Enhancement of Emotion Regulation Skills in Adolescents

NCT04001140 | Unknown DMC

• 1 other identifier: UCyprus
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 100
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

For the current study, a prevention program is developed and applied to enhance the emotion regulation skills of adolescents. Before and after the application of the prevention program, all participants will be assessed for their emotion regulation ability via questionnaires and a physiological examination in which heart rate and skin conductance will be measured.

Conditions

Emotional Problem; Behavior Problem

Keywords

Emotion regulation; Prevention program; Adolescents; Physiological measurements; Internalizing problems; Externalizing problems

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Changes in difficulties of emotion regulation

  Self-reported measures for adolescents' emotion regulation skills: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (Gratz \& Roemer, 2004). It is a brief, 36-item self-report questionnaire designed to assess multiple aspects of emotional dysregulation. Each item is rated on a 1 to 5 scale (1 =almost never and 4 = almost always). Higher scores suggest greater problems with emotion regulation. This questionnaire assesses six sub-scales: acceptance, goals, impulsivity, awareness, strategies and clarity.

  Pre-Intervention (day 1), Post-Intervention (7 weeks after the pre-intervention), follow-up (6 months after the post-intervention)

• Changes in enhancement of emotion regulation skills

  Self-reported measures for adolescents' emotion regulation: Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Garnefski, Kraaij, \& Spinhoven, 2002). It is a 36-item questionnaire, consisting of 9 conceptually distinct subscales (Self-blame, Other-blame, Rumination, Catastrophizing, Putting into Perspective, Positive Refocusing, Positive Reappraisal, Acceptance and Planning). Each item is rated on a 1 to 5 scale (1 =almost never and 4 = almost always). Individual subscale scores are obtained by summing up the scores belonging to the particular subscale (ranging from 4 to 20). The higher the subscale score, the more a specific cognitive strategy is used.

  Pre-Intervention (day 1), Post-Intervention (7 weeks after the pre-intervention), follow-up (6 months after the post-intervention)

• Changes in heart rate

  Experiment: measured through heart rate

  Pre-Intervention (day 1), Post-Intervention (7 weeks after the pre-intervention), follow-up (6 months after the post-intervention)

• Psychophysiological changes in skin conductance

  Experiment: measured through skin conductance

  Pre-Intervention (day 1), Post-Intervention (7 weeks after the pre-intervention), follow-up (6 months after the post-intervention)

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Depression symptoms

  Pre-Intervention (day 1), Post-Intervention (7 weeks after the pre-intervention), follow-up (6 months after the post-intervention)

• Anxiety symptoms

  Pre-Intervention (day 1), Post-Intervention (7 weeks after the pre-intervention), follow-up (6 months after the post-intervention)

• Aggression problems

  Pre-Intervention (day 1), Post-Intervention (7 weeks after the pre-intervention), follow-up (6 months after the post-intervention)

• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms

  Pre-Intervention (day 1), Post-Intervention (7 weeks after the pre-intervention), follow-up (6 months after the post-intervention)

• Change in Nicotine Dependence

  Pre-Intervention (day 1), Post-Intervention (7 weeks after the pre-intervention), follow-up (6 months after the post-intervention)

Study Arms (2)

Intervention group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The intervention group will take part in the sessions of the intervention, in which they learn different skills for the purpose of emotion regulation. All participants will complete the questionnaires and take part in the experiment again. This group prevention program, which is short-term, entailing 7 sessions, synthesizes techniques from three therapeutic models: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical-Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

Behavioral: Enhancement of emotion regulation skills

Waiting-list group

NO INTERVENTION

The waiting-list group will receive the intervention 7 weeks after the intervention group finishes. The intervention group will finish the research in week 7, while the waiting-list group will start to attend the intervention. They will complete the questionnaires and the experiment.

Interventions

Enhancement of emotion regulation skills BEHAVIORAL

Regarding the intervention, 7 sessions will be carried out. The main purpose is to help adolescents to enhance their emotion regulation, with the ultimate goal to decrease their risk of developing addictions and other psychopathology.

Also known as: Cognitive-behavioral and dialectical-behavioral therapy

Intervention group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 12 Years - 18 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Adolescents who have a family member with addiction problems (drug or alcohol use, gambling)
• Adolescents who have a family member with psychological problems (e.g. depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, etc.)
• Adolescents from stressful family environments (domestic violence, maltreatment, divorce, mourning, etc.)
• Participants are literate in Greek.

You may not qualify if:

• Adolescents with severe addiction problems themselves (daily or weekly drugs use, such as cocaine, heroin, crystal meth, etc.)
• Adolescents with severe psychopathology (e.g. bipolar disorder, schizophrenia)
• Participants who are not literate in Greek.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Cyprus: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Cyprus

Nicosia, 2109, Cyprus

Location

Related Publications (13)

• Goldin PR, Moodie CA, Gross JJ. Acceptance versus reappraisal: Behavioral, autonomic, and neural effects. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2019 Aug;19(4):927-944. doi: 10.3758/s13415-019-00690-7.

  PMID: 30656602 BACKGROUND

• Milyavsky M, Webber D, Fernandez JR, Kruglanski AW, Goldenberg A, Suri G, Gross JJ. To reappraise or not to reappraise? Emotion regulation choice and cognitive energetics. Emotion. 2019 Sep;19(6):964-981. doi: 10.1037/emo0000498. Epub 2018 Sep 20.

  PMID: 30234328 BACKGROUND

• Smith EN, Romero C, Donovan B, Herter R, Paunesku D, Cohen GL, Dweck CS, Gross JJ. Emotion theories and adolescent well-being: Results of an online intervention. Emotion. 2018 Sep;18(6):781-788. doi: 10.1037/emo0000379. Epub 2017 Dec 21.

  PMID: 29265838 BACKGROUND

• Gross JJ. Emotion regulation: affective, cognitive, and social consequences. Psychophysiology. 2002 May;39(3):281-91. doi: 10.1017/s0048577201393198.

  PMID: 12212647 BACKGROUND

• Hayes SC, Luoma JB, Bond FW, Masuda A, Lillis J. Acceptance and commitment therapy: model, processes and outcomes. Behav Res Ther. 2006 Jan;44(1):1-25. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2005.06.006.

  PMID: 16300724 BACKGROUND

• Sloan DM, Kring AM. Measuring changes in emotion during psychotherapy: conceptual and methodological issues. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 14: 307-322, 2007.

  BACKGROUND

• Southam-Gerow MA. Emotion regulation in children and adolescents. New York: the Guilford Press, 2013.

  BACKGROUND

• Gratz KL, Roemer L. Multidimensional Assessment of Emotion Regulation and Dysregulation: Development, Factor Structure, and Initial Validation of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment 26: 41-54, 2004.

  BACKGROUND

• Thompson RJ, Dizen M, Berenbaum H. The Unique Relations between Emotional Awareness and Facets of Affective Instability. J Res Pers. 2009 Oct 1;43(5):875-879. doi: 10.1016/j.jrp.2009.07.006.

  PMID: 20190861 BACKGROUND

• Feldman-Barrett L, Gross JJ, Christensen TC, Benvenuto M. Knowing what you're feeling and knowing what to do about it: mapping the relation between emotion differentiation and emotion regulation. Cognition and Emotion 15: 713-724, 2001.

  BACKGROUND

• Marchesi C, Fonto S, Balista C, Cimmino C, Maggini C. Relationship between alexithymia and panic disorder: a longitudinal study to answer an open question. Psychother Psychosom. 2005;74(1):56-60. doi: 10.1159/000082028.

  PMID: 15627858 BACKGROUND

• Leahy RL. A model of emotional schemas. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice 9: 177-190, 2002.

  BACKGROUND

• Salovey P, Mayer JD, Goldman SL, Turvey C, Palfai TP. Emotional attention, clarity, and repair: exploring emotional intelligence using the trait meta-mood scale. In JW Pennebaker (Ed.), Emotion, disclosure, and health (pp. 125-154). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1995.

  BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Mental Disorders; Emotional Regulation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Self-Control; Social Behavior; Behavior

Study Officials

• Christiana Theodorou, MSc.

  University of Cyprus

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Georgia Panayiotou, Ph.D.

  University of Cyprus

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 14, 2019
• First Posted: June 27, 2019
• Study Start: November 1, 2018
• Primary Completion: May 15, 2020
• Study Completion: May 15, 2020
• Last Updated: April 9, 2020

Record last verified: 2019-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CY (1)