Coping and violence perpetration in a residential substance use disorder treatment sample.

Background: Individuals in substance use disorder treatment report high rates of violence against partners and non-partners. There is growing interest in integrated coping-oriented treatment approaches for violence and substance use concerns, yet little is known about the relationship between specific coping responses and perpetration of partner and non-partner violence. Objective: This cross-sectional study evaluated relationships between coping responses and partner and non-partner physical assault perpetration in a substance use disorder treatment sample. Methods: Participants included 343 men (76%) and women (24%) who completed self-report survey measures of coping responses, violence perpetration, and substance use as part of screening for a randomized trial. Negative binomial regression was used to examine relationships between coping strategies and partner and non-partner violence perpetration, when accounting for substance use and demographic factors. Results: About one-third of participants reported partner violence perpetration (30%) and non-partner violence perpetration (34%). Frequency of partner violence and non-partner violence were both associated with more use of avoidant and emotion-focused strategies and less use of problem-focused coping in adjusted models. Discussion: Continued research is warranted to determine whether coping-oriented interventions decrease violence among people in substance use disorder treatment.

Quasi-experimental evaluation of the impact of a cognitive behavioral pretreatment intervention for veterans seeking psychotherapy.

Pretreatment interventions have documented efficacy for reducing initial therapy refusal and early therapy departure. However, these interventions have not been well-studied in diagnostically diverse patient populations or within Veterans Affairs (VA) health care settings. We designed a manualized 4-session group cognitive-behavioral therapy-based pretreatment intervention (PTI) for a diagnostically diverse population of Veterans referred for psychotherapy in a general mental health clinic (MHC) in a large VA hospital. Retrospective record review was used to collect patient data over a period of 6 months after their completion of the PTI. A sample of 50 Veterans who were referred for care at the MHC prior to the implementation of the PTI was used for comparison (NoPTI). Two hundred sixty-six Veterans participated in the PTI. Veterans who participated in the PTI were equally as likely to attend at least one psychotherapy session as NoPTI Veterans, but had more individual and group therapy sessions during the 6-month therapy tracking period. PTI participants were also less likely to have a psychiatric hospitalization during the 6-month therapy tracking period. Study findings suggest that PTIs are a good fit to a VA general mental health setting and effective in bolstering therapy attendance. Limitations and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Physical assault victimization and coping among adults in residential substance use disorder treatment.

Many individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) have been victims of violence and individuals with SUDs often exhibit coping skills deficits. The extent to which coping skills relate to victimization is unknown. This study evaluated the relationships between physical assault victimization types (i.e., only partner victimization, only nonpartner victimization, or both partner and nonpartner victimization) and emotion-focused, problem-focused, and avoidant coping among individuals in residential SUD treatment. More frequent use of problem-focused coping was associated with reduced odds of being victimized by partners and nonpartners and more frequent use of avoidant coping was associated with increased odds of victimization across both partners and nonpartners. These results highlight the potential value of assessing violence across relationship types and bolstering adaptive coping among individuals with SUDs.