"Expressive Writing Psychological Health Migrants (EWPHM)

NCT04816032 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: URomLS_3
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 28
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

Migration is a global phenomenon that produces several psychological impacts on the migrant causing psychological changes and difficulties such as the development of psychological diseases, the decrease of the life expectancy, insecurity, isolation, and poorness. These diseases create a situation of emergency that has prompted the need to intervene with specific psychological treatments. This study proposed to verify the effectiveness of expressive writing on the elaborative processes of the migratory journey's trauma. Participants were twenty-eight migrants of a reception center. A blinded randomized controlled trial was performed to divide them into three groups: an experimental sample that performed the expressive writing treatment, a neutral sample that performed the neutral description writing, and a control sample. The samples were assessed in three times through self-report measures. The administration of expressive writing is expected to improve the psychological health condition of migrants

Conditions

Psychological Health

Keywords

expressive writing treatment psychological health migrants

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• psychological health of the migrants assessed with Symptom Check-List Revised. A self-report questionnaire that assess the psychological and psychopathological dimensions

  Specifically, the somatization and in general, the global psychological functioning. The Symptom Check-List Revised Scale was a self-report questionnaire that measures psychological and psychopathological issues in clinical and non-clinical populations. It is composed from 90 items. Higher scores show the presence of psychopathological symptomology and psychological complications. The range of scores are less 45 more 75 with cut-off 55. It is composed by different dimensions.

  1 month

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Hope for the future, assessed with Beck Hopelessness Scale, self-report questionnaire

  1 month

Study Arms (3)

Pennebaker's expressive writing

EXPERIMENTAL

Three consecutive days for 20 minutes daily of expressive writing. The topic of the traumatic traveling experience, focalizing the attention on the deeper emotions, thoughts, and feelings.

Other: Pennebaker's expressive writing intervention

Writing about different aspects of their knowledge

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Three consecutive days for 20 minutes daily of neutral writing. Different topics of own knowledge Description of the city, their room, their place where they live, or easy procedure like, how to make a coffee (or something else), their population, trying to remain free from deep emotions, thoughts, or feelings.

Other: Neutral writing

Control

NO INTERVENTION

No intervention

Interventions

Pennebaker's expressive writing intervention OTHER

It focuses on the emotional aspect of the written event

Pennebaker's expressive writing

Neutral writing OTHER

Description of neutral topics with less emotional involvement

Writing about different aspects of their knowledge

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• age \>18 years and the refugees or asylum seekers status

You may not qualify if:

• psychiatric or neurologic diagnosis and drug abuse.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Roma La Sapienza: lead

Study Sites (2)

Carlo Lai Professor PhD

Roma, Rm, 00185, Italy

Location

Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University

Rome, 00185, Italy

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Begotaraj E, Sambucini D, Ciacchella C, Pellicano GR, Pierro L, Wamser-Nanney R, Aceto P, De Paola C, Caroppo E, Lai C. Effectiveness of the expressive writing on the psychological distress and traumatic symptoms of the migrants: A prospective study multiarm randomized controlled trial. Psychol Trauma. 2023 Jul;15(5):738-747. doi: 10.1037/tra0001308. Epub 2022 Sep 29.

  PMID: 36174151 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Psychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personal Satisfaction; Behavior

Study Officials

• Carlo Lai, Professor

  University of Roma La Sapienza

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 18, 2021
• First Posted: March 25, 2021
• Study Start: November 2, 2017
• Primary Completion: March 15, 2018
• Study Completion: July 30, 2018
• Last Updated: March 30, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, CSR
• Time Frame: 24 months
• Access Criteria: The sensitive data are collected in an excel database on the department of Dynamic and Clinical psychology laptop, protected by a password. Each participant is identified by a personal numerical code, to guarantee them their privacy. All the sensitive data will be accessible only by the Chief investigator, the Ph.D. student, and the sub-investigator co-responsible for the study

Locations

IT (2)