Behavioral Rigidity in Residential Treatment for Substance Use Disorder (RIG-TD) (RIG-TD)

May 14, 2026 updated by: Lauro Gutiérrez Castro

Behavioral Rigidity as a Transdiagnostic Dynamic Process in Patients With Substance Use Disorders: A Longitudinal Observational Study

Behavioral rigidity, the tendency to maintain inflexible patterns of thinking and acting despite changing circumstances, is a common feature in substance use disorders, depression, and anxiety. This observational study aims to measure behavioral rigidity as a dynamic, transdiagnostic process in patients undergoing residential treatment for substance use. Using a longitudinal intensive repeated-measures design, participants complete weekly assessments of cognitive reactivity (Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-8 item version, ATQ-8), behavioral activation (Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale, BADS), and experiential avoidance. A Behavioral Rigidity Index (BRI) is derived from these measures. Additionally, natural language processing (NLP) is applied to therapy session transcripts to quantify linguistic absolutism (e.g., use of words like "always," "never") and affective polarity. Bayesian multilevel models examine whether rigidity predicts current and next-week clinical status. The study also explores whether linguistic markers add unique predictive value beyond self-reports. Results may inform personalized monitoring and interventions targeting psychological inflexibility in addiction treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Enrolling by invitation

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This is an observational, longitudinal intensive study with repeated measures (weekly assessments) conducted in a residential therapeutic community in Mexico. Participants are adults (N=34, age 18-60) with substance use disorder and co-occurring emotional dysregulation or behavioral maladaptation, receiving standard psychosocial treatment (not assigned by the research protocol). Inclusion requires a minimum stay of four weeks, at least three complete measurement time points, and ability to complete self-reports. Exclusion criteria: severe neurocognitive impairment, acute psychotic symptoms, or incomplete longitudinal records.

Measures are collected at the beginning of each weekly therapy session:

Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-8 (ATQ-8): frequency of negative automatic thoughts (higher scores indicate more frequent negative automatic thoughts).

Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS): subscales of Activation (goal-directed activity) and Avoidance/Rumination (experiential avoidance).

From these, a Behavioral Rigidity Index (BRI) is computed in two versions:

BRI-Simple (BRI-S): sum of standardized intraindividual scores of ATQ-8 + BADS-Avoidance - BADS-Activation.

BRI-Pondered (BRI-P): weighted combination derived from principal component analysis of the three standardized scores. The first principal component explained the majority of the common variance, supporting unidimensionality of the construct.

Additionally, natural language processing (NLP) pipelines are applied to transcribed therapy sessions and self-registries. Text is tokenized, lemmatized, and normalized by document length. Four linguistic domains are extracted:

Affective polarity: density of negative/positive terms.

Linguistic absolutism: frequency of extreme quantifiers (e.g., "always", "never", "everything", "nothing").

Grammatical agency: proportion of active vs. passive voice sentences.

Lexical complexity: type-token ratio and entropy.

A Linguistic Rigidity Index (LRI) is created by standardizing and averaging absolutism scores and inverted negative polarity (higher LRI = greater linguistic rigidity).

Statistical analysis uses Bayesian multilevel models with random intercepts by participant. The outcome variable is intraindividual standardized ATQ-8 (ATQ8_total_z). Predictors include time in treatment, BRI (contemporary and lagged by one week), and LRI. Model comparison will be performed using information criteria appropriate for multilevel models. Secondary analyses explore dynamic systems metrics derived from the state space defined by ATQ-8 and BRI-P, such as deviation from typical states and return speed after disturbances.

All procedures comply with the Declaration of Helsinki. The protocol was approved by the institutional ethics committee (Comité de Ética en Investigación de la Comunidad Terapéutica Under The Tree). Participants gave informed consent for anonymized use of their clinical data for research purposes.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

35

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

  • Mexico
    • Jalisco
      • Potrerillos, Jalisco, Mexico, 45815
        • Under The Tree Potrerillos

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

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adult patients (age 18-60) with substance use disorder and co-occurring emotional dysregulation or behavioral maladaptation, admitted to a residential therapeutic community in Mexico. The sample includes both sexes, with an expected predominance of males (approximately 85%). Participants are receiving standard psychosocial treatment, including individual and group therapy, 12-step facilitation, and occupational activities. No healthy volunteers are included.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Minimum stay of four weeks in the residential treatment program
  • At least three complete longitudinal measurement time points
  • Ability to read, understand, and respond to self-report instruments in Spanish
  • Capacity to participate in structured clinical sessions
  • Diagnosis of substance use disorder (clinical assessment)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Severe neurocognitive impairment
  • Acute psychotic symptoms
  • Incomplete longitudinal records (less than three time points)
  • Inability to complete self-report measures due to cognitive or language barriers

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Participants with Substance Use Disorder
Adult patients (n=34) receiving standard residential treatment for substance use disorder in a therapeutic community. All participants undergo weekly assessments of cognitive reactivity (Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-8 item version, ATQ-8), behavioral activation (Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale, BADS), and natural language processing (NLP) of therapy session transcripts.
Other: No intervention
This is an observational study; no experimental intervention is administered. Participants continue their standard residential treatment as usual, which includes psychosocial therapy, 12-step facilitation, and occupational activities.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in negative automatic thoughts measured by the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire 8-item version
Time Frame: Weekly from baseline until discharge from treatment (up to 12 weeks)
The Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire 8-item version is a self-report measure assessing the frequency of negative automatic thoughts. Total scores range from 8 to 40, with higher scores indicating more frequent negative automatic thoughts. Longitudinal change in total score across treatment is evaluated as the primary outcome.
Weekly from baseline until discharge from treatment (up to 12 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Behavioral Rigidity Index - Pondered (study-derived composite index)
Time Frame: Weekly from baseline until discharge (up to 12 weeks)
Study-derived composite index calculated from standardized longitudinal measures of negative automatic thoughts, behavioral activation, and avoidance/rumination. Higher scores indicate greater behavioral and cognitive rigidity across time.
Weekly from baseline until discharge (up to 12 weeks)
Behavioral activation measured by the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale Activation subscale
Time Frame: Weekly from baseline until discharge (up to 12 weeks)
The Activation subscale of the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale assesses engagement in goal-directed activity and environmental reinforcement. Higher scores indicate greater behavioral activation.
Weekly from baseline until discharge (up to 12 weeks)
Avoidance and rumination measured by the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale Avoidance/Rumination subscale
Time Frame: Weekly from baseline until discharge (up to 12 weeks)
The Avoidance/Rumination subscale of the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale assesses experiential avoidance and rumination-related behaviors. Higher scores indicate greater avoidance and rumination.
Weekly from baseline until discharge (up to 12 weeks)
Linguistic Rigidity Index derived from therapy session transcripts
Time Frame: Weekly from baseline until discharge (up to 12 weeks)
Study-derived linguistic index calculated from automated natural language processing of therapy session transcripts, including frequencies of absolutist language and negative affective polarity. Higher scores indicate greater linguistic rigidity.
Weekly from baseline until discharge (up to 12 weeks)
Change in anxiety symptoms measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale
Time Frame: Weekly from baseline until discharge (up to 12 weeks)
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale assesses severity of anxiety symptoms. Total scores range from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety severity.
Weekly from baseline until discharge (up to 12 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Lauro Gutiérrez Castro

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Lauro Gutiérrez Castro, Under The Tree Therapeutic Community

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)

May 25, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 15, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 9, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 9, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 15, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 14, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRC-P-CTUT-001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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.

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