Abstract
Introduction: Evidence suggests alcohol consumption is correlated with intimate partner violence (IPV) making alcohol reduction interventions a promising method for reducing IPV. While both financial incentive and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions in high-income countries, respectively, have effectively reduced alcohol consumption and IPV perpetration among men, little evidence exists demonstrating that these approaches can work in a low-resource setting.Methods: The objective of this study is to design and pilot test a low-cost, scalable intervention for reducing alcohol consumption and IPV in Bengaluru, India, where alcohol has been shown to be a key driver of high rates of IPV. A pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) design will be used to examine the feasibility of testing a combined incentive and CBT based intervention among couples to stimulate immediate behavior change and to sustain positive behaviors pertaining to alcohol use and IPV. Sixty couples will be screened and enrolled into one of three study arms: an incentive-only, incentive plus counseling, or a control arm. Extensive procedures have been included to ensure participant safety, including staff training on global safety procedures for violence intervention research, careful messaging of study aims, screening procedures to exclude those at high risk of alcohol withdrawal or severe violence due to the study, and a referral and case management system. Male and female participants will complete surveys at baseline and immediately and 3-months post-intervention. Breathalyzers will be used to capture male participants' blood alcohol content daily for intervention arm participants and three times a week for control participants. A sub-sample of male and female members of couples will participate in qualitative in-depth interviews to further explore pathways to change. The results from this preliminary study will inform the development of a larger RCT study of male alcohol and IPV reduction.
Highlights
Evidence suggests alcohol consumption is correlated with intimate partner violence (IPV) making alcohol reduction interventions a promising method for reducing IPV
Several hypotheses may explain the association between alcohol consumption and IPV; some studies argue that the lowered inhibitions and distorted perceptions of cues resulting from alcohol intoxication may lead to increased aggression [5,6,7]
The Alcohol Myopia Model (AMM), on the other hand, posits that alcohol consumption has a myopic effect on attention, leading intoxicated individuals to focus on the most salient cues in a hostile situation, rather than subtler inhibitory cues [6]
Summary
Evidence suggests alcohol consumption is correlated with intimate partner violence (IPV) making alcohol reduction interventions a promising method for reducing IPV While both financial incentive and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions in high-income countries, respectively, have effectively reduced alcohol consumption and IPV perpetration among men, little evidence exists demonstrating that these approaches can work in a low-resource setting. Both experimental and correlational evidence indicate that alcohol consumption can increase the risk of intimate partner violence (IPV). The study found reduced daytime drinking (i.e., around the time of the breathalyzer tests), because drinking at other times increased, overall no reduction in alcohol consumption was observed
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