The Impact of Depressive Symptoms on Response to Integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Substance Use Disorders and Intimate Partner Violence.

Purpose: Past studies demonstrated the efficacy of integrated cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for substance use disorder (SUD) and intimate partner violence (IPV) as well as high rates of depressive symptoms in this population. However, little is known about how depressive symptoms impact treatment outcomes. We hypothesized that integrated CBT, but not standard drug counseling (DC), would buffer the negative effects of depressive symptoms on treatment response.

A meta-analytic review of the relationship between cyber aggression and substance use.

Background: Prior research has demonstrated that various substances of abuse play a contributing role to acts of physical and verbal aggression. It is less clear if and to what extent substance use is associated with an increased risk in perpetrating cyber aggression, an emerging form of aggressive behavior that occurs through digital communication.

Methods: A comprehensive review of the literature resulted in 15 studies and 18 unique samples from which effect size estimates were calculated.

Online Crowdsourcing as a Quasi-Experimental Method for Collecting Data on the Perpetration of Alcohol-Related Partner Aggression.

Cross-sectional survey, prospective, and experimental data have been evaluated to better understand the role of alcohol as a contributing cause of intimate partner aggression. Laboratory-based alcohol administration studies provide controlled data regarding causality, but the use of this methodology lacks ecological validity and has been hampered by rigorous procedural and financial demands. Online crowdsourcing is an emerging pseudoexperimental methodology with low costs, rapid data collection, access to diverse populations, greater ecological validity, and the potential to facilitate prolific research to supplement the chronic scarcity of experimental data.

Provocation and target gender as moderators of the relationship between acute alcohol use and female perpetrated aggression.

Acute alcohol use appears to exert a small but significant effect on female perpetrated aggression in the laboratory but there has been no effort to evaluate comprehensively the situational moderators of this relationship. This preliminary review was intended to explore the moderating effects of provocation and target gender on alcohol-related aggression among females in this understudied area of research. Moderator analyses were conducted on 14 studies.

Problematic alcohol use as a risk factor for cyber aggression within romantic relationships.

Background And Objectives: Cyber aggression has emerged as a modern form of intimate partner violence which has yet to undergo sufficient research necessary to identify risk factors that may increase the likelihood or severity of cyber aggressive behavior toward a relationship partner. Prior research offers contradictory findings pertaining to the relationship between problematic alcohol use and cyber aggression.

Methods: We recruited 100 (40 female) adult participants through online crowdsourcing to complete a series of questionnaires assessing traditional partner violence, cyber aggression, and problematic alcohol use.

A Randomized Controlled Trial Assessing the Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Substance-Dependent Domestic Violence Offenders: An Integrated Substance Abuse-Domestic Violence Treatment Approach (SADV).

The current study evaluates a therapy for substance-dependent perpetrators of partner violence. Sixty-three males arrested for partner violence within the past year were randomized to a cognitive behavioral substance abuse-domestic violence (SADV; n = 29) or a drug counseling (DC; n = 34) condition. Seventy percent of offenders completed eight core sessions with no differences between SADV and DC conditions in the amount of substance or aggression at pretreatment.

Integrated treatment options for male perpetrators of intimate partner violence.

Issues: Male-to-female intimate partner violence remains a worldwide public health issue with adverse physical and psychological consequences for victims, perpetrators and children. Personality disorders, addiction, trauma and mood symptoms are established risk factors for intimate partner violence perpetration and factor prominently into a recovery-oriented treatment approach.

Approach: We reviewed the partner violence literature for detailed reports of traditional as well as innovative, integrated treatment approaches.

The proximal effects of acute alcohol use on female aggression: A meta-analytic review of the experimental literature.

Experimental research on alcohol-related aggression has focused largely upon male participants, providing only a limited understanding of the proximal effects of acute alcohol use on aggression among females extrapolated from the male literature. The current meta-analysis was undertaken to summarize the effects of alcohol, compared to placebo or no alcohol, on female aggression as observed across experimental investigations. A review of the literature yielded 11 articles and 12 effect sizes for further analysis.

Interventions to reduce intimate partner violence perpetration among people with substance use disorders.

The social and economic cost of intimate partner violence (IPV) is exorbitant and highlights the need for policy reform as it pertains to IPV interventions at a global level. There are multiple variables associated with the aetiology of IPV and, hence, multiple treatment needs must be considered. Substance use is one of several factors likely to influence the occurrence of IPV, but often goes unaddressed in standard treatment approaches.

