Couples TherapyNCT06948877
"Up-Armoring" At-Risk Military Couples: A Stepped Approach to Early Intervention and Strengthening of Military Families
A study testing ARMOR Online in people with Couples Therapy and Military Family, run by Wright State University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The study tested whether giving young, partnered military service members access to an online relationship help website would help prevent future relationship problems compared to partnered service member who did not have access to the website Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Couples Therapy, Military Family
- What is being tested?
- ARMOR Online
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 581 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 19 Oct 2021to 30 Sep 2024
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- To be included in the study, participants had to be: (a) in a committed romantic relationship for at least six months and (b) on active duty (not Guard or Reserve).
Who cannot join
- Participants with prior military service (i.e., not new to the military who were retraining into a different career field) were excluded.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
The study tested whether giving young, partnered military service members access to an online relationship help website would help prevent future relationship problems compared to partnered service member who did not have access to the website
Read the detailed description
This study tested whether access to a self-directed, online couple intervention offered preventively lessened the occurrence of future negative relationship outcomes (i.e., relationship dysfunction, infidelity, intimate partner violence (IPV) for partnered service members in comparison to the usual resources for relationship assistance in the military. Participants were active-duty military in a committed romantic relationship of at least 6-months duration (N = 581; 37.2% married) who had recently completed basic military training and were transitioning into technical training to learn a specific job skill set. Participants were randomly assigned by in-processing week to the intervention or the control condition. The intervention effect was modeled using both Intent to Treat (ITT) and Complier Average Causal Effect (CACE) approaches.
- Conditions
- Couples Therapy, Military Family
- Being tested
- ARMOR Online
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
ARMOR OnlineBehavioural
The online version of ARMOR comprised three core components. The first was an MI-based relationship "check-up" with a brief relationship assessment. In the second component, SMs chose relationship improvement domains from a list of 10 topic areas or modules and watched a short (5-7 minute) video on their chosen area providing (a) evidence-based or evidence-informed psychoeducation, (b) modeling of skills, and (c) practice of the skills. For the third component, SMs were asked MI's "key question" (i.e., "What's the next step?" Miller \& Rollnick, 2023) and, if desired, completed a planning module where they were given the opportunity to create a personalized action plan (specifying how they might test any planned changes to see if they had the desired impact).
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention | Experimental | Access to a self-directed, online couple intervention offered preventively Receives: Behavioral: ARMOR Online |
| Control | No intervention | Usual resources for relationship assistance in the military |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Brief (MSI-B; Whisman et al., 2009)
The MSI-B is a true-false, self-report measure of relationship distress derived from the full The MSI-B is a true-false, self-report measure of relationship distress derived from the full True-false, self-report measure of relationship distress
Measured: six months
Family Maltreatment measure (Heyman et al., 2021)
Whether the participant or partner had engaged in intimate partner violence
Measured: six months
Infidelity
Whether the participant or partner had been intimate with non-partner
Measured: six months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted29 Apr 2025
- Study start19 Oct 2021
- Primary completion30 Sep 2024
- Study completion30 Sep 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Couples TherapyStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- Participants were randomly assigned by in-processing week to the intervention or the control condition.
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 581 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Wright State University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Family Translational Research Group, Texas A&M University, Binghamton University
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06948877
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- FA8650-17-C-6808
- Status last verified
- Apr 2025
- First submitted
- 21 Apr 2025
- Last updated
- 29 Apr 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Cigrang JA, Heyman RE, Slep AMS, Spierling TN, Parsons AM, Snyder DK, Balderama-Durbin C, Lapshina N, Lorber MF, Alsaif HKF, Kidd KR, Mitnick DM, Eckardt AC, Waggoner JW. "Up-armoring" Military Couples: a Randomized Trial of a Preventive, Online Couple Intervention. Prev Sci. 2026 Oct 28. doi: 10.1007/s11121-026-01999-9. Online ahead of print.
PubMed 42955618
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 29 Apr 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- "Up-Armoring" At-Risk Military Couples: A Stepped Approach to Early Intervention and Strengthening of Military Families
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06948877
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- FA8650-17-C-6808
- Conditions
- Couples Therapy, Military Family
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 581 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Wright State UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Family Translational Research Group, Texas A&M University, Binghamton University
- Study start
- 19 Oct 2021 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Sep 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 30 Sep 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 29 Apr 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The study tested whether giving young, partnered military service members access to an online relationship help website would help prevent future relationship problems compared to partnered service member who did not have access to the website
Detailed description
This study tested whether access to a self-directed, online couple intervention offered preventively lessened the occurrence of future negative relationship outcomes (i.e., relationship dysfunction, infidelity, intimate partner violence (IPV) for partnered service members in comparison to the usual resources for relationship assistance in the military. Participants were active-duty military in a committed romantic relationship of at least 6-months duration (N = 581; 37.2% married) who had recently completed basic military training and were transitioning into technical training to learn a specific job skill set. Participants were randomly assigned by in-processing week to the intervention or the control condition. The intervention effect was modeled using both Intent to Treat (ITT) and Complier Average Causal Effect (CACE) approaches.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- Participants were randomly assigned by in-processing week to the intervention or the control condition.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention | Experimental | Behavioral: ARMOR OnlineAccess to a self-directed, online couple intervention offered preventively |
| Control | No intervention | –Usual resources for relationship assistance in the military |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- To be included in the study, participants had to be: (a) in a committed romantic relationship for at least six months and (b) on active duty (not Guard or Reserve).
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Participants with prior military service (i.e., not new to the military who were retraining into a different career field) were excluded.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| ARMOR OnlineThe online version of ARMOR comprised three core components. The first was an MI-based relationship "check-up" with a brief relationship assessment. In the second component, SMs chose relationship improvement domains from a list of 10 topic areas or modules and watched a short (5-7 minute) video on their chosen area providing (a) evidence-based or evidence-informed psychoeducation, (b) modeling of skills, and (c) practice of the skills. For the third component, SMs were asked MI's "key question" (i.e., "What's the next step?" Miller \& Rollnick, 2023) and, if desired, completed a planning module where they were given the opportunity to create a personalized action plan (specifying how they might test any planned changes to see if they had the desired impact). | Behavioural | Intervention |
Primary outcome
Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Brief (MSI-B; Whisman et al., 2009)
Time frame: six months
The MSI-B is a true-false, self-report measure of relationship distress derived from the full The MSI-B is a true-false, self-report measure of relationship distress derived from the full True-false, self-report measure of relationship distress
Family Maltreatment measure (Heyman et al., 2021)
Time frame: six months
Whether the participant or partner had engaged in intimate partner violence
Infidelity
Time frame: six months
Whether the participant or partner had been intimate with non-partner
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 29 Apr 2025.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 42955618Cigrang JA, Heyman RE, Slep AMS, Spierling TN, Parsons AM, Snyder DK, Balderama-Durbin C, Lapshina N, Lorber MF, Alsaif HKF, Kidd KR, Mitnick DM, Eckardt AC, Waggoner JW. "Up-armoring" Military Couples: a Randomized Trial of a Preventive, Online Couple Intervention. Prev Sci. 2026 Oct 28. doi: 10.1007/s11121-026-01999-9. Online ahead of print.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing ARMOR Online in people with Couples Therapy and Military Family, run by Wright State University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 29 Apr 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Brief (MSI-B; Whisman et al., 2009) (time frame: six months). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06948877, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 29 Apr 2025.