A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Study of Emotional Well-being of Adolescents Undergoing a Mindfulness Training During COVID-19

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The COVID-19 pandemic has been significantly affecting people's lives around the globe. Social distancing, self-quarantine, shelter-in-place measures, economic challenges, and COVID-19-cased illness and deaths have the potential to significantly impact mental health and cause stress, anxiety, and depression. Adolescents may be especially vulnerable to this situation, due to their increased vulnerability to the onset of depression and anxiety in general. One promising approach to reduce anxiety and depression in youth is a neuroscience-based mindfulness intervention Training for Awareness Resilience and Action (TARA) (Henje Blom et al., 2014). TARA is usually delivered over 12 weeks by two facilitators in groups of 10-15 adolescents in-person, and it has been shown to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in depressed adolescents (Henje Blom et al., 2016) and modify brain properties (Yuan et al., 2020). The TARA intervention can also be delivered remotely. Other types of therapy delivered remotely, such as internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy, have shown comparable efficiency to face-to-face delivery (Carlbring et al., 2017). The objective of this study is to utilize an individually randomized group treatment, open-label, waitlist-controlled clinical trial to test the feasibility of TARA (delivered partially over Zoom) in improving the self-reported emotional well-being primary outcome (emotional problems measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ]) in healthy adolescents between the ages of 14 to 18 years old during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our central hypothesis is that emotional well-being of adolescents in the intervention group will improve stronger (or deteriorate less) than in the control group. We will test this hypothesis in 21 adolescents randomized to the TARA intervention (partially delivered over Zoom) (12 adolescents) or to the waitlist control group (9 adolescents).

Official Title
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A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Study of Emotional Well-being of Adolescents Undergoing a Mindfulness Training During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Conditions
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Healthy

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Training for Awareness, Resilience, and Action (TARA)


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Healthy female and male adolescents, 14-18 years old Fluency in English Exclusion Criteria: Subjects younger or older than 14-18 years old. Subjects who are not healthy. Subjects who are taking any psychotropic medication. MRI contraindications (ferromagnetic objects on or inside the body, e.g., braces) and pregnancy. Not allowable: Current mindfulness training (e.g. MBSR, MBCT, DBT) and/or practice with a typically sitting meditation or yoga of 20 or more minutes two or more times per week within 60 days prior to study entry. Potential adolescent subjects with current drug or alcohol use or dependence that, in the opinion of the site investigator, would interfere with adherence to the study requirements will be excluded and not allowed to enter the study. Potential subjects with an inability or unwillingness to give written informed assent or whose legal guardian/representative are unable or unwilling to give written informed consent will be excluded and not allowed to enter the study.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 14 Years
Maximum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Basic Science
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: TARA training<br> | Behavioral: Training for Awareness, Resilience, and Action (TARA)<br>* This will be a 12-week group meditation training - Training for Awareness, Resilience, and Action (TARA)<br>|
| No Intervention: Control<br> | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in Emotional Problems | Change in the level of emotional problems measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The emotional problems scores have a possible range of 0 to 10. Higher scores represent higher levels of emotional problems. | Baseline/randomization and 12 weeks after baseline/randomization |