Attention Control Training for the Prevention of PTSD in Firefighters

Adai Technology

Status: Completed

Conditions: PTSD

Treatments: Behavioral: Attention Control Training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05754164

XF002

Details and patient eligibility

About

The study aimed to examine the effect of Attention Control Training (ACT) intervention on reducing PTSD symptoms in firefighters. The study was a randomized controlled trial carried out in Kunming, China, and involved the recruitment of 180 active firefighters as participants. The intervention lasted for an 8-week duration, during which participants participated in ACT exercises delivered through a smartphone application.

Enrollment: 180 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 18 to 50 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• being an active firefighter and aged between 18 and 50
• with no history of severe PTSD

Exclusion criteria

• having suicidal ideation or intent
• having an active psychotic disorder other than PTSD
• prior participation in a cognitive-behavioral intervention
• concurrent participation in another study.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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180 participants in 2 patient groups

Attention Control Training

Experimental group

Description:

The Dot-Probe Paradigm was utilized within the Attention Bias Modification procedure. The training sessions were comprised of 80 trials, which included facial expression photos depicting happiness, neutrality, and sadness, sourced from four male and four female actors. A fixed cross (+) was presented on the computer screen's center for a duration of 500 milliseconds before each stimulus display, followed by the presentation of two images portraying distinct emotional expressions, which persisted for 500 milliseconds. After the disappearance of the images, an arrow appeared in the location where they had been displayed, and participants were instructed to select the arrow that corresponded with the presented arrow. In the ABM procedure, the arrow was consistently presented following the display of a more positive facial expression, such that in the instance of a sad-neutral face pair, the arrow would always appear in the location of the neutral facial expression image.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Attention Control Training

Control

No Intervention group