Dysfunctional Posttraumatic Cognitions in Children and Adolescents (PTC)

September 25, 2018 updated by: University Children's Hospital, Zurich
The purpose of this study is to investigate the psychological consequences of motor vehicle accidents and burn accidents in 7-18 years old children and adolescents. The impact of posttraumatic cognitions on developing psychological symptoms are of particular interest.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

Background: Dysfunctional trauma-related cognitions play an important role in the aftermath of a traumatic event. Children and adolescents, who think that the experienced trauma has a permanent and disturbing impact on their actual life and their future, feel threatened. Study results show that dysfunctional posttraumatic cognitions correlate highly with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), depression, and anxiety. In addition, children and adolescents with a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have significantly more dysfunctional trauma-related cognitions than those without PTSD. Especially for children and adolescents it is important to consider interacting developmental and environmental factors. A developmental approach, nevertheless, has not been investigated yet.

Aims: The aims of the proposed study are to achieve a better understanding of dysfunctional trauma-related cognitions considering child and environmental factors in a cross-sectional and a longitudinal design.

Method: The sample consists of two different subsamples: 1) A hospital sample consisting of children and adolescents (school age: 7-18 years), who experienced an accidental trauma (either acute traffic accident or burn injury) assessed at three times: in the acute phase (7-14 days), 3 months, and 6 months after the trauma occurred. 2) An already existing clinical sample of 159 children and adolescents (TreatChildTrauma study), who mostly experienced an interpersonal trauma such as sexual or physical abuse. The total sample will be used to investigate the impact of child and environmental factors including trauma type, trauma frequency, age, gender, risk status pre trauma (psychopathological status pre trauma and traumatic events pre trauma), psychopathological status post trauma, and parental trauma-related cognitions. In addition, the hospital sample will be used for assessing the naturalistic time course of dysfunctional trauma-related cognitions as well as the association between cognitions, PTSS, depression, and anxiety over time. Moreover, the association between parental dysfunctional trauma-related cognitions and altered parenting as well as their impact on the child's cognitions will be investigated.

Relevance: Dysfunctional trauma-related cognitions have an important impact on coping with a traumatic event in childhood and adolescence. Nevertheless, no study has investigated the interaction between several child and environmental factors so far. A gain of knowledge in this area is important to improve treatments of trauma-related disorders.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

130

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

  • Switzerland
      • Zurich, Switzerland, 8032
        • University Children's Hospital

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

7 years to 18 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Children and adolescents (ages 7-18 years), who experienced an accidental trauma (either traffic accident or burn accident) and at least one parent.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • child age between 7.0 and 18.0
  • outpatient or inpatient medical care at the University Children's Hospital Zurich because of an injury after a traffic accident or a burn accident
  • at least one parent participating

Exclusion Criteria:

  • a severe comorbid head injury (Glasgow Coma Scale < 9)
  • any previous evidence of pervasive developmental disorder
  • an insufficient command of the German language of the participant or of the parents

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

  • Observational Models: Case-Only
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Child Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (CPTCI)
Time Frame: 6 months
The CPTCI is a 25-item self-report measure assessing dysfunctional posttraumatic cognitions in children ages 6-18 years. The questionnaire showing good psychometric properties yields scores for two subscales "Permanent and disturbing change" and "Fragile person in a scary world" as well as a total score.
6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
University of California at Los Angeles Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index DSM-5 version (UCLA PTSD RI DSM-5)
Time Frame: 6 months
The UCLA PTSD RI DSM-5 is a widely used and well validated questionnaire assessing posttraumatic stress symptoms in children and adolescents ages 7-18 years. Both self-report and proxy-report will be used.
6 months
Children's Depression Inventory (CDI)
Time Frame: 6 months
The CDI is a 29-item self-report measure assessing depression symptoms in children ages 8-16 years. The questionnaire showing good psychometric properties yields a total score.
6 months
Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)
Time Frame: 6 months
The SCARED is a 41-item self-report measure assessing anxiety symptoms in children ages 8-18 years which shows good psychometric properties.
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University Children's Hospital, Zurich

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Markus A. Landolt, Prof. Dr., University Children's hospital, Zürich

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 (Actual)

February 1, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 15, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 22, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

February 26, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 26, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 25, 2018

Last Verified

March 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PB_2016-00275

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

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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