Character Strengths Intervention Among Psychiatrically Hospitalized Youth

University of Michigan

Status: Completed

Conditions: Mental Disorders; Child/Adolescent Problems; Psychiatric Hospitalization

Treatments: Behavioral: Identifying and Writing Down Coping Skills; Behavioral: Treatment as Usual; Behavioral: Identifying and Using Signature Strengths

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02674932

HUM00107976

Details and patient eligibility

About

Research has shown that identifying and using one's character strengths in new ways decreases depressive symptoms and increases happiness in adults in the general population. Recently, we found that a similar intervention increases the self-esteem and self-efficacy of children and adolescents being treated in an inpatient psychiatric unit. The purpose of this study is to better understand the effects that discovering one's character strengths and incorporating them into coping skills will have on treatment outcomes in patients admitted to a child and adolescent inpatient psychiatric unit.

Full description

The primary aim of this study is to investigate whether a character strengths-based intervention results in significant improvements in measures of depression, anxiety, resiliency, optimism, self-perception, and life-satisfaction of psychiatrically hospitalized youth up to three months following admission. Secondary aims are to: (1) examine participants' strengths profile to identify potential correlates between character strengths, psychiatric diagnoses and intervention effectiveness; and (2) determine whether patients who continue to incorporate their strengths into coping skills at follow-up assessments exhibit greater improvement over-time.

Participants will be 210 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years admitted to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatient Program and will be randomized into one of the three groups. All participants will complete the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth (VIA-Youth) Survey on their second hospital day and subsequently receive the signature strengths intervention (experimental group), coping skills with memory aids comparison exercise (positive control group), or coping skills without memory aids (treatment-as-usual control group). Outcome measures will be completed by all participants at baseline (day 1 on unit), post-treatment (day 4 on unit), and 1- and 3-months following admission. The proposed research represents a change in paradigm, as we aim to specifically examine the therapeutic benefit of the positive psychology element of our intervention conducted in the pilot study among youth with severe mental illness.

Enrollment: 153 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 12 to 17 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patient on Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit

Exclusion criteria

• Cognitive disability or severe psychosis preventing understanding of survey measures
• Prior use of VIA-Youth Survey
• Absence of legal guardian to consent

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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153 participants in 3 patient groups

Signature Strengths

Experimental group

Description:

Patients will complete the Values in Action Youth Survey (VIA-Youth) and will receive a list of his/her top character strengths ("signature strengths"). The patient will then participate in the Identifying and Using Signature Strengths Intervention.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Identifying and Using Signature Strengths

Coping Skills + Memory Aid

Active Comparator group

Description:

Patients will complete the VIA-Youth but will not receive any results. The patient will then participate in the Identifying and Writing Down Coping Skills Intervention.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Identifying and Writing Down Coping Skills

Coping Skills (Treatment as Usual)

Other group

Description:

Patients will complete the VIA-Youth but will not receive any results. After completing the VIA-Youth, the study team member and patient will have a treatment-as-usual discussion about coping skills. (This is equivalent to treatment as usual that is already provided on the psychiatric unit-doctors and nurses on the unit already have this a discussion about coping skills with patients).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Treatment as Usual