A Feasibility Study of a Guided Self-help Programme for Male Offenders Serving a Long-term Prison Sentence

February 8, 2021 updated by: Jennifer Lai, University of Glasgow

Evaluating the Feasibility of a Guided Self-help Programme for an Adult Male Population of Offenders Serving a Long-term Prison Sentence

Background: Prisoners have complex mental health needs, and there is a disproportionately higher incidence of mental health problems compared with the general population. Although research indicates that psychological interventions are effective in treating prisoners with anxiety and depression, medication is often the only treatment available in prisons. Living Life To The Full (LLTTF) is a life skills programme teaching skills to cope with life stresses, and has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression in individuals in the community.

Research Questions

  1. Will prisoners take part in and engage with LLTTF?
  2. Do LLTTF booklets need to be adapted for prisoners?
  3. Does LLTTF show an effect of reducing anxiety and/or depression?
  4. Does history of HI reduce responsivity to LLTTF?
  5. Does LLTTF reduce number of breaches of prison rules?

What did the study involve?: Prison Officers in HMP Shotts were invited to take part and attend LLTTF training. Male prisoners aged 21 and above in HMP Shotts were recruited using posters. Assessment of anxiety, depression, perceived functioning, and history of head injury was carried out. Prisoners' work attendance and breaches of prison rules for the month prior to and month during LLTTF was collected. Prison Officers and prisoners provided feedback of LLTTF at end of treatment.

Results: Six (6%) Prison Officers attended LLTTF training and two (33%) withdrew prior to prisoner recruitment. 6% (n=15) of prisoners invited to take part volunteered and were eligible. Seven prisoners completed LLTTF.

There was a sign of a treatment effect with reductions in depression following LLTTF. Anxiety reduced at the last session and increased at post-treatment, which reflects the deterioration in a minority of prisoners. Due to the small sample size, history of HI and responsivity was not explored. Prisoners were not on report the month prior to LLTTF, therefore impact on breached rules was not explored.

Feedback from Prison Officers and prisoners indicated materials required adaptation for prison, such as including activities feasible in prison. Prison Officers highlighted practical barriers to delivery of LLTTF, including limited time.

Conclusions: Guided self-help in prison is worth pursuing. Revision of materials with Prison Officers and prisoners is recommended, and evaluated in future research. Due to practical barriers reported by Prison Officers, designated guided self-help workers may be better placed to deliver this intervention.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

15

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

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

21 years to 100 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

Eligible prisoners were adult males (aged 21+) at HMP Shotts who experienced mild-severe levels of psychological distress (defined as PHQ score of 5+), were prepared to attend four sessions of the guided self-help, able to read and write, and able to engage in the guided self-help.

Prisoners were excluded if deemed, by Prison Officers or healthcare staff, to pose a direct risk of harm to the field researcher (or were at risk of imminent and significant self-harm).

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

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Guided Self Help
Four guided self-help booklets were used; "Why do I feel so bad?" covered formulation/understanding feelings, "I can't be bothered doing anything" centred on activity scheduling, "Why does everything always go wrong?" focused on thought-challenging, and "How to fix almost everything" incorporated problem solving. Linked worksheets were adapted following feedback from Prison Officers.
Other: Guided Self Help
Guided self help appointments with prison staff - 4x 30 minute appointments.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The number of prison officers who complete the LLTTF training and the number of prisoners who complete the 4 appointments of LLTTF.
Time Frame: Through study completion, 17/01/2020
Quantitative
Through study completion, 17/01/2020

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Reports of the means of the PHQ-9
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 4 weeks for each participant.
Quantitative
Through study completion, an average of 4 weeks for each participant.
Reports of the means of the GAD-7
Time Frame: Through study completion, average of 4 weeks for each participant.
Quantitative
Through study completion, average of 4 weeks for each participant.
The percentage of participants who believe the booklets need to be adapted for use in prison.
Time Frame: Through study completion, 17/01/2020
Quantitative
Through study completion, 17/01/2020

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Glasgow

Collaborators

NHS Lanarkshire

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)

March 1, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 17, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

January 17, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 11, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 8, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

February 10, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 10, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 8, 2021

Last Verified

February 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • L19007

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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.

Clinical Trials on Depression

Clinical Trials on Guided Self Help

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Kyrgyzstan

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe