Transdiagnostic REBT Prevention Program for Adolescents

Babes-Bolyai University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Social Anxiety; Panic Disorder; Specific Phobia; Generalized Anxiety Disorder; Major Depression Mild

Treatments: Behavioral: video-based transdiagnostic REBT; Behavioral: Wait list

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02756507

PN-II-PT-PCCA-2011-3.1-1500

Details and patient eligibility

About

Anxiety and depressive disorders are common in adolescents, however they are often unrecognized. Rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT), a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is efficient for children and adolescents. School settings are appropriate environments to deliver such interventions for vulnerable youths. Given youth's access and predilection to use technology, a video-based prevention program was developed. The present study aims to investigate the efficacy of a transdiagnostic REBT prevention program for internalizing symptoms in adolescents, implemented in a school setting.

Classes from different Romanian public schools will be randomized in either intervention or wait list group.

Full description

The prevention program will be group-based, delivered in 6 sessions, over 3 weeks.

Each of the six modules aimed a different component: Psychoeducation, Relaxation, Relationship between cognitive distortions/irrational beliefs and emotions, Cognitive restructuring, Exposure/ behavioral activation and problem solving, Maintenance of gainings. Despite specific activities, for each session a video cartoon on that subject will be viewed and discussed. Homework would be given at every session.

REBT prevention programs delivered in school settings represent ecological modalities to target vulnerable groups. Technology components added to traditional programs may lead to greater motivation and satisfaction with treatment.

Adolescents will complete assessments at four time-points: T1 (baseline), T2 (post-intervention), T3 (3 months follow-up) and T4 (12 months follow-up).

Enrollment: 381 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 12 to 17 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Preadolescents and adolescents will have ages between 12 and 17 years old;
2. Are attending middle school or high-school;
3. Adolescents have sufficient understanding of the Romanian language in order to complete assessments at all time points and to participate in the prevention program;
4. Their parents have sufficient understanding of the Romanian language in order to sign the informed consent;
5. Parents will sign the informed consent and adolescents will provide informed assent.

Exclusion criteria

1. Age below 14 or above 17 years;
2. No signed informed consent from parents;
3. Adolescents will score high on suicidal ideation according to (1 item on the Depression subscale from Beck Youth Inventories);
4. Not Romanian-speaking in order to understand the content of the prevention program and to complete the assessments.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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381 participants in 2 patient groups

video-based transdiagnostic REBT

Experimental group

Description:

Children and adolescents in the experimental group attend 6 modules of video-based transdiagnostic rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT). Each of the six modules aimes a different component: Psychoeducation, Relaxation, Relationship between cognitive distortions/irrational beliefs and emotions, Cognitive restructuring, Exposure/ behavior activation and problem solving, Maintenance of gaining.

Treatment:

Behavioral: video-based transdiagnostic REBT

wait list

Sham Comparator group

Description:

The wait-list is a delayed treatment condition.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Wait list