Treatment of Formerly Abducted Children (FAC) in Uganda

March 7, 2011 updated by: University of Konstanz

A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial (RCCT) to Test the Effectiveness of Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) Versus an Attention Control Condition (AC) in Reducing Trauma Related Symptoms in Formerly Abducted Children and Former Child Soldiers Suffering From Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

In the aftermath of traumatic experiences like natural disasters or man-caused traumatic events, such as war experiences, a substantial part of the affected individuals develop a number of psychological symptoms. The characteristic symptom pattern occurring in the aftermath of traumatic events is called posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and includes functional impairment of the affected individuals. The investigators want to test whether Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) is an effective tool in reducing trauma related symptoms in formerly abducted children and youths and former child soldiers, when applied by lay personnel.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

85

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Uganda
    • Amuru
      • Anaka, Amuru, Uganda
        • Vivo Counselling Centre

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

12 years to 25 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • clinical diagnosis of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) derived from expert interviews
  • member of the group of formerly abducted people or former child soldiers

Exclusion Criteria:

  • current substance dependence
  • mental retardation
  • psychotic disorder

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: NET
Behavioral: Narrative Exposure Therapy

Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) is based on Testimony Therapy in combination with cognitive behavioural exposure techniques and elements of client-centered counselling. In cooperation with the therapist the clients can restore their autobiographic memories about their traumatic experiences. In this way fragmentary memories are transformed into a coherent narrative structure. This practice enables the processing of painful emotions and the construction of clear contingencies of dangerous and safe conditions, generally leading to significant emotional recovery. Therapeutic aims are the reduction of PTSD-Symptomload via activation of fear-network and habituation of fear and the placement of traumatic experiences in a reconstructed, detailed and consistent autobiography.

NET will be applied in eight sessions (90-120min/session) in a standardized, manualized manner.

Other Names:
  • NET
Active Comparator: AC
Behavioral: Academic Counseling

Missing time in educational life is one major issue for formerly abducted people. The Academic Counseling (AC) intervention is an active Control condition and improves English skills and works at the same time on concentration, learning and memory abilities. The clients will gain some of the abilities and skills they might have lost or developed weaknesses in due to their abduction.

AC will be applied in eight sessions (90-120min/session) in a standardized, manualized manner.

Other Names:
  • AC
No Intervention: WL
Waiting list

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Load of traumatic symptoms measured via the CAPS (Clinician-administered PTSD scale)
Time Frame: 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after completion of treatment
3 months, 6 months and 1 year after completion of treatment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Load of depressive symptoms measured via the MINI, strength of suicidal ideation measured via the MINI, functionality measured via the CAPS, feelings of guilt measured via the CAPS, stigmatization measured via an adapted version of the PSQ
Time Frame: 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after completion of treatment
3 months, 6 months and 1 year after completion of treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Konstanz

Collaborators

German Research Foundation

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Frank Neuner, Univ.-Prof. Dr., Bielefeld University
  • Principal Investigator: Thomas Elbert, Univ.-Prof. Dr., University of Konstanz
  • Study Director: Verena Ertl, Dipl.-Psych. (MSc), Bielefeld University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

November 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 31, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 31, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

November 1, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

March 8, 2011

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 7, 2011

Last Verified

July 1, 2008

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • NE 1390/2-1

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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