Transdiagnostic Individual Behavioral Activation and Exposure Therapy
|
The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details. |
| ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03412227 |
|
Recruitment Status : Unknown
Verified November 2019 by Brian Chu, Rutgers University.
Recruitment status was: Recruiting
First Posted : January 26, 2018
Last Update Posted : November 13, 2019
|
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
| Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
| Anxiety Disorders Depression | Behavioral: Individual Behavioral Activation Therapy (IBAT) Behavioral: The PASCET Program for Youth Depressive Disorders Behavioral: The Coping Cat Program for Youth Anxiety Disorders Other: 14-week waitlist (WL) condition | Not Applicable |
Show detailed description
| Study Type : | Interventional (Clinical Trial) |
| Estimated Enrollment : | 200 participants |
| Allocation: | Randomized |
| Intervention Model: | Parallel Assignment |
| Intervention Model Description: | Randomized Clinical Trial, stratified by principal youth diagnosis (anxiety or depression). |
| Masking: | Single (Outcomes Assessor) |
| Masking Description: | Independent evaluators will be masked to the treatment conditions. |
| Primary Purpose: | Treatment |
| Official Title: | Randomized Clinical Trial of Transdiagnostic Behavioral Activation and Exposure Therapy for Youth: A Comparison of Effects and Mediators |
| Actual Study Start Date : | February 1, 2018 |
| Estimated Primary Completion Date : | June 30, 2021 |
| Estimated Study Completion Date : | December 31, 2021 |
| Arm | Intervention/treatment |
|---|---|
|
Principal Anxiety Disorder
Youth with a principal anxiety disorder
|
Behavioral: Individual Behavioral Activation Therapy (IBAT)
IBAT is a manual-based, individual behavioral activation plus exposure therapy aimed at treating youth with anxiety, depression, and anger. The program consists of 10-14 weekly 60 minute sessions. It uses behavioral activation (BA) strategies to target avoidance by helping youth identify stuck points in their lives through functional assessment of numerous life domains, including family and peer interactions, school, extracurricular activities, and health and self-care. Behavioral: The Coping Cat Program for Youth Anxiety Disorders The "Coping Cat" program (Kendall & Hedtke, 2006; Kendall, Choudhury, Hudson, & Webb, 2002) has received substantial empirical support for its efficacy in both children (9-13 years old) and teens (12 - 17 years old) (Kendall, 1994; Kendall et al., 1997; Kendall et al., 2008) and involves (1) teaching children to identify their own anxious feelings and physiological signs of anxiety, (2) teaching children to identify their own anxiety-provoking cognitions, (3) developing a plan to guide coping - a plan that involves changing the child's thoughts (into positive self-talk) and actions (into self-initiated exposures), and (4) self-evaluation and self-reward. Other: 14-week waitlist (WL) condition Youth assigned to the 14-week WL will receive no specific therapeutic services from study therapists during the 14-week WL period. However, participants will be assigned a WL Liaison whom families can contact in the event of clinical deterioration. The Liaison will also be responsible for sending links to, and monitor completion of, weekly and mid-WL online surveys (Qualtrics). Independent Evaluators will conduct post-WL diagnostic interviews at the completion of the 14-week WL. WL participants will receive compensation for completion of assessments. After completion of the WL, participants will be invited to continue in the study and be randomly assigned to one of the three behavioral treatments (IBAT, PASCET, or Coping Cat). |
|
Principal Depressive Disorder
Youth with a principal unipolar depressive disorder
|
Behavioral: Individual Behavioral Activation Therapy (IBAT)
IBAT is a manual-based, individual behavioral activation plus exposure therapy aimed at treating youth with anxiety, depression, and anger. The program consists of 10-14 weekly 60 minute sessions. It uses behavioral activation (BA) strategies to target avoidance by helping youth identify stuck points in their lives through functional assessment of numerous life domains, including family and peer interactions, school, extracurricular activities, and health and self-care. Behavioral: The PASCET Program for Youth Depressive Disorders The Primary and Secondary Control Enhancement Therapy (PASCET; Weisz, Southam-Gerow, Gordis, & Connor-Smith, 2003; Weisz, Southam-Gerow et al., 2009; Weisz, Thurber, Sweeney, Proffitt, & LeGagnoux, 1997) is a brief (usually 11-15 sessions) CBT program for depressed youths typically aged 8-15. Sessions and practice assignments are built on findings concerning cognitive and behavioral features of, and beneficial treatments for, youth depression (e.g., Lewinsohn et al., 1990; Stark et al., 1987), and on the two-process model of perceived control and coping (Rothbaum, Weisz, & Snyder, 1982; Weisz et al., 1984a,b). Other: 14-week waitlist (WL) condition Youth assigned to the 14-week WL will receive no specific therapeutic services from study therapists during the 14-week WL period. However, participants will be assigned a WL Liaison whom families can contact in the event of clinical deterioration. The Liaison will also be responsible for sending links to, and monitor completion of, weekly and mid-WL online surveys (Qualtrics). Independent Evaluators will conduct post-WL diagnostic interviews at the completion of the 14-week WL. WL participants will receive compensation for completion of assessments. After completion of the WL, participants will be invited to continue in the study and be randomly assigned to one of the three behavioral treatments (IBAT, PASCET, or Coping Cat). |
- Change in Clinical Global Impression Severity (CGIS) Scale: Independent Evaluator [ Time Frame: Change from pre-treatment to post-treatment (baseline to 14-weeks) ]The CGI-S score provides a global rating of baseline severity ranging from 1 (not at all ill) to 7 (extremely ill), while the CGI-I provides a global rating of clinical improvement ranging from 1 (Very Much Improved) to 7 (Very Much Worse). The IE will provide a baseline CGI ratings for each patient at pretreatment and posttreatment. Subjects receiving a CGI-I rating of 1 (Very Much Improved) or 2 (Much Improved) by the IE at the end of posttreatment will be considered responders of treatment.
