Executive Function and Symptom Reduction in Youth Receiving Home-based Treatment With Collaborative Problem Solving

Executive Functions and Symptom Reduction in Youth Receiving Home-based Treatment With Collaborative Problem Solving

In this project, the investigators will extend prior results of parent-reported executive function growth and symptom reduction in children receiving home-based treatment with the Collaborative Problem Solving treatment approach (CPS), with a particular focus on examining children who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The investigators will examine executive functioning (EF) of children who are receiving CPS, measuring EF with parent-report and objective computer-based tasks, at two timepoints: at the start of treatment and approximately four months later, and will collect symptoms at these plus three additional timepoints: at discharge, 6-months after discharge, and 12-months after discharge.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Problem Behavior; Child Behavior; Executive Dysfunction
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Collaborative Problem Solving

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 54

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
      • Massachusetts General Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 7 years to 14 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The participants of this study are youth (ages 7 to 14) who are the identified clients being seen in home-based therapy at identified Youth Villages sites in Massachusetts.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clients of participating non-profit organization that are receiving home-based youth mental health care
• Speaking and writing English at level necessary to complete study requirements

Exclusion Criteria:

• Youth is in full state custody and consent cannot be obtained by a guardian
• Youth and/or guardians do not speak English well enough to complete standardized measures
• Youth has a confirmed or suspected Full Scale IQ below 70, or carries a prior diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder at the moderate or severe level

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Behavioral Symptoms	Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Parent-report measuring child emotional problems, conduct issues, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems, and pro- social behavior)	Baseline, 4 months, discharge, 6 months post-discharge, and 12 months post-discharge
Change in Behavioral Symptoms	Clinical Global Impressions (Measures clients' symptom severity, global improvement, and therapeutic response)	Baseline, 4 months, and discharge
Change in Executive Functioning Skills	Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (Parent-report measuring deficits in different domains of executive functioning)	Baseline and 4 months
Change in Executive Functioning Skills	CANTAB computer-based cognitive tasks (Motor Screening Task, Stop Signal Task, Spatial Span, Multitasking Test, Stockings of Cambridge, Intra-Extra Dimensional Set Shift)	Baseline and 4 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Child-Parent Relationship	Child-Parent Relationship Scale (A 15-question measure of parents perceptions of their relationship with their child by using a scale of 1-5 where 1 "definitely does not apply" and a 5 "definitely applies to the child-parent relationship")	Baseline and 4 months
Treatment providers' fidelity to Collaborative Problem Solving (as a moderator)	CPS Treatment Integrity Rating Form Short (Observational ratings by trained CPS coaches that quantitatively measure providers' fidelity to the practice of the CPS treatment approach)	provider rating made closest in proximity to four-month timepoint

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital
• Collaborators: Youth Villages; Gerstner Philanthropies
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Alisha R Pollastri, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 14, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2022
• Study Completion (Anticipated): December 1, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 7, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 8, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): October 10, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 18, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 13, 2023
• Last Verified: April 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Executive Functioning; ADHD; Parenting; Youth; Behavior Problems; Collaborative Problem Solving; CPS; Disruptive Behavior
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Problem Behavior
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2019P002239

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No