Designing a Pilot Study Protocol to Test Male Alcohol Use and Intimate Partner Violence Reduction Interventions in India

Evidence suggests alcohol consumption is correlated with intimate partner violence (IPV) making alcohol reduction interventions a promising method for reducing IPV. While both financial incentive and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions in high-income countries, respectively, have effectively reduced alcohol consumption and IPV perpetration among men, little evidence exists demonstrating that these approaches can work in a low-resource setting.

The objective of this study is to design and pilot test a low-cost, scalable intervention for reducing alcohol consumption and IPV in Bengaluru, India, where alcohol has been shown to be a key driver of high rates of IPV. A pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) design will be used to examine the feasibility of testing a combined incentive and CBT based intervention among couples to stimulate immediate behavior change and to sustain positive behaviors pertaining to alcohol use and IPV.