Comorbid substance use diagnoses and partner violence among offenders receiving pharmacotherapy for opioid dependence.

While previous studies find mixed evidence of an association between opioid use and intimate partner violence perpetration among community samples, initial evidence has detected increased rates of partner violence among individuals receiving pharmacological intervention for opioid dependence. The current study evaluated the role of current comorbid substance use diagnoses, a robust risk factor for violent behavior, on the likelihood of perpetrating partner violence among a high risk sample of offenders receiving pharmacological intervention for opioid dependence. The authors analyzed self-report data provided by 81 (55 male) opioid dependent offenders during a court-ordered substance use interview.

Physical Health Conditions and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration Among Offenders With Alcohol Use Diagnoses.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent among samples with diagnosed alcohol use disorders (AUDs), but few studies have evaluated the factors that account for this increased risk, and none have systematically evaluated the risk posed by comorbid physical health conditions. The present study evaluated the likelihood of perpetrating IPV among alcohol diagnosed offenders with medical health problems relative to healthy counterparts. Physical health and partner violence data provided by 655 criminal offenders with AUDs diagnosed during a court-ordered substance abuse evaluation were examined.

The occurrence of female-to-male partner violence among male intimate partner violence offenders mandated to treatment: a brief research report.

Little is known about the perceived perpetration of female-to-male intimate partner violence by victims of male offenders mandated to treatment. Sixty-eight male perpetrators of partner violence completed measures of dyadic violent and aggressive responding at intake and at a 12-week follow-up. Approximately 20% of male offenders reported partner violence perpetration and 30% reported victimization with bidirectional violence as the most common configuration of couple violence.

Substance Use Disorders and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration among Male and Female Offenders.

Objective: The current investigation sought to examine the direct associations and interactions among individual and concurrent alcohol, cocaine, cannabis, and opioid use diagnoses with the perpetration of intimate partner violence as well as to assess gender differences across these associations within a large forensic sample of male and female offenders.

Method: Participants (1,290 male and 294 female) completed a court-mandated substance abuse evaluation during which they completed a clinical interview, either endorsing or denying recent physical partner violence perpetration. Specific substance use disorders were diagnosed based primarily upon responses to the clinical interview and were used to predict partner violence perpetration using logistic regression.

Legal factors associated with change in alcohol use and partner violence among offenders.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive social concern that may be exacerbated by high rates of alcohol dependence among perpetrators. Society has attempted to combat IPV through various legal interventions, but the effects of specific legal factors on behavioral change and treatment compliance remain largely unexamined. The primary focus of the current study was to comprehensively evaluate the impact of various legal factors (i.

Risk factors of violence during a 4-week period in a psychiatric outpatient population.

The clinical impact of structured risk assessment instruments has been limited by a lack of information regarding a) their short-term accuracy and b) the relationship between change as measured by the instrument and a change in the risk for harm. Data were collected every 4 weeks on a) variables designed to resemble the items of a structured risk assessment instrument, b) substance use, c) social circumstances and mental state, and d) violent behavior. Scores on the variables designed to resemble the items of a risk assessment instrument were associated with violence during the ensuing 4 weeks.

Treatment of co-occurring alcohol dependence and perpetration of intimate partner violence: the role of anger expression.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the role of high self-reported anger on violence and substance use across treatment. Seventy-three, alcohol-dependent males, with a domestic violence arrest within the past year, completed baseline anger measures and engaged in a 12 week cognitive behavioral therapy or 12 step facilitation group. Monthly assessments of substance use and violence were completed.

Axis I psychopathology and the perpetration of intimate partner violence.

Objectives: Initial evidence suggests that individuals with specific psychiatric conditions may perpetrate intimate partner violence (IPV) at greater frequency than nondiagnosed comparison samples. The present investigation examined the relationship between IPV and specific clinical diagnoses.

Method: The current investigation utilized data provided by 190 (34% female) adult offenders during court-mandated substance use evaluations to investigate the incidence of past-year IPV among samples of dually diagnosed (bipolar, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]) clients relative to 3 comparison samples matched on substance use and sociodemographic variables.

The association between phencyclidine use and partner violence: an initial examination.

