transdiagnostic, indicated preventive intervention for adolescents at high risk of emotional problems w/add-on modules

Conditions: Anxiety Disorders and Symptoms; Depressive Symptoms

Summary: procare is a preventive intervention that has shown its effectiveness in selective prevention to reduce young people's risk of developing emotional problems. in this study, an uncontrolled pre-post study is carried out where this personalized transdiagnostic preventive intervention in online mode is applied in the indicated population, with the following objectives: 1) provide data about whether there are improvements in the emotional state of adolescents after implementing procare-i+; and 2) evaluate if there is any risk factor that predicts anxiety-depressive symptoms and/or emotional difficulties. the sample was made up of 30 adolescents who showed symptoms of anxiety and/or depression and a high risk of developing an emotional disorder and who benefited from the preventive, transdiagnostic, online and personalized intervention called procare-i+. after the analysis of the data collected at the pre-intervention and post-intervention time, the data revealed that the intervention had an impact on improving the emotional state of the adolescents in terms of anxious-depressive symptomatology, quality of life and emotional regulation. on the other hand, the data revealed the absence of predictive relationships between the presence of a risk factor and suffering from symptoms of anxiety and depression; in contrast, predictive relationships were found between the presence of the family risk factor and suffering from some emotional difficulty.

the general objetive of procare-i+ is to implement and evaluate an indicated 8-session preventive group intervention with add-on modules for adolescents aged 12-18 at high risk of emotional disorders like anxiety and depression. the intervention will be based on the unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders in adolescents (up-a), already proven as effective in the us, but adapted with indicated prevention purposes in spain thanks support of main author of the protocol (prf. ehrenreich-may). it will be culturally-adapted and designed to be an acceptable, scalable, and sustainable indicated prevention program. methodology: in order to achieve this objetive, procare-i+ working plan will be divided into 3 steps. firstly, in order to identify adolescents at high risk of suffering emotional disorders (anxiety and depression), the following self-reports will be administered to adolescents: strengths and difficulties questionnaire (sdq) to evaluate adolescents at-risk of emotional disorders, and the revised child anxiety and depression scale-30 (rcads-30) will screen for presence/absence of emotional symptomatology. then, adis5-c/p will be administered to rule-out presence of anxiety and/or mood disorders. valuing voices from stakeholders and end-users, the investigators will focus on the study of the influence of the above described variables. third, the investigators will test procare-i with add-on modules. impact: the following study will be taken as a pilot study that will allow us to know the strengths and weaknesses of procare-i with add-on modules in order to make future improvements.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * written informed consent from adolescent and legal guardian * able to attend prevention modules on his/her own * language competence * strengths and difficulties questionnaire ""probable diagnoses" * score above cut-off for revised child anxiety and depression scale-30 * having incipient symptoms on an emotional level in adis 5 c/p * absence of anxiety and/or mood disorders exclusion criteria: * in- or outpatient * concomitant psychological/psychiatric treatment * acute suicidality * general medical contraindications that hamper attendance to prevention modules * have been diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder * strengths and difficulties questionnaire "unlikely" or "possible diagnoses" * presence of mood and/or anxiety disorders

Keywords: transdiagnostic emotional disorders anxiety depression adolescents child and youth population indicated prevention