Effectiveness of School-Based Solution Focused Brief Therapy for Academic and Behavioral Problems in Adolescents

September 3, 2026 updated by: National University of Modern Languages
This randomized wait-list controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of School-Based Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) for adolescents experiencing academic and behavioral problems. Eligible students will be randomly assigned to either an immediate intervention group or a wait-list control group. Outcomes related to academic functioning and behavioral problems will be assessed at baseline and post-intervention to determine the effectiveness of SFBT in improving student outcomes.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

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 Contact

Study Contact Backup

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

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

  1. Adolescents enrolled in grades 6-8.
  2. Identified through teacher and peer nominations as having academic and behavioral difficulties.
  3. Student consent was obtained.

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental group
Participants receive four to five weekly group sessions of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy delivered in school settings.
Behavioral: Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
Five weekly sessions (40-50 minutes each) delivered in groups of 8-10 adolescents in school settings.
No Intervention: wait-list control group
Participants receive no intervention during the study period and are offered SFBT after completion of the trial.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Behavioral Problems scores measured by The Pediatric Symptom Checklist
Time Frame: Baseline, Post-test (after 5 weeks)
The Pediatric Symptom Checklist-17 (PSC-17; Gardner et al., 1999) is a 17-item self-report measure of emotional and behavioural problems in adolescents.
Baseline, Post-test (after 5 weeks)
Change in Academic Problems scores measured by Student Stress Inventory
Time Frame: Baseline, Post-test (after 5 weeks)
The student stress inventory will be used to assess the academic problems of adolescents before and after intervention
Baseline, Post-test (after 5 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

National University of Modern Languages

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Asia Mushtaq, PhD, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad

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 (Estimated)

September 17, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

November 17, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 10, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 30, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 3, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 10, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 3, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 11-PhD/Psy/F23

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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