7 - (IOP 25) Examining the Impact of Patient Demographic Characteristics on Brief Cognitive-behavioral Conjoint Therapy Outcomes

The negative effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be debilitating and extend beyond the individual, often impacting their families, and especially intimate partners. Addressing PTSD within the context of an intimate relationship may simultaneously improve both PTSD symptoms and relationship functioning, strengthening treatment outcomes by disrupting the cycle of PTSD and interpersonal difficulties. Brief Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy (bCBCT) is a truncated 8-session version of CBCT, an evidence-based therapy for PTSD that simultaneously targets relationship satisfaction. A clinical trial examining the efficacy of bCBCT delivered in-person or via telehealth found significant improvement in PTSD symptoms and relationship satisfaction with large effect sizes. Participants included veterans with PTSD and their intimate partners (who may or may not be veterans themselves). Although bCBCT was effective overall, treatment outcomes including PTSD symptoms may be impacted by sociodemographic factors. Some studies have found that women experience greater reductions in PTSD symptoms than men following PTSD interventions. Similarly, findings regarding associations between race and treatment outcomes have been inconsistent. Further, the dyadic nature of bCBCT lends to exploring the impact of shared experiences on treatment outcomes. Although veterans have many unique service experiences, military members often report a shared culture founded on values such as sacrifice, discipline, and teamwork. Couples in which both partners are veterans (i.e., dual veteran status) may achieve greater improvement due to their sense of being understood. This study examines whether these patient and dyad characteristics, assessed at baseline, moderated the effectiveness of bCBCT in veteran couples (N = 92 dyads). The majority of veterans were white (63.3%) and male (80.4%). Some partners were male (19.6%) and endorsed military service history (17.4%). The average relationship length was 11.44 years (SD = 10.23). At baseline and 1-month post-treatment, veterans completed an evaluation of PTSD symptoms (Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5), and both partners completed a measure of relationship satisfaction (Couples Satisfaction Index-32). Regression analyses found no evidence for a moderation effect of patient demographic characteristics including gender, race, relationship length, and partner military experience on treatment outcomes, suggesting that bCBCT seems effective for couples regardless of their sociodemographic backgrounds (ps > .082). However, this study was not powered for noninferiority analyses, so the lack of significant findings may be due to low power and further research is needed to confirm these results. This paper highlights the relationship between patient demographic characteristics and the effectiveness of couple-based psychotherapy for PTSD, with findings from this study providing some reassurance that bCBCT is likely clinically indicated regardless of patients’ sociodemographic backgrounds.