Cognitive Bias Modification Training in Adolescents Who Have Experienced Adversity

Institute of Psychiatry, London

Status: Completed

Conditions: Victimization; Child Neglect; Child Abuse

Treatments: Behavioral: Control training; Behavioral: Cognitive bias modification training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03625206

PAHBABR

Details and patient eligibility

About

Adolescents who have experienced adversity (childhood maltreatment and other forms of broader victimisation experiences) will be randomly allocated to receive a 5-session cognitive bias modification training (with attention and interpretation bias modification modules) or a control condition. Outcome measures include measures of cognitive biases and symptoms of psychopathology; in addition, in a subset of adolescents, brain activity data will be acquired. All adolescents will complete a feedback form, upon which acceptability of the intervention will be assessed.

Full description

Up to 80 adolescents aged 12-18 years who have experienced adversity (childhood maltreatment and other forms of broader victimisation experiences) from India and Nepal will be randomly allocated to receive a 5-session cognitive bias modification training (with attention and interpretation bias modification modules) or a control condition over a 2-week period.

Pre and post-assessment measures include measures of attention and interpretation biases and symptoms of internalising and externalising psychopathology. In addition, in a subset of adolescents, brain activity data acquired using EEG will be acquired either during resting or viewing emotional face stimuli. Data from these measures will be used to generate effect sizes of changes for each group as well as being used in a limited number of significance-testing analysis. All adolescents will complete a feedback form, upon which acceptability of the intervention will be assessed.

Enrollment: 50 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 12 to 18 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adolescents aged 12-18 years
• Adolescents who have experienced adversity (abuse, neglect) or broader victimisation experiences (conventional crime)

Exclusion criteria

• Adolescents who have difficulty reading or understanding what is being read to them
• Adolescents who are currently at-risk for self-harm
• Adolescents who are currently experiencing psychotic symptoms
• Adolescents who are currently experiencing high-level trauma symptoms

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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50 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

Cognitive bias modification training

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will receive 5 training sessions, each session including attention bias modification and interpretation bias modification training modules

Treatment:

Behavioral: Cognitive bias modification training

Control training

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

Participants will receive 5 sessions that involve exercises that are matched to the task demands of the attention bias modification and interpretation bias modification training modules

Treatment:

Behavioral: Control training