Alcohol and Sexual Communication Among Couples in the Laboratory

Part of paid clinical trials in Aurora, Colorado.

Sponsor
University of Colorado, Denver
Study ID
NCT06865872
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

  • Alcohol Intoxication
  • Communication
  • Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
21 Years - 65 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • Direct Communication — OTHER
    Participants assigned to receive direct communication about their sexual preferences from their partner.
  • Indirect Communication — OTHER
    Participants assigned to receive indirect communication about their sexual preferences from their partner.
  • Alcohol (Ethanol) — DRUG
    Participants assigned to moderate alcohol dose condition (target BrAC .10%) with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) approved alcohol administration procedures.
  • No-Alcohol Control — OTHER
    Participants assigned to a no-alcohol control beverage.

Study Details

Intimate Partner Sexual Violence (IPSV) is a significant and understudied public health problem among couples, yet little is known about factors that contribute to IPSV perpetration. This proposal aims to determine the acute effect of alcohol and sexual communication on IPSV. In this study, 240 couples who drink alcohol will be recruited from the Metro-Denver area. Upon arrival to the laboratory, a trained research assistant will check the participant's ID, verify that they adhered to the pre-session guidelines, administer a breath test to ensure a breath alcohol content (BrAC) of 0.00 and conduct a field sobriety test. They will also obtain informed consent for each member of the couple separately. Female participants will take a pregnancy test to ensure a negative result. All participants will complete measures to reverify eligibility criteria and be weighed to determine their correct alcohol dose. Partners will separately complete a baseline survey measuring demographic factors, alcohol use, sexual communication, and daily experiences. After completing the survey, participants will be assigned a beverage condition (alcohol or no-alcohol control) and couples will be randomly assigned to a communication condition (direct verbal or indirect verbal). Participants will be seated in a room separate from their partner, where they will drink an alcoholic or no-alcohol control beverage. Upon reaching a breath alcohol content (BrAC) of .07, or immediately after drinking in the No-Alcohol control condition, participants will complete a laboratory assessment of sexual violence. The main hypotheses are: (1) one's alcohol use will increase IPSV toward partners who are also drinking, (2) one's alcohol use will increase IPSV among partners who use indirect, relative to direct, communication, and (3) actor alcohol use will increase IPSV toward partners who are also drinking and use indirect, relative to direct, communication.

Key Dates

Start date
Apr 18, 2025
Status verified
Oct 2025
Primary completion
Feb 29, 2028
Completion
Feb 29, 2028

Study Design

Enrollment
480 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE

Arms

  • Experimental: Alcohol Consumption + Direct Communication
    Participants will be assigned to drink alcohol and to receive direct communication about their sexual preferences from their partner.
  • Experimental: Alcohol Consumption + Indirect Communication
    Participants will be assigned to drink alcohol and to receive indirect communication about their sexual preferences from their partner.
  • Experimental: No Alcohol + Direct Communication
    Participants will be assigned to drink a no-alcohol control beverage and to receive direct communication about their sexual preferences from their partner.
  • Experimental: No Alcohol + Indirect Communication
    Participants will be assigned to drink a no-alcohol control beverage and to receive indirect communication about their sexual preferences from their partner.

Primary Outcome Measure

Sexual Violence Perpetration as Measured by the Sexual Imposition Paradigm [ Time Frame: up to 1 hour post beverage consumption ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusAuroraColorado80045
Ruschelle M Leone, PhD
[email protected]
303-724-7052
Ruschelle M Leone, PhD (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR)

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By research site
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus· Aurora, CO

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