Predictors of veteran attendance in an intimate partner violence intervention.

Abstract

This study examined session attendance data from 2,754 veterans who participated in a national implementation of a trauma-informed intimate partner violence intervention, Strength at Home, across the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Potential correlates of attendance were demographic characteristics, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity, alcohol use, court involvement, current military involvement, and intervention modality (in-person vs. virtual). Given the trauma-informed nature of the intervention, it was expected that trauma-relevant risk factors, specifically PTSD symptom severity and racial minority status, would be less strongly associated with attendance than barriers related to other demographic variables and higher alcohol use, intervention modality, and court involvement. Results indicated that age, education level, employment status, retirement status, PTSD symptom severity, alcohol use, and court involvement were associated with session attendance in the expected direction at the bivariate level. Only education level, employment status, retirement status, alcohol use, and court involvement emerged as unique predictors of attendance such that more educated, employed, retired, and court-mandated veterans with less alcohol use attended more sessions. These findings suggest the importance of a trauma-informed, coordinated community response to intimate partner violence intervention and integration of motivational components surrounding problematic alcohol use to enhance compliance and mitigate barriers to attendance.