Two Anger Management Programs for Teens.

An Exploratory Study of Two Intervention Programs for Anger Management for Teens.

The general aim of the proposed pilot study is to evaluate the the efficacy of mind-body bridging (MBB) for anger management compared with the Real Deal anger management program, in helping adolescents control or reduce their anger.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Anger; Aggression; Hostility
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Real Deal program for Anger Management; Behavioral: Mind-body Bridging (MBB) program

Detailed Description

In this pilot randomized-controlled study, we evaluate the effects of MBB as compared with an established anger management program (Real Deal), in helping youth prone to anger develop tools to effectively reduce and control their anger, and potentially reduce other negative emotions and feelings that might be associated with their anger.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 35
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Utah
    • Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84108
      • Pain Research Center, Anesthesiology, University of Utah
    • Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84115
      • Salt Lake County Youth Services

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 13 years to 17 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• English-speaking
• self-, or allo-referred (parents, peers, court-ordered, school, etc.), based on their propensity for displaying various disruptive, externalizing behaviors, including, anger, hostility, oppositional behavior, and temper outbursts, and as such identified by Youth Services (YS) as a suitable candidate to attend a YS anger management program.

Exclusion Criteria:

• none

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Real Deal program for Anger Management; The Real Deal Anger Management Program is a structured, video-based intervention, which is an easy-to-implement, "plug and play" program that engages students in: (a) cognitive exercises for learning to recognize and correct thinking errors that lead to anger, (b) active practice of social-behavioral skills through role-playing, and (c) participation in progressive muscle relaxation exercises. The program features three training videos that focus on specific skills for controlling conflict.	Behavioral: Real Deal program for Anger Management; Real Deal is an eight week program with sessions one day per week. Each session is approximately 2 hr long.
Experimental: Mind-body Bridging program; The Mind-Body Bridging program for anger management, includes experiential awareness activities, in which individuals learn to become aware of their thoughts, feelings, emotions, and bodily sensations, to help them identify and deal with ruminative and negative thoughts that might be associated with their anger. MBB helps participants use their senses to listen to sounds, and experience visual or tactile input, to calm their minds and relax their bodies. Written 'mapping' exercises enable them to recognize and defuse requirements, which are expectations of how they or the world should be. For the MBB anger management program, participants will be provided with a variety of mapping exercises to identify the source of their anger, and how they can effectively control it.	Behavioral: Mind-body Bridging (MBB) program; MBB is an eight week program with sessions one day per week. Each session is approximately 2 hr long.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from baseline at Post-assessment in the measure of the Youth Outcomes Questionnaire 30-item (YOQ30)	The Youth Outcome Questionnaire Self-Report 30 (YOQ-30) is a relatively brief (30-item) psychotherapy outcome measure, which considers general symptoms relevant to many youth mental health disorders and social issues. YOQ-30 is appropriate for tracking youth outcomes over time. It can be completed by adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 and takes about five minutes to complete. It comprises six subscales (Somatic, Social Isolation, Aggression, Conduct Problems, Hyperactivity/Distractibility, and Depression/ Anxiety). A total score can be computed with 0 indicating no symptomatology and 120 indicating severe symptomatology.	Baseline (within 1 month of the first session), Mid-assessment (Week 4), Post-Assessment (one week after Week 8)
Change from baseline at Post-assessment in the measure of the Brief Aggression Questionnaire (BAQ)	The BAQ is a 12-item self-report scale identifying four facets of aggression: Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, Anger, and Hostility.	Baseline (within 1 month of the first session), Mid-assessment (Week 4), Post-Assessment (one week after Week 8)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from baseline at Post-assessment in the measure of Mindfulness	Five-facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) The FFMQ Short Form (FFMQ-SF) is a 15-item scale assessing five distinct, interpretable facets of mindfulness, including (1) observing, (2) describing, (3) acting with awareness, (4) non-judgement of inner experience, and (5) non-reactivity to inner experience.	Baseline (within 1 month of the first session), Mid-assessment (Week 4), Post-Assessment (one week after Week 8)
Change from baseline at Post-assessment in the measure of Self-compassion	Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) The SCS short form (SCS-SF) is a 12-item scale used to measure self-compassion, an emotionally positive attitude that can protect against the negative consequences of self-judgment, isolation, and rumination (such as in depression). Self-compassion has three main aspects: (1) self-kindness (being kind and understanding toward oneself in instances of pain or failure, rather than being harshly self-critical); (2) common humanity (perceiving one's experiences as part of the larger human experience, rather than seeing them as separating and isolating); and (3) mindfulness (holding painful thoughts and feelings in balanced awareness, rather than over-identifying with them).	Baseline (within 1 month of the first session), Mid-assessment (Week 4), Post-Assessment (one week after Week 8)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Utah
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Yoshio Nakamura, PhD, University of Utah

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): November 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 27, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 27, 2013
• First Posted (Estimate): December 4, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): November 15, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 14, 2016
• Last Verified: November 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: cognitive behavior therapy; mindfulness; aggression; awareness; anger
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Aggression
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB_00067796

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No