Treatment of Aggressive Behavior and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Treatment of Aggressive Behavior and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Former Street Children and Vulnerable Children in Burundi With Narrative Exposure Therapy for Violent Offenders

Street children and children of vulnerable families in conflict or former conflict regions are often exposed to multiple traumatic events and situations in which they are forced to engage in violent behavior. The Narrative Exposure Therapy for violent offenders (NETvo) aims to reduce both PTSD symptoms and aggressive behavior. It helps the children to anchor fearful experiences and positive emotions linked to violent behaviour in the past. Additionally, visions for the future are developed in order to foster successful reintegration into society.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Aggressive Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Narrative Exposure Therapy for violent offenders (NETvo)

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 42
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Burundi
  • Bujumbura, Burundi
    • Fondation Stamm

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 12 years to 23 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Positive Emotions concerning aggressive behavior derived from expert interviews with higher Scores of the Appetitive Aggression Scale (AAS)
• children are part of an aid program for reintegration into society

Exclusion Criteria:

• current substance dependance or use of antipsychotic drugs
• chronically ill children

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Narrative Exposure Therapy	Behavioral: Narrative Exposure Therapy for violent offenders (NETvo); During NETvo the client, with the assistance of the therapist, constructs a chronological narrative of his whole life with a focus on exposure to traumatic stress and also on perpetrated violent acts. Empathic understanding, active listening, congruency and unconditional positive regard are key components of the therapist's behavior who asks in detail for emotions, cognitions, sensory information, and physiological reactions, linking them to an autobiographical context. Positive emotions and cognitions reported for violent acts are linked to the respective past. During four sessions the most important traumatic experiences and perpetrated violent acts are processed. In the fifth session plans and ideas for the future are developed to assist the children to reintegrate themselves into society.
No Intervention: No treatment control

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Positive emotions linked to aggressive behavior via the AAS-CS (Appetitive Aggressions Scale for children and students)	6 months
Load of traumatic symptoms measured via the UCLA Adolescent PTSD Index (Clinician-administered PTSD scale)	6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Load of depressive symptoms measured via the MINI-KID	6 months
Strength of suicidal ideation measured via the MINI-KID	6 months
Functionality measured via the CGAS (Children's Global Assessment Scale) and SDQ (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire)	6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Konstanz
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Anselm Crombach, Dipl.-Psych., University of Constance

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 1, 2012
• Study Completion (Actual): May 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 1, 2011
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 23, 2012
• First Posted (Estimate): January 26, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): November 7, 2012
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 6, 2012
• Last Verified: November 1, 2012

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Appetitive Aggression; Aggressive Behavior
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Mental Disorders; Pathologic Processes; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Aggression; Disease; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
• Other Study ID Numbers: UKCR2011