The Effects of Attention Training on Emotion Regulation and Stress Related Complaints During COVID-19

NCT04367636 | Terminated

• 1 other identifier: EC/2019/0841
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 49
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Attention control for external information and cognitive control for internal information play a causal role in emotion regulation according to different theories and empirical research. Former research in the lab of the investigators has shown positive effects of an interactive attention control/interpretation training, in which participants learned to unscramble scrambled sentences ("life is my a party mess") in a positive way ("my life is a party") by getting eye-tracking feedback about attention for positive ("party") vs. negative information ("mess"). After the training, participants could better reinterpret negative photos in a positive way. Attention- and cognitive control mechanisms prior to negative stressors (proactive control) and after negative stressors (reactive control) seem to play a role in this. Moreover, research has shown that low perceived control and negative expectations about future emotion regulation skills results in lower proactive control and a higher need of reactive control. Based on this, the assumption can be made that the effects of attention control training - targeting reactive control - could benefit from adding techniques that affect proactive control (e.g. psycho-education). In the present study this is investigated by testing a new two weeks attention control training to see if this has a positive effect on stress related complaints, depressive symptoms and emotion regulation. Given that the current COVID-19 pandemic is perceived as very stressful by a lot of people, the training could help here. Participants between 18 to 65 years of age are recruited during this corona crisis. The attention control training is a new smartphone based application. Participants have to unscramble scrambled sentences into grammatically correct sentences. In the training condition, participants are asked to unscramble the scrambled sentences in a positive way. By swiping, participants can see part of the sentences. This gives the investigators an image about the processing of the sentences. This procedure allows to measure how long participants attend to positive and negative words. In the training condition participants get feedback about the duration they process positive and negative words. In the control group participants unscramble the sentences as fast as possible without feedback on emotional attention. Participants only get feedback about the speed at which sentences are unscrambled. Before and after the 10 training sessions, attention of the participants is measured to see the effects of the training. Questionnaires on depressive and anxiety complaints, emotion regulation strategies, well-being and stress are administered before and after the training. There is also a follow-up measure 2 months after the training. Both groups (training and control) watch a psycho-education video before the start of the training.

Conditions

Rumination; Anxiety; Stress; Depressive Symptoms

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Changes in depression-, anxiety- and psychosomatic stress symptoms

  Measured by Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (MASQ-30). It measures the dimensions of Clark and Watson's tripartite model, covering both shared and distinct symptoms of depression and anxiety. It has three sub-scales: Negative Affect (NA), associated with both depression and anxiety; lack of Positive Affect (PA), associated with depressive moods; and Somatic Arousal (SA), associated with anxiety. Scores are ranging from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating more severe psychopathology.

  pre-test (before starting the training), post-test (immediately after the training), follow-up (two months after the training)

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Changes in rumination.

  pre-test (before starting the training), post-test (immediately after the training), follow-up (two months after the training)

• Changes in cognitive emotion regulation strategies.

  pre-test (before starting the training), post-test (immediately after the training), follow-up (two months after the training)

• Changes in emotional attention

  pre-test (before starting the training), post-test (immediately after the training)

Other Outcomes (7)

• How variables related to COVID-19 and the quarantine affect the life of participants

  pre-test (before starting the training)

• Changes in depressive complaints

  pre-test (before starting the training), post-test (immediately after the training), follow-up (two months after the training)

• Changes in symptoms of anxiety

  pre-test (before starting the training), post-test (immediately after the training), follow-up (two months after the training)

Study Arms (2)

Active Comparator: PSE + OCAT-sham

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Psycho-education video + an active placebo training, consisting of 10 sessions of ±15 minutes each (during an intervention period of two weeks), will be administered. The training task is an undirected scrambled sentences task with online contingent feedback.

Behavioral: Behavioral: OCAT-sham; Other: psycho-education video

Experimental: PSE + OCAT

EXPERIMENTAL

Psycho-education video + an attention training, consisting of 10 sessions of ±15 minutes each (during an intervention period of two weeks), will be administered. The training task is a positively directed scrambled sentences task with online contingent feedback.

Behavioral: Behavioral: OCAT; Other: psycho-education video

Interventions

Behavioral: OCAT-sham BEHAVIORAL

Placebo version of the online contingent attention training preceded by psycho-education movieclip.

Active Comparator: PSE + OCAT-sham

Behavioral: OCAT BEHAVIORAL

Online contingent attention training preceded by psycho-education movieclip.

Experimental: PSE + OCAT

psycho-education video OTHER

Both groups get to see a psycho-education video before the smartphone training starts.

Active Comparator: PSE + OCAT-sham; Experimental: PSE + OCAT

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Android smartphone

You may not qualify if:

• severe depressive complaints

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University Ghent: lead

Study Sites (1)

Ghent University

Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, 9000, Belgium

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Rumination Syndrome; Anxiety Disorders; Depression

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Gastrointestinal Diseases; Digestive System Diseases; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Study Officials

• Rudi De Raedt, PhD

  University Ghent

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Ernst Koster, PhD

  University Ghent

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 20, 2020
• First Posted: April 29, 2020
• Study Start: September 30, 2020
• Primary Completion: April 20, 2021
• Study Completion: April 20, 2021
• Last Updated: November 28, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-11

Locations

BE (1)