Protocol for a randomised controlled trial investigating an intervention to boost decentering in response to distressing mental experiences during adolescence: the decentering in adolescence study (DECADES).
Authors
Archