Attention Bias Modification Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder in Adolescents

Attention Bias Modification Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder in Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Trial

In this study, we test whether a two-week 8-session neutral attention bias modification (ABM) training and a two-week 4-session positive ABM could reduce depressive symptoms relative to placebo controls in adolescents with major depressive disorder at posttraining and follow-ups during one year.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode, Unspecified
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: ABMT

Detailed Description

Depression is a common health problem in adolescents. Negative attentional bias has been theorized to play a critical role in the onset and maintenance of depression, suggesting that reduction of such biases may treat symptoms of depression. Recent studies have shown that attention bias modification(ABM) training could reduce depressive symptoms in both dysphoria and previously depressed adult patients.To test the effectiveness of ABM training on the treatment of depressive symptoms in depressed adolescents, we designed a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial in adolescents with major depressive disorder(MDD).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 45
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Hunan
    • Changsha, Hunan, China, 400081
      • Department of Psychology, Hunan Normal University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 11 years to 19 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Meet the major depression disorder's criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

• bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or organic mental disorder;
• any concurrent psychotherapy;
• any concurrent psychotropic medication.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Attentional bias modification training; Attention bias modification training (ABMT) is a a variation of attention tasks to modify attentional biases, in which a probe always appears in the location of relatively positive stimuli after the two stimuli, one neutral and one emotional, were simultaneously presented. Participants complete 8 sessions (320 trials each with 20 minutes) over two weeks of neutral ABMT to shift attention toward neutral, in which a probe appeared in the location of neutral with 90% probability, and sadness-related with 10% probality. At a 9-week follow-up, participants completed 4 more sessions (480 trials each with 30 minutes)over two weeks of positive ABMT to shift attention toward positive words,in which a probe appeared in the location of 67% positive or 33% neutral.	Behavioral: ABMT; During a two-week period, 8 sessions of a modified dot probe task for attentional bias modification training (ABMT) condition, 8 sessions of a classic dot probe task for placebo training (PT) condition.
Active Comparator: Placebo control; The placebo ABMT was identical to the active ABMT, but shifted toward neutral (50%) or sad (50%) stimuli equally often (i.e., 50/50 training).	Behavioral: ABMT; During a two-week period, 8 sessions of a modified dot probe task for attentional bias modification training (ABMT) condition, 8 sessions of a classic dot probe task for placebo training (PT) condition.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in depressive symptom number	Depressive symptom accounts measured by Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children.	baseline, 7-week, 6-month follow-up
Changes in depressive severity	depressive severity measured by the construct interview of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children(K-SADS)	baseline, 7-week, 6-month follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change of Self-report symptoms	symptoms measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait(STAI-T)，Rumination Response Style（RRS)，Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire（SIQ）	baseline, 7-week, 6-, 12-month follow-up
Diagnostic status of major depressive disorder	Assessed by the diagnostic interview of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children	baseline, 7-week, 6-month follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Hunan Normal University
• Investigators: Study Director: Wenhui Yang, Ph.D, MD., Hunan Normal University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Yang W, Zhang JX, Ding Z, Xiao L. Attention Bias Modification Treatment for Adolescents With Major Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2016 Mar;55(3):208-18.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2015.12.005. Epub 2015 Dec 23.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: September 1, 2012
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 14, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 4, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): March 5, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 28, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 26, 2019
• Last Verified: March 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: depression，adolescent，attention bias，modification
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Mental Disorders; Mood Disorders; Depression; Depressive Disorder; Depressive Disorder, Major
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: All data can be shared with other researchers
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: after the completion and forever
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Only for research
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ANALYTIC_CODE; CSR