NCJ Number
215852
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 21 Issue: 5 Dated: October 2006 Pages: 657-672
Date Published
October 2006
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study examined the feasibility, safety, and short-term preliminary effects of a relapse prevention and relationship safety (RPRS) intervention in reducing drug use and the experience of intimate partner violence (IPV) among women on methadone.
Abstract
Study results indicate that relapse prevention and relationship safety (RPRS) intervention participants were more likely than informational control (IC) participants to report a decrease in minor physical or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV), minor psychological, and severe psychological IPV. The data suggests that RPRS participants were more likely than IC participants to report a decrease in any drug use. The study provided preliminary evidence that the RPRS intervention was effective in reducing IPV and drug use among women on methadone. Intimate partner violence has been identified as a significant public health problem among women in drug treatment. This study, conducted between 2003 and 2004 with 40 women, sought to address the problem of IPV and improve treatment outcomes among abused, drug-involved women. It examined the feasibility and preliminary short-term effects of a 12-session group-based RPRS intervention among drug-involved, abused women in methadone maintenance treatment programs (MMTPs). The aim of the study was to assess the feasibility and safety of conducting the RPRS intervention with drug-involved, abused women in MMTPs and to examine the preliminary estimates of the short-term effects of the RPRS versus a one-session informational control (IC) condition on reducing IPV and substance use. The study also examined the preliminary estimates of the effects of the RPRS versus the IC condition on decreasing the level of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and decreasing sexual HIV risk behaviors. Tables, references