This study is testing a program called Get Better Together, a relationship education program designed to help military couples effectively navigate life stressors as a team. The goal is to find out if attending Get Better Together improves mental health and relationship skills, and reduces problems like alcohol misuse, aggression, and suicide risk. Couples who join the study will be randomly placed into one of two groups. One group will attend Get Better Together at a weekend retreat. The other group will continue their usual activities and later receive access to an online relationship education program. All participants will complete surveys before the retreat and again 2, 4, and 6 months later.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
1,000
Get Better Together is a couple-based, primary prevention program designed to reduce risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors, problematic alcohol use, and intimate partner violence by addressing two transdiagnostic drivers: emotion dysregulation and relationship conflict. The intervention is an adaptation of the empirically supported Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP), modified in collaboration with military stakeholders to meet the unique cultural and contextual needs of military couples. The GBT curriculum includes approximately 10 hours of structured content presented using didactic instruction, video demonstrations, group discussions, and guided couple exercises. Skills focus on interpersonal emotion regulation (e.g., emotion identification, acceptance, reappraisal, and problem solving) and evidence-based communication strategies (e.g., structured communication strategies, conflict de-escalation).
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Bethesda, Maryland, United States
RECRUITINGSuicide Cognitions
Assessed using the Suicide Cognition Scale-Revised (SCS-R), a 16-item validated self-report measure capturing cognitive risk factors for suicidal behavior. Scores range from 0 to 64, with higher scores reflect greater risk.
Time frame: Baseline, 2-month, 4-month, and 6-month follow-up
Alcohol Misuse
Measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C), a 3-item measure designed to identify hazardous drinking. Scores range from 0 to 12, with higher scores reflect greater likelihood of drinking affecting one's health and safety.
Time frame: Baseline, 2-month, 4-month, and 6-month follow-up
Intimate Partner Violence
Measured using the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale-Short Form (CTS2S), a 20-item measure assessing multiple types of relationship abuse. Dichotomous scores will indicate the presence of any form of abuse. Dichotomous subscale scores will indicate the presence of assault, injury, psychological aggression, or sexual coercion.
Time frame: Baseline, 2-month, 4-month, and 6-month follow-up
Emotion Dysregulation
Measured using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - 18 Item (DERS-18), which assesses six dimensions of emotion dysregulation: awareness, clarity, nonacceptance, impulse, goals, and strategies. Total scores range from 18 to 90, with higher scores indicating more severe difficulties regulating one's emotions.
Time frame: Baseline, 2-month, 4-month, and 6-month follow-up
Relationship Conflict
Evaluated using the Ineffective Arguing Inventory (IAI), an 8-item scale measuring perceived patterns of unresolved conflict and communication breakdown in romantic relationships. Total scores range from 8 to 40, with higher scores indicating a higher degree of ineffective communication.
Time frame: Baseline, 2-month, 4-month, and 6-month follow-up
Interpersonal Emotion Regulation with Romantic Partner
Measured using the Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI), an 37-item self-report measure assessing how couples communicate stress and cope together (supportive, delegated, negative, and joint coping). Total scores range from 37 to 185, with higher scores indicated higher levels of dyadic coping.
Time frame: Baseline, 2-month, 4-month, and 6-month follow-up
Relationship Functioning
Assessed using the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS), a 14-item self-report measure evaluating relationship functioning across three domains: Dyadic Consensus, Dyadic Satisfaction, and Dyadic Cohesion. Items assess agreement on relationship issues, frequency of shared activities, and satisfaction with the relationship. Total scores range from 0 to 69, with higher scores indicating greater relationship satisfaction.
Time frame: Baseline, 2-month, 4-month, and 6-month follow-up
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