N/A
N=107
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Improve Social Support for Veterans With PTSD
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Bottom Line
View on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04567680 ↗Enrolled (actual)
107
Serious AEs
4.7%
Results posted
Feb 2026
Primary outcome: Primary: Change in the Social Adjustment Scale-Self Report — 3.384; 3.344; 2.974; 2.99 Units on a Scale
Study Design & Population
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- N/A
- Interventions
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Improve Social Support for Veterans with PTSD (Behavioral); Present-Centered Therapy (Behavioral)
- Age
- Pediatric, Adult, Older Adult
- Sex
- All
- Sponsor
- VA Office of Research and Development
- Primary completion
- Feb 2025
Outcome Measures
| Outcome | Result | p-value |
|---|---|---|
| PRIMARY Change in the Social Adjustment Scale-Self Report |
3.384; 3.344; 2.974; 2.99; 3.15; 3.061 | — |
| PRIMARY Change in the MOS Social Support Survey |
2.922; 3.061; 3.2; 3.171; 3.1; 3.449 | — |
| SECONDARY Change in the Quality of Life, Enjoyment, and Satisfaction Questionnaire |
39.65; 37.089; 46.063; 43.269; 46.458; 43.333 | — |
| SECONDARY Change in the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5) |
43.441; 43.957; 29.7; 28.04; 27.5; 28.789 | — |
| SECONDARY Change in the PTSD Checklist (PCL-5) |
51.033; 52.109; 38.781; 35.308; 37.25; 33.826 | — |
Summary
Veterans with PTSD often have impaired social relationships and poor social support. The negative outcomes associated with poor social support are of particular concern for Veterans with PTSD, who often perceive the world to be dangerous, view their social support network as a threat to their safety, and avoid members of their support network in order to increase their perceived safety. The goal of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Improve Social Support for Veterans with PTSD (ACT-SS), a treatment focused on helping Veterans with PTSD to increase social support with family relationships, partners, and peers by targeting maladaptive patterns of interpersonal difficulties, feelings of detachment from others, irritability, and avoidance of social situations. The primary aim of this study is to conduct a two-site randomized controlled trial of ACT-SS (n=75) vs. PCT (n=75), a common treatment for social support difficulties. If positive, this study will provide a critically-needed treatment for Veterans with PTSD to improve their social functioning and social reintegration in the community.
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- Current DSM-5 PTSD diagnosis
- Minimum score of 31 on the PCL-5
- Clinically significant difficulties in interpersonal relationships
- Competent to provide written informed consent
- Ages 18 and older
- If being treated with psychoactive medication, no change in drugs or dose for the past 2 months
- Willingness to be audio-taped
Exclusion Criteria
- Any current or lifetime DSM-5 psychotic disorder
- Current or recent (within 1 month of study entry) DSM-5 substance use disorder
- Cognitive impairment that would interfere with study participation
- Current manic episode
- Recent clinically significant suicidality (past 3 months)
- Moderate to severe domestic violence (measured by the Conflict Tactics Scale-2)
- Current PTSD psychotherapy
Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04567680). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication.