Evaluating Signs of Safety: A Deaf-Accessible Therapy Toolkit for AUD and Trauma
The U.S. Deaf community - a group of more than one million Americans who communicate using American Sign Language (ASL) - experiences nearly triple the rate of lifetime problem drinking and twice the rate of trauma exposure compared to the general population. Although there are several treatments for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in hearing populations, none have been developed for or tested with Deaf clients. To address these barriers, the study team developed Signs of Safety, a Deaf-accessible therapy toolkit for treating AUD and PTSD. Their aims are to conduct a nationwide, virtual clinical trial to compare (1) Signs of Safety with (2) treatment as usual and (3) a no treatment control, to collect data on clinical outcomes, and to explore potential mediators and moderators of outcome.
• Self-identification as Deaf or hard-of-hearing
• Proficiency in American Sign Language (ASL)
• Age 18 years or older
• Access to videoconferencing technology for informed consent and, if applicable, study therapy sessions
• Access to online survey technology for study assessments
• Problematic alcohol consumption, drinking behaviors, and alcohol-related problems on the AUD Identification Test (AUDIT), a 10-item screening measure developed by the World Health Organization that demonstrates good sensitivity and specificity in many populations (past-month referent time period; score ≥ 8 for men or ≥ 6 for women)
• Subthreshold or full PTSD, on the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), a 20-item measure of PTSD symptoms reliably used to monitor symptom change (past-month referent time period; subthreshold = meets at least two DSM-5 diagnostic categories (B, C, D, and/or E) at moderate or high severity)