Attention Bias Modification, Attention Control and Psychoeducation for Irritability in Children and Adolescents
Condition: Irritability
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The aim of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of an attention bias modification
      training if compared to an attention control and psychoeducation to reduce the symptoms of
      irritability among children with high levels of irritability.
    

Detailed description: 
      Children with high levels of irritability have showed significant bias towards threatening
      faces. Computerized training programs have showed to be able to successfully modify these
      biases in children with mood and anxiety disorders. Of particular importance, a study
      examined the effects of attention training towards positive stimuli on attention biases and
      anxiety symptoms in pediatric anxiety disorders. In the attention-towards-positive condition,
      children searched picture arrays for a happy face amongst angry faces. In the
      attention-training control condition, children searched for a bird amongst flowers. This
      study showed significantly greater reductions in clinician-rated diagnostic severity and
      number of diagnoses of anxiety with that training. However, no study has investigated the
      role of these training in children and adolescents with high levels of irritability The
      present project, aims to examine the effects of the attention bias modification training and
      compare to attention-training control condition and psychoeducation in children with high
      levels of irritability.
    

Intervention name(s): Attention bias modification training; Attention Control Training; Psychoeducation
Intervention type(s): Other; Other; Other
Intervention description(s): Participants will complete the assigned attention-training task three times a week for two weeks (six sessions), yielding 960 trials. Each session consists of three parts: evaluating the individual baseline, training and testing. Participants will also be required to complete a self-report assessment before and after each session. Participants will be evaluated at baseline, the end of week 1 and at the end of week 2 by blind investigators.
Psychoeducation Participants will receive psychoeducation once a week for two weeks. Participants will also be required to complete a self-report assessment before and after each session of psychoeducation. Participants will be evaluated at baseline, the end of week 1 and at the end of week 2 by blind investigators.; Attention Control Training Participants will complete the assigned attention-training task three times a week for two weeks (six sessions), yielding 960 trials. Each session consists of three parts: evaluating the individual baseline, training and testing. Participants will also be required to complete a self-report assessment before and after each session. Participants will be evaluated at baseline, the end of week 1 and at the end of week 2 by blind investigators.
Psychoeducation Participants will receive psychoeducation once a week for two weeks. Participants will also be required to complete a self-report assessment before and after each session of psychoeducation. Participants will be evaluated at baseline, the end of week 1 and at the end of week 2 by blind investigators.; Participants will receive psychoeducation once a week for two weeks. Participants will also be required to complete a self-report assessment before and after each session of psychoeducation. Participants will be evaluated at baseline, the end of week 1 and at the end of week 2.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: A) The first sub-group (n=60) will participate in the intervention group (the attention bias modification training) and will receive psychoeducation; B) The second sub-group (n=60 children) will participate in the attention control condition and will receive psychoeducation; C) The third sub-group (n= 20) will receive only psychoeducation. Children will be randomly assigned to one of these three groups. Both children and parents will be blind to group assignment.
Parents will provide written informed consent for children's participation. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre.
Masking: Triple (Participant, Care Provider, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: irritability; severe mood dysregulation; disruptive mood dysregulation disorder