While there have been efforts to develop programming to prevent sexual assault among non-intimate partners, this study addresses a need to examine prevention approaches for sexual aggression and coercion among those in intimate relationships. The current study aims to conduct an analysis of data collected from a soon-to-be-completed parent study to determine the efficacy of Strength at Home-Couples (SAH-C), a couples-based intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention intervention, in preventing intimate partner sexual aggression in 140 military couples at Joint-Base Lewis-McChord. The overarching expectation is that relative to a Supportive Prevention intervention, SAH-C will be associated with greater decreases in sexual aggression perpetration by both Service members and their relationship partners at post-treatment and 3-month follow-up. Given associations between sexual aggression and other forms of IPV with suicidal ideation and behavior, and since SAH-C targets risk factors for these problems, this study will also examine suicide-related outcomes in secondary analyses. Given the repercussions of sexual aggression and suicidal ideation and behavior in military couples, identifying effective prevention interventions that may impact these problems takes on considerable importance. This proposal aims to make use of already collected Department of Defense data via an add-on study to answer these important research questions in a cost-effective manner. |
