Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Kosovar High School Students Using Mind-Body Skills Groups

Stress Disorders, Post-traumatic Clinical Trial

Official title:

Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Kosovar High School Students Using Mind-Body Skills Groups: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00136357
• Other study ID #: MBSG 2004-01
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: August 26, 2005
• Last updated: February 2, 2015
• Start date: August 2004
• Est. completion date: May 2005

Study information

• Verified date: February 2015
• Source: The Center for Mind-Body Medicine
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United States: Institutional Review Board
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the participation in a group program which includes meditation, biofeedback, drawings, autogenic training, genograms, and a variety of movement and breathing techniques will decrease symptoms of posttraumatic stress in high school students.

Description:

The objective of this study is to determine whether participation in a group program incorporating mind-body techniques decreases symptoms of posttraumatic stress in adolescents. Students will be screened for posttraumatic stress using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and eighty-two qualifying students will be randomly assigned to a 12-session mind-body group program or a wait-list delayed intervention group. The program will be conducted by the teachers at a high school in Kosovo and include meditation, biofeedback, drawings, autogenic training, genograms, and a variety of movement and breathing techniques. Changes in posttraumatic stress symptoms will be measured using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 82
• Est. completion date: May 2005
• Est. primary completion date: May 2005
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 14 Years to 19 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Students having posttraumatic stress (PTSD) as defined according to a scoring algorithm of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire previously described by the Harvard Refugee Trauma group and used in a Kosovar Albanian population. This definition of PTSD requires a score of 3 or 4, on a Likert scale of 1-4, on at least one of the four of the reexperiencing symptoms (Criterion B), at least 3 of the 7 avoidance and numbing symptoms (Criterion C), and at least 2 of the 5 arousal symptoms (Criterion D) in addition to exposure to a traumatic event (Criterion A).

Exclusion Criteria:

• No specific exclusion criteria. Students having PTSD symptoms as defined above may participate in the study.

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Stress Disorders, Post-traumatic
• Stress Disorders, Traumatic

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Mind-Body Skills Groups
12 week mind-body skills group program including guided imagery, relaxation techniques,autogenic training, meditation, biofeedback, drawings, genograms and movement techniques.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Former Yugoslavia	Jeta e Re High School	Suhareka	Kosovo

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
The Center for Mind-Body Medicine

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Former Yugoslavia, 

References & Publications (1)

Gordon JS, Staples JK, Blyta A, Bytyqi M. Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in postwar Kosovo high school students using mind-body skills groups: a pilot study. J Trauma Stress. 2004 Apr;17(2):143-7. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Harvard Trauma Questionnaire	The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire measures PTSD Symptoms. This scale has 16 items and is rated on a Likert scale from 1-4. The total score is sum of the scores divided by the number of items. Higher scores indicated higher levels of PTSD symptoms.	Baseline, 12 weeks, 3 months	No

External Links

•   Center for Mind-Body Medicine website