Clinical trial NCT03807895: REBT Intervention Program for Career Decision-making Difficulties in High School Pupils
Official title: The Effectiveness of an REBT Intervention Program on the Reduction of Career Decision-making Difficulties in High School Pupils
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Career Decision-making Difficulties
Worry
Psychological Distress
Keywords: career indecision
career decision-making difficulties
worry
psychological distress
Lead sponsor: Babes-Bolyai University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2019-01-17
Enrollment: 235
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 16
Maximum age (years): 19
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Career decision-making difficulties are frequent problems for adolescents. Regular intervention or prevention programs mainly provide information for the students about themselves, about the world of work, about their interests and preferences etc. Rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT), a form of Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) provides help for adolescents to efficiently cope with emotional problems (e.g., psychological distress) related to the career decision-making process. The present study aims to investigate the efficiency of an REBT career intervention program implemented in a school setting. School settings are appropriate to deliver group intervention for students. Classes from Romanian public high-schools will be randomized in either intervention or treatment as usual groups.

Detailed description: The intervention will be group based, delivered in 8 sessions, over 8 weeks. Each of the eight modules aimed a different component: Psychoeducation, Information about self and world of work, Steps of career decision-making, Problem solving. Additionally, for the REBT groups: Relationship between cognitive distortions/irrational beliefs and emotions, Cognitive restructuring, Exposure/behavioral activation and emotional problem solving, Maintenance of gaining. Homework would be given at every session. REBT intervention programs delivered in school settings represent ecological modalities to target vulnerable groups. Adolescents will complete assessments at four time points: T1 (baseline), T2 (post-intervention), T3 (3 months follow-up) and T4 (6 months follow-up).

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Adolescents will have ages 16 years to 19 years (11th grade at high school).
* Are attending high school.
* Parents will sign the informed consent and adolescents provide informed assent.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Age below 16 or above 19 years.
* No signed informed consent from the parents.
* Uninterpretable answers on the validation items of the CDDQ (items nr. 7 and 12)

Primary outcomes:
measure: Career Decision-making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ; Gati, Krausz, & Osipow, 1996)
timeFrame: Change from baseline career decision-making difficulties up to 24 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Emotional Distress Profile (PDA; Opris & Macavei, 2005)
timeFrame: Change from baseline distress up to 24 weeks
measure: Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children (PSWQ-C; Chorpita et al., 1997)
timeFrame: Change from baseline worry up to 24 weeks
measure: General Attitudes and Beliefs Scale Short Form (GABS-SF; Lindner et al., 1999)
timeFrame: Change from baseline irrational beliefs up to 24 weeks
measure: Beck Depression Inventory for Youth (BDI-Y; Beck, 2005)
timeFrame: Change from baseline depression, anxiety up to 24 weeks
measure: Beck Anxiety Inventory for Youth (BAI-Y; Beck, 2005)
timeFrame: Change from baseline anxiety up to 24 weeks
measure: Career Decision-making Self-Efficacy Short Form (Betz et al., 1996)
timeFrame: Change from baseline career decision-making self-efficacy up to 24 weeks
measure: Multidimensional Life Satisfaction (Seligson, Huebner, & Valois, 2003)
timeFrame: Change from baseline life satisfaction up to 24 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Cluj-Napoca
country: Romania
facility: Babes-Bolyai University
Study officials:
affiliation: Babes-Bolyai University
name: Anca Dobrean
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: