Research on assessment and training of alcohol-related coping skills in women with alcoholic partners has been limited. Those studies which do not exist have typically failed to systematically assess coping skills, or evaluate change from pre-to posttreatment. Moveover, there has been a tendency to rely on frequency measures of coping behaviors which tend to be highly confounded by the actual drinking status of the partner. Previous funding was awarded for a measurement development project (recently completed) to establish the psychometric properties of a situation-specific, role-play measure of alcohol-related coping skills in women with alcoholic partners (the Spouse Situation Inventory, SSI). The present competing continuation application builds on the results of this research and extends study of the SSI to the evaluation of interventions for women with alcoholic partners. In the present proposal women whose alcoholic partner is not currently in treatment will be randomly assigned to receive one of three treatment conditions: a coping skills training group, a twelve step facilitation group, or a waiting list control condition. In addition, subjects will be randomly assigned to receive pretreatment coping skills assessment on one of the two SSI forms--the content of which will be used for skill training groups (discussion in twelve step groups). The effect of the treatment/waiting list conditions on alcohol-related coping skills (with the alternate SSI form), subject functioning, and alcoholic partner functioning will be evaluated at posttreatment, and in the posttreatment analysis. The research also explores three subjects X treatment interaction hypotheses. These hypotheses center on the interaction of treatment type with subject spirituality, relationship cohesion, and interpersonal dependency, respectively. In sum, the proposed project will (a) build on previous research with the SSI, (b) rigorously examine the effects of treatments using different SSI forms, (c) provide valuable information on the relative and differential efficacy of the coping skill training model and the twelve step facilitation model in work with women with alcoholic partners.
| Rychtarik, Robert G; McGillicuddy, Neil B (2005) Coping skills training and 12-step facilitation for women whose partner has alcoholism: effects on depression, the partner's drinking, and partner physical violence. J Consult Clin Psychol 73:249-61 |
| Rychtarik, R G; McGillicuddy, N B (1997) The spouse situation inventory: a role-play measure of coping skills in women with alcoholic partners. J Fam Psychol 11:289-300 |
