View clinical trials related to Psychopathology.
Filter by:The goal of this clinical trial is to test a new cognitive training program to improve emotion regulation in adults. The investigators' primary aim is to determine whether participating in this program addresses two key features of emotion dysregulation associated with psychiatric disorders: (1) emotion-related impulsivity and (2) rumination. The investigators will further evaluate participants' perceived acceptability and feasibility of treatment procedures. Secondarily, the investigators will examine the effects of this cognitive training intervention on psychiatric symptoms and overall functioning. Participants will be asked to complete eight weekly sessions (over two months) involving cognitive training exercises with a "coach", in addition to a baseline assessment before starting the intervention and post-treatment assessment. Each assessment includes a combination of in-person and remote data collection using self-report questionnaires, psychophysiology, and a neuropsychological battery. Participants will also complete one week of ecological momentary assessment before and after the intervention as well as a set of follow-up questionnaires administered remotely six weeks following their final training session. Researchers will compare participants randomly assigned to complete the intervention without delay to a control group of participants randomly assigned to a two-month waitlist before joining the intervention. Before beginning cognitive training, participants in the control condition will complete an additional pre-intervention/post-waitlist assessment, which will follow parallel procedures to the initial baseline assessment.
In the present study, the investigators will conduct a confirmatory efficacy trial to test whether improving practice automaticity (i.e., habit formation) of self-compassionate touch improves outcomes in the predicted direction. Adults (n=440, including 20% for attrition) will be randomly assigned to: (1) the self-compassionate touch intervention plus habit formation tools ("SCT+HABITS") versus (2) the self-compassionate touch intervention alone ("SCT"). The investigators will conduct assessments at baseline, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up. The SCT+HABITS condition will be used to evaluate whether providing habit formation tools results in superior effects to SCT. The intervention will be delivered entirely online.
Few evidence-based programs exist to support children and families affected by sociopolitical conflict, despite documented evidence of their heightened risk for emotional and behavioral adjustment problems associated with exposure to conflict and violence at multiple levels of the social ecology (e.g., political, community, and family). Thus, a critical need exists for an evidence-based program to ameliorate the impact of political violence on the overall well-being of children and families. The current study will conduct a rigorous evaluation of a theoretically-driven, family-based intervention program in Palestine, including both the West Bank and Gaza. Firmly grounded in the cultural context of Palestine but with broad implications for individuals exposed to sociopolitical violence, the long-term goal of this project is to provide a family-focused intervention program (Promoting Positive Family Futures; PPFF) that may facilitate individuals' sense of safety and support in the context of chronic adversity. The objective is to evaluate this intervention program in the context of a randomized clinical trial (RCT) in the West Bank and Gaza (N=300). The central hypothesis is that the program will have direct positive effects on family conflict, parent psychopathology and parental security in the family as well as on adolescent emotional security in the family, with cascading effects on adolescent adjustment. Consistent with family systems theory, we further hypothesize that treatment effects on parents will mediate on the effects of the treatment on adolescent adjustment. The rationale is that bolstering resilience in family systems is a key approach to promoting positive functioning in families exposed to chronic violence. The hypothesis will be evaluated with three specific aims: 1) evaluate the efficacy of an evidence-based family support program; 2) examine process models of treatment change, and 3) examine interrelations between parent and child functioning. To achieve these aims, the study will be an RCT employing a longitudinal design (N=300) with multi-method assessments at baseline (T1), post-test (T2), 6-month follow-up (T3) and 12-month follow-up (T4). Families included in the study will be evenly divided between the West Bank (n=150) and Gaza Strip (n=150). Families will be randomized into the intervention condition (PPFF) or treatment as usual (TAU). Each territory will have an implementing partner, and implementing partners and investigators will work together to ensure the study procedures are implemented in parallel across sites. Data collection will be conducted by trained research staff from a third-party survey and policy research organization. The proposal seeks to shift current research and clinical paradigms in these contexts by employing novel theoretical concepts, approaches, and methodologies. The contribution will be significant by 1) further developing new directions for empirically-based interventions in these high-risk contexts, and 2) advancing a relatively brief, cost-effective program that can be readily implemented to help children and families exposed to continuing conflict in Palestine, with the potential to be brought to scale in other contexts.
There have been debates about whether psychiatric disorders should be classified according to categories (categorical model) or according to a continuum between normal and pathological functioning (dimensional model). While the former is the main one used to facilitate reliability, it has several limitations. We will use machine learning to develop a predictive model, bridging the gap between the dimensional and categorical approaches. Psychometric measures obtained from a questionnaire will be collected. Then, a supervised descriptor selection approach will be applied to predict categorical outcomes from dimensional inputs. The resulting prediction will be based on nonlinear modeling based on universal approximators. We developed this input questionnaire with four main objectives: 1) to briefly scan most of the categories generally described in the international nosography; 2) to use a continuous scale following a dimensional approach; 3) to use positively oriented sentences to decrease social desirability bias; 4) to be less confronting for the patient. The questionnaire is built on dimensions, whereas psychiatric diagnoses are built on categories. We will model the transition from one to the other. This approach will allow us to verify the hypotheses of diagnostic categories construction in psychopathology, integrated in the RDoC approach; and later on to standardize the psychometric measures used in cognitive-behavioral therapy treatments. 200 adults will undergo a standard clinical interview (SCID-5, First et al., 2017), and the psychological screening self-report questionnaire (D-Psy) and additional questionnaires measuring social desirability dissociation, phobia and autism.
This study is a randomized controlled confirmatory efficacy trial of virtual Mom Power (MP), a group-based, relationship-focused multifamily preventive intervention.
The aim of this study is to reduce the negative psychological impact of the pandemic on hospital workers through mindfulness training.
The current study will be a randomized controlled trial (RCT) investigating an adapted online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program versus daily online self-help mindfulness exercises, in preventing incident/prevalent psychopathology in healthcare workers allocated to work with COVID-19 patients. Outcome measures include depression, anxiety, somatoform symptoms, post-traumatic stress, insomnia, substance abuse, post-traumatic growth and positive mental health. The study also aims to explore possible working mechanisms such as perseverative thinking, mindfulness skills and self-compassion. The study will have a follow-up duration of 7 months from baseline.
The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of early intervention (placement into foster care, and a caregiving training) on physical, cognitive, social and brain development and psychiatric symptomatology in children place in out-of-home care.
To explore the attitudes and reactions of gestational carriers and intended parents though their medical, pregnancy and postpartum experiences.
Background: - Individuals who have schizophrenia are significantly more likely to smoke than the general population, which leads to increased smoking-related illnesses and high rates of nicotine dependence. Research suggests that high rates of smoking and nicotine addiction in people with schizophrenia are related to the fact that nicotine temporally improves performance in several cognitive tasks, including sensory gating, long-term memory, and visual tracking-all of which are affected by schizophrenia. - Smoking among schizophrenia patients may be a form of self-medication, since nicotine may temporarily treat and improve cognitive deficits caused by schizophrenia. Researchers are interested in studying the effects of nicotine on the brain activity of individuals with schizophrenia to better understand how nicotine affects the brain regions connected to memory, visual tracking, and attention. Objectives: - To identify specific brain regions involved in the anticipatory learning deficits found in schizophrenia patients who smoke. - To determine whether and how nicotine enhances performance in these regions. Eligibility: - Smokers (at least 10 cigarettes per day) between 18 and 50 years of age who either are healthy volunteers or have been diagnosed with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder. Design: - Participants will be asked to avoid consuming alcohol and restrict consuming caffeinated beverages for 24 hours before the study days. Participants will provide urine and breath samples at the start of the study to be tested for chemicals that may interfere with the study. - The study will require two to four visits, with two fMRI sessions and other visits for a clinical interview or training. Participants will have a training session with a possible mock MRI scan to learn how to do tasks that track eye movement and measure ability to pay attention. - During the fMRI scanning sessions, participants will receive either a nicotine patch or a placebo patch without nicotine. After the patch is in place, participants will perform tasks while receiving MRI scans. The scans will take up to 2 hours. - Participants will provide blood samples after finishing the MRI sessions.