（近端靶点）发展有关的经病理学支持的风险因素，以预防IPA（远端靶点）。 具体而言，PF-RET的近端目标包括PTSD症状、愤怒、社会问题解决技能、愤怒相关的认知扭曲、关系满意度、普遍攻击性以及与关系中权力相关的冲突。 干预的远端目标包括减少亲密伴侣的身体攻击和心理攻击的发生率和频率。 参与者将由400对夫妇组成，这些夫妇由于患有PTSD的夫妇中存在男性以及高水平的婚姻困扰而面临IPA发展的风险。 然而，根据二级预防方法（国家心理健康咨询理事会心理健康工作组）， 疾病预防研究，1998年），参与者将根据IPA的历史被排除在外。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Five years of support are requested through the RFA entitled Family and Dyadic Focused Interventions to Prevent Intimate Partner Violence (U49). The purpose of the proposed project is to develop and test a couples based relationship enhancement group intervention for married or partnered Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) / Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans to prevent the perpetration of intimate partner aggression (IPA). This intervention will incorporate components of several interventions for PTSD and IPA and will target mechanisms implicated in the PTSD-IPA association. The intervention approach has been labeled PTSD Focused Relationship Enhancement Therapy (PF-RET). Participants will be randomly assigned to receive PFRET for supportive therapy (ST), both in a conjoint group format, and will be followed for 12 months post-intervention. Consistent with recommendations for the prevention of mental health problems (Mrazek & Haggerty, 1994), the intervention will target empirically-supported risk factors implicated in the development of IPA (proximal targets) to prevent IPA (distal targets). Specifically, the proximal targets of PF-RET include PTSD symptoms, anger, social problem solving skills, anger-related cognitive distortions, relationship satisfaction, generalized aggression, and conflicts related to power in relationships. The distal targets of the intervention include reduced incidence and frequency of intimate partner physical assault and psychological aggression. Participants will consist of 400 couples that are at risk for the development of IPA due to the presence of a male in the couple with PTSD, as well as high levels of marital distress. However, consistent with a secondary prevention approach (National Advisory Mental Health Council Workgroup on Mental Disorders Prevention Research, 1998), participants will be excluded on the basis of histories of IPA.