- Change in Behavioral Activation [ Time Frame: Change from pre-treatment to post-treatment (baseline to 14-weeks) ]The BADS-Y is a 26-item adaptation of the adult BADS (Kanter et al., 1997; Kanter et al., 1999), rated on a "0" (Not at All) to "6" (Completely) scale, designed to assess level of behavioral activation and avoidance. Factor analysis in the adult version detected four factors: Activation, Avoidance/Rumination, Work/School Impairment, and Social Impairment) with good factor structure, internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Normative data was also collected in an adult community sample. BADS-A was adapted for the current study to reflect developmentally appropriate reading level and concepts.
- Child Automatic Thoughts Scale-Negative/Positive [ Time Frame: Change from pre-treatment to post-treatment (baseline to 14-weeks) ]The CATS is a 50-item child-report measure designed to assess negative and positive self-statements in children and adolescents. The CATS was developed and validated on a wide age range of youth (7 - 16 years old) and found to effectively discriminate between non-clinical youth and those with clinical anxiety, depression, and behavior disorders. Confirmatory factor analyses supported four distinct but strongly correlated factors relating to automatic thoughts on physical threat, social threat, personal failure and hostility. The internal consistency of the total score and subscales was high (α > .85) and test-retest reliability at 1 and 3 months was acceptable (r = .91).
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
| Ages Eligible for Study: | 9 Years to 17 Years (Child) |
| Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
| Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
We expect 200 youth (ages 9-17 years) with either a principle anxiety (n=100) or a unipolar depression disorder (n=100) and their parents/caregivers to serve as participants.
Inclusion Criteria:
To participate, a youth must meet criteria for a primary DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2003) diagnosis of any of the following:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- Separation Anxiety Disorder (SEP)
- Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)
- Specific Phobia (SP)
- Panic Disorder (PD)
- Agoraphobia
- Major Depression Disorder (MDD)
- Depression Disorder - Insufficient Symptoms (DD-Insufficient)
- Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD)
Comorbid (non-principal) disorders are acceptable, including the presence of disorders not listed above. Diagnosis will be based on both youth and parent report during an Independent Evaluator (IE) semi-structured interview. Youth may also participate with a subclinical diagnosis for any of these disorders if: (a) the youth demonstrates sufficient symptoms but does not yet reach clinical levels of impairment OR (b) the youth demonstrates only several symptoms related to the above disorders but demonstrates clinical impairment, AND (c) the consenting parent agrees that anxiety or mood problems would be appropriate as a clinical focus for treatment. Allowing youth with subclinical diagnoses will allow the study to investigate the effectiveness of the therapies across a range of clinical severity. This design models usual community care where a larger range of severity is witnessed and many youth may not meet all criteria for formal diagnosis. After receiving an initial diagnostic assessment at T1, the parent must consent and the youth must assent to continued participation in the study, including randomization to treatment condition, and must be willing to receive psychological therapy at the Youth Anxiety and Depression Clinic (YAD-C), a specialty program within the outpatient clinic of the Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP).
Exclusion Criteria:
Youth who have a principal DSM-5 disorder other than one of the above listed anxiety or depression disorders (e.g., anorexia nervosa, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder), or who have received any diagnosis of:
- Intellectual Disability
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- schizophrenia
- bipolar disorder.
Youth who demonstrate suicidal ideation or intent (by child or parent report) severe enough to require current hospitalization, or youth who have attempted suicide in the past 3 months, will also be excluded. These clinical problems require specialized treatment that YAD-C is not prepared to offer. Youth will not be excluded on the basis of gender or racial/ethnic origin. However, youth and at least one parent will be required to speak English sufficiently enough to complete study procedures and surveys in English. Participants will be asked not to engage in any other outpatient psychological treatment during their time in the study; this is important to enhance internal validity of the study and conforms with best clinical practices to avoid conflicting treatment recommendations. However, current use of antidepressant or anxiolytic medications will NOT be an exclusion. Participants will be asked to arrive at a stable dosage and schedule for their medication, in consultation with their presiding physician or psychiatrist, prior to study initiation. Use of medications and any other treatment modalities will be assessed during study participation and compared across treatment and WL conditions.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT03412227
| Contact: Brian C Chu, Ph.D. | 848-445-3905 | yadc@gsapp.rutgers.edu |
| United States, New Jersey | |
| Youth Anxiety and Depression Clinic | Recruiting |
| Piscataway, New Jersey, United States, 08854 | |
| Contact: Brian Chu, PhD 848-445-3905 yadc@gsapp.rutgers.edu | |
| Principal Investigator: | Brian C Chu, Ph.D. | Rutgers University (Youth Anxiety and Depression Clinic) |
| Responsible Party: | Brian Chu, Associate Professor, Rutgers University |
| ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT03412227 |
| Other Study ID Numbers: |
Pro20170001171 |
| First Posted: | January 26, 2018 Key Record Dates |
| Last Update Posted: | November 13, 2019 |
| Last Verified: | November 2019 |
| Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement: | |
| Plan to Share IPD: | No |
| Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: | No |
| Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: | No |
|
Anxiety Depression Children Adolescents CBT |
|
Depression Anxiety Disorders Behavioral Symptoms Mental Disorders |

