Clinical trial NCT04423783: Gamification in the Treatment of Spider Phobia
Official title: Testing a Gamified App to Reduce Avoidance and Fear of Spiders in Spider Phobia
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Spider Phobia
Keywords: Gamification
Anxiety Disorder
Avoidance
App
Lead sponsor: Philipps University Marburg
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2020-06-09
Enrollment: 90
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 65
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Mobile applications are more and more considered when implementing programs for treating mental disorders. The study aims to reduce avoidance and fear of spiders in spider-fearful individuals by combining exposure principles with gamification elements (e.g. narrative background, level progression, points, feedback). We investigate the efficacy of the gamified app in a remote online-therapy context.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

Participants must

* be 18 years or older,
* SPQ score ≥ 14
* BDI-II score ≤ 18

Exclusion Criteria:

Participants will be deemed ineligible if they do not meet the above inclusion criteria or

* are allergic to spiders or bee stings,
* are currently undergoing psychotherapeutic and/or psychopharmacological treatments,
* are experiencing current psychosis, mania, or substance abuse, or
* successfully complete 8 or more of 12 possible BAT steps at baseline (to ensure that participants are indeed spider fearful)
* are at higher risk from Covid-19 or
* participated in a pilot study in 2019.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change in avoidance behavior (Behavioral Approach Task; BAT)
timeFrame: Baseline; (after one-session exposure if applied); Post-treatment (1-week after baseline); 3-week follow-up (4-weeks after baseline)
measure: Change in spider fear (Spider Phobia Questionnaire; SPQ)
timeFrame: Baseline; Post-treatment (1-week after baseline); 3-week follow-up (4-weeks after baseline)
measure: Change in spider fear: Spider-Anxiety Questionnaire (FAS)
timeFrame: Baseline; Post-treatment (1-week after baseline); 3-week follow-up (4-weeks after baseline)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Change in disgust before and after playing the app
timeFrame: Before starting and immediately after completing the game
measure: Change in arousal before and after playing the app
timeFrame: Before starting and immediately after completing the game
measure: Change in anxiety before and after playing the app
timeFrame: Before starting and immediately after completing the game
Other outcomes:
measure: Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II)
timeFrame: Baseline, Post-treatment (1-week after baseline); 3-week follow-up (4-weeks after baseline)
measure: Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)
timeFrame: Baseline, Post-treatment (1-week after baseline); 3-week follow-up (4-weeks after baseline)
measure: German version of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8)
timeFrame: (after one-session exposure if applied), Post-treatment (1-week after baseline); 3-week follow-up (4-weeks after baseline)
measure: Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS)
timeFrame: Post-treatment (1-week after baseline)
Locations:
city: Marburg
country: Germany
facility: Philipps University Marburg
city: Marburg
country: Germany
facility: Philipps-University Marburg Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy
Study officials:
affiliation: Philipps University Marburg
name: Anke Haberkamp, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: