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ID
Source
Brief title
Health condition
Not applicable
Sponsors and support
Stichting Koningsheide P2019-532
Intervention
Outcome measures
Primary outcome
Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS-2) as a measure of frequency of intimate partner violence (measured at the start and end of the study period)
Secondary outcome
Bodily signals indicative of arousal, as measured with the Anger Bodily Signals Questionnaire (ABSQ) questionnaire (measured weekly)
Background summary
Studies on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for IPV offenders show small or no effects on recidivism. Offenders may not fully benefit from CBT, because their awareness of arousal is low, leading to high arousal overtaking them and making it difficult to control their behavior. Biofeedback can support awareness of arousal. With this purpose, we developed a smartphone application, Good Reaction Is Prevention (GRIP), that when used in conjunction with a heart rate monitor, measures heart rate variability and notifies users when a personal stress threshold is surpassed. In a randomized controlled trial (N=40) we compare a 9-week CBT-based program aimed at developing self-control where IPV offenders are treated either with GRIP-app or receive treatment as usual (TAU) without biofeedback. Primary outcome measure is the Conflict Tactics Scale-2, measuring the frequency of different types of IPV. Secondary outcome measure is the Anger Bodily Sensations Questionnaire, measuring awareness of bodily signals that occur when feeling angry. We hypothesize that the GRIP-condition leads to a greater reduction in IPV frequency as measured by the CTS-2 and to a greater awareness of bodily sensations that accompany anger, when compared with the TAU-condition.
Study objective
Primarily, we expect that the use of biofeedback will have beneficial effects on transfer to real-life situations, resulting in a decrease of intimate partner violence from pretest to posttest. Secondly, we hypothesized that biofeedback will increase awareness of bodily signals indicative of arousal. Exploratively, we aim to investigate the differences in HRV-values from pretest to posttest.
Study design
The study period is 9 weeks
Week 1: ABSQ, CTS-2, HRV
Week 2: ABSQ
Week 3: ABSQ
Week 4: ABSQ
Week 5: ABSQ
Week 6: ABSQ
Week 7: ABSQ
Week 8: ABSQ
Week 9: ABSQ, CTS-2, HRV
Intervention
TAU (n = 20) = Patients in the TAU-condition receive a standard IPV treatment protocol which all IPV offenders at the Waag receive (i.e. the Safety for Partners treatment protocol). Duration: 9 weeks.
Inclusion criteria
Male, 18+, in treatment for intimate partner violence at the Waag (an outpatient forensic treatment center), lack of self-control as a risk factor and treatment target, being in a romantic relationship and living together or seeing each other at least three times a week, being in possession of a smartphone with iOS 11.2.5 or higher, or Android 6.0 or higher
Exclusion criteria
stalking is main reason for treatment, medical or other reasons that preclude wearing a chest strap with heart rate sensor, a restraining order that prevents contact with the romantic partner, any reason that supersedes TAU, such as the need for immediate care with regard to suicidality, psychosis or imminent danger for others.
Design
Recruitment
IPD sharing statement
Plan description
scientific journal. It is our intention to share our data file with other researchers that wish to
follow up on or check up on our data set. Research results will be made available publicly
regardless of outcome. The study has been registered at ToetsingOnline, a platform for
public disclosure of scientific studies with human subjects. The results of the study will
also be presented at symposia and congresses, and when possible included in Dutch
psychology journals/magazines and education.
Followed up by the following (possibly more current) registration
Other (possibly less up-to-date) registrations in this register
No registrations found.
In other registers
| Register | ID |
|---|---|
| NTR-new | NL8886 |
| CCMO | NL69507.018.19 |
| OMON | NL-OMON49595 |