The association between phencyclidine (PCP) use and violent behavior is unclear. The current investigation evaluated the association between PCP addiction and intimate partner violence, a specific violent behavior, using the substance abuse evaluations of 109 PCP, 81 cannabis, and 97 polysubstance (alcohol and cannabis) abusing offenders. Relative to both comparison groups, PCP users were more likely to receive inpatient referrals, have a significant legal history, and have perpetrated past-year general and intimate partner violence.

Relationship status acceptance, alcohol use, and the perpetration of verbal aggression among males mandated to treatment for intimate partner violence.

Forty substance using, male offenders of intimate partner violence completed measures of alcohol use and relationship status acceptance during a pretreatment screening session. They also completed a measure of verbal aggression after each month of a 12-week intervention program. Treatment length, heavy episodic drinking, and relationship status acceptance were used to assess the frequency of verbal aggression at each of the four assessment periods in a repeated measures ANCOVA.

Parenting of men with co-occurring intimate partner violence and substance abuse.

No studies to date have compared parenting behaviors of men with co-occurring intimate partner violence (IPV) and substance abuse (SA) with community controls. This study was designed to document mediators of differences in parenting behavior of fathers and the emotional-behavioral problems of their children for men with co-occurring SA and IPV. The self-reported parenting (negative, positive and coparenting behaviors) and the child emotional-behavioral problems of 43 fathers with children aged 2 to 6 years with a recent history of SA + IPV were compared to a sample of 43 community control fathers with the same socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.

Sub-Clinical Trauma in the Treatment of Partner Violent Offenders with Substance Dependence.

Purpose: With an established association between PTSD and the perpetration of intimate partner violence, evaluating the effectiveness of emerging integrated treatments for dual substance use and partner violent behavior on individuals with a significant trauma history may serve to improve treatment outcomes for clients with axis I psychopathology. This paper examined the association between sub-clinical trauma, treatment compliance, and recidivism in a sample of male, substance dependent intimate partner violence offenders.

Design/methodology/approach: The described investigation utilized violence perpetration, substance use, and trauma data collected during a larger, randomized control treatment evaluation study.

Informed Consent: An Ethical Issue in Conducting Research with Male Partner Violent Offenders.

Ethical codes help guide the methods of research that involve samples gathered from "at-risk" populations. The current paper reviews general as well as specific ethical principles related to gathering informed consent from partner violent offenders mandated to outpatient treatment, a group that may be at increased risk of unintentional coercion in behavioral sciences research due to court-mandates that require outpatient treatment without the ethical protections imbued upon prison populations. Recommendations are advanced to improve the process of informed consent within this special population and data supporting the utility of the recommendations in a sample 70 partner violent offenders are provided.

Combining cognitive behavioral therapy and contingency management to enhance their effects in treating cannabis dependence: less can be more, more or less.

Aims: To evaluate reciprocal enhancement (combining treatments to offset their relative weaknesses) as a strategy to improve cannabis treatment outcomes. Contingency management (CM) with reinforcement for homework completion and session attendance was used as a strategy to enhance cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) via greater exposure to skills training; CBT was used as a strategy to enhance durability of CM with rewards for abstinence.

Setting: Community-based out-patient treatment program in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Fathers entering substance abuse treatment: An examination of substance abuse, trauma symptoms and parenting behaviors.

Objective: The relationship between fatherhood and both psychiatric distress and severity of substance abuse (SA) among men entering SA treatment has not been well explored. This study was designed to (a) examine differences in symptoms of men presenting for SA assessment based on fatherhood status and (b) determine how posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and severity of SA were associated with parenting for men who were fathers.

Methods: PTSD symptoms, severity of SA, and parenting data reported on structured questionnaires were collected from 126 men presenting for an SA evaluation at a forensic drug diversion clinic.

Differences in treatment outcome among marijuana-dependent young adults with and without antisocial personality disorder.

Background: Few studies have addressed comorbid antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and marijuana dependence in young adults, and results from previous studies are inconsistent.

Objectives: This study evaluated differences in pretreatment characteristics and treatment outcomes between marijuana-dependent young adults with and without ASPD.

Methods: Data for this study were derived from a randomized trial, in which marijuana-dependent young adults (n = 136) between 18 and 25 years of age were randomized to four behavioral conditions: (1) MET/CBT with CM, (2) MET/CBT without CM, (3) DC with CM, and (4) DC without CM.