View clinical trials related to Psychopathology.
Filter by: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.
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.