CClinicalTrials.gg
Enrolling by invitationNCT07630428Updated Jul 7, 2026

Testing STAR and TextSTAR: A Randomized Controlled Trial

An interventional study of Skills Training in Active Recovery (STAR) Video and Text Skills Training in Active Recovery (TextSTAR) program in Sexual Violence, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Opioid Misuse, sponsored by University of Wisconsin, Madison. Enrolling by invitation at 3 sites in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-07.

Sponsored by University of Wisconsin, Madison · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
394
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether a video given for recent sexual assault survivors and/or a 3-week text messaging intervention with similar content is effective at reducing mental health problems and substance misuse following the assault.

Read the detailed description

This NIDA-funded HEAL Initiative: Opioid Use Disorder Care Pathways for Individuals with Histories of Exposure to Violence R33 seeks to test a brief video and text messaging intervention to deliver during Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examiner (SAMFE) care to prevent the onset or escalation of PTSD and opioid misuse among survivors of sexual assault. The investigators will test whether the video is associated with reductions in symptoms and whether for those above threshold on PTSD and opioid misuse symptoms at 1 week, the text message program is associated with reductions in symptoms at 1, 3, and 6 months post-assault.

02

Conditions studied

  • Sexual Violence
  • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Opioid Misuse
03

In context

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

2,239 studies on the registry are indexed under Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; 554 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 394 is above the median of 70 across 1,858 interventional studies indexed under Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic.

Browse Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Wisconsin, Madison is the lead sponsor of 1,161 studies on the registry; 182 are open to participants now.

Of its 151 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 114 (75%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • 18 or older
  • Can read and respond to questions in English
  • Are receiving a SAMFE exam for a assault/victimization within the previous week (7 days)
  • Not currently or about to be hospitalized for severe injuries, suicidality, or psychosis
  • Not currently or about to be incarcerated

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Under age 18
  • Those who cannot read and respond to questionnaires in English
  • Those seeking care that does not include a SAMFE exam
  • Those who cannot consent to receive SAMFE care
  • Those who are currently or about to be hospitalized for severe injuries, suicidality, or psychosis
  • Those who are currently or about to be incarcerated
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Factorial assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
394 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Video, Above Threshold, Text

    Participants in this condition will receive the STAR intervention video and those who are above threshold on PTSD or opioid misuse at 1 week will be randomized to receive the textSTAR intervention.

    Behavioral: Skills Training in Active Recovery (STAR) Video · Behavioral: Text Skills Training in Active Recovery (TextSTAR) program

  • Experimental
    Video, Above Threshold, No Text

    Participants in this condition will receive the STAR intervention video and those who are above threshold on PTSD or opioid misuse at 1 week will be randomized to not receive textSTAR.

    Behavioral: Skills Training in Active Recovery (STAR) Video

  • Experimental
    Video, Below Threshold

    Participants in this condition will receive the STAR intervention video and will be below threshold on PTSD and opioid misuse at 1 week and will not be randomized to receive further intervention.

    Behavioral: Skills Training in Active Recovery (STAR) Video

  • Experimental
    No Video, Above Threshold, Text

    Participants in this condition will not receive the STAR intervention video and those who are above threshold on PTSD or opioid misuse at 1 week will be randomized to receive the textSTAR intervention.

    Behavioral: Text Skills Training in Active Recovery (TextSTAR) program

  • No intervention
    No Video, Above Threshold, No Text

    Participants in this condition will not receive the STAR intervention video and those who are above threshold on PTSD or opioid misuse at 1 week will not be randomized to receive the textSTAR intervention.

  • No intervention
    No Video, Below Threshold

    Participants in this condition will not receive the STAR intervention video and will be below threshold on PTSD and opioid misuse at 1 week and will not be randomized to receive further intervention.

Interventions

  • BehavioralSkills Training in Active Recovery (STAR) Video

    a 17-minute video that includes psychoeducation about ptsd and substance misuse plus tips to not avoid safe but scary situations, cope with distress and urges to use, and engage with social support to aid recovery

  • BehavioralText Skills Training in Active Recovery (TextSTAR) program

    a 3-week daily text program that includes supportive/empowering messages along with brief coping tips to not avoid safe but scary situations, cope with distress and urges to use, and engage with social support to aid recovery

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Opioid misuse

    Assessed using Tobacco, Alcohol, Prescription Medication, and Other Substance (TAPS) Tool-part 1. The TAPS tool is a brief, two-part assessment of substance use and misuse. The TAPS-1 is a screener with 4 items assessing frequency of use of tobacco, alcohol, prescription medication, and illicit substances on a scale from 0 = never to 4 = daily/almost daily. Any response other than "never" on the TAPS-1 indicates a positive screen, which is used in conjunction with the PCL-5 to determine responder status for randomization to the text program.

    Time frame: 1 week

  2. Change in acute stress/ posttraumatic stress

    Assessed with PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). The PCL-5 is a 20-item self-report measure that assesses the 20 DSM-5 symptoms of PTSD. Scores range from 0-80, with scores of 31 or higher indicating probable PTSD.

    Time frame: 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months

  3. Change in Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Drug Use Frequency

    Assessed using the Timeline Followback (TLFB) Method The Timeline Followback Method (TLFB) is a widely used tool for assessing substance use (alcohol, drugs, cigarettes) that requires individuals to retrospectively report daily use of each type of substance on a calendar. For alcohol, participants are shown a standard drinks graphic and then asked to report how many drinks they consumed each day on a calendar and how many hours they drank on that day. For other substances, they are asked to report how many times they used.

    Time frame: 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months

  4. Substance use severity

    Assessed with Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST; lifetime @ baseline). The ASSIST is an 8-item questionnaire. Item 1 maps lifetime use, while Items 2-8 measure frequency, dependence signs, and consequences of use. Responses for questions 2 through 8 are scored as follows: Never = 0; Once or twice = 1 or 2; Monthly = 2 to 4; Weekly = 3 to 5; and, Daily or almost daily: 4. Scores range from 0-39, where higher scores indicate greater severity of use.

    Time frame: baseline, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months

  5. Depression symptoms

    Assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) The PHQ-9 is an 9-item questionnaire where participants report how often in the past 2 weeks they were bothered by specific problems. It is scored on a 4-point Likert scale where 0 = not at all to 3 = nearly every day. The total possible range of scores is 0-27 where higher scores indicate more depressive symptoms.

    Time frame: 1 month, 3 months, 6 months

  6. Mindfulness skills usage

    Assessed with 16 items from the Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills subscale of the Ways of Coping Checklist, a 38 item self-report instrument that assesses DBT skills utilization in the past week on a scale from 0 = never used to 3 = used regularly. The checklist has excellent psychometric properties and has been shown to discriminate patients who received skills training during treatment from those who did not. Scores range from 0-48, where higher scores reflect greater skills utilization.

    Time frame: 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months

  7. Perceived control over recovery process

    Assessed with the 8-item Perceived Present Control subscale of the Perceived Control Over Stressful Events Scale. Statements are rated on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (Very strongly disagree) to 4 (Very strongly agree), with a score range of 8-32, where higher averages indicate stronger perceived control. The scale has excellent psychometric properties and higher scores (which reflect greater perceived control) have been associated with recovery following sexual violence.

    Time frame: 1 month, 3 months, 6 months

  8. Pain severity

    Assessed with the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), a 4-item self-report measure that asks participants to rate their worst pain in the last week, their least pain in the last week, their pain on average, and their pain right now on a scale from 0 = no pain at all to 10 = pain as bad as you can imagine. An overall pain severity score is computed by taking the mean of the four items.

    Time frame: baseline, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months

  9. Opioid craving

    Assessed with the 3-item Opioid Craving Scale which asks participants to rate how strong their desire to use opioids in the past 24-hours was (0 = no desire to use, 9 = extremely strong desire to use), how likely they would be to use if in the same environment when they used to use (0 = not at all likely, 9 = extremely likely), and how strong urges for opioids are when something reminds survivor of opioids (0 = no urge to use, 9 = extreme urge to use). Items are averaged for a total score (ranging from 0-9). Only those with any opioid use experience are asked these questions.

    Time frame: baseline, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Sexual violence stigma

    Assessed via the 9-item Sexual Violence Related Stigma Scale which asks about individual, interpersonal, and societal aspects of stigma. It is rated on a 4-point Likert scale, where 0= strongly disagree and 3= strongly agree. Scores range from 0-27. Higher total scores indicate a greater severity of sexual violence-related stigma experienced or internalized by the survivor.

    Time frame: 1 month, 3 months, 6 months

  2. Emotion dysregulation

    Assessed via the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - 16 item version (DERS-16), which asks about the frequency with which individuals experience difficulties in emotion regulation from 1 = not at all to 5 = almost always. Items are summed so total scores range from 16-80, with higher scores indicating greater difficulties in emotion regulation.

    Time frame: 1 month, 3 months, 6 months

  3. Social support

    Assessed using the The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). MSPSS is a 12-item tool measuring support from family, friends, and significant others using a 7-point Likert scale (1=Very Strongly Disagree to 7=Very Strongly Agree). Total scores range from 12 to 84, with higher scores indicating greater perceived support.

    Time frame: 1 month, 3 months, 6 months

  4. Self-compassion

    Assessed via 6 items from the Self Compassion Scale-Short Form (SCS-SF) that assess self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness on a scale from 1 = almost never to 5 = almost always. Items are averaged so total scores range from 1-5 where higher scores show higher self compassion.

    Time frame: 1 month, 3 months, 6 months

07

Study locations

3 sites
  • University of Louisville Health
    Louisville, Kentucky 40202, United States
  • University of North Carolina
    Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
  • University of Wisconsin
    Madison, Wisconsin 53792, United States
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 7, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07630428
Lead sponsor
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Collaborators
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jun 5, 2026
Start date
Jun 25, 2026
Primary completion
Jun 2029 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 2029 (estimated)
Last update
Jul 7, 2026

Study contacts

Kate Walsh, PhD
principal investigator · University of Wisconsin, Madison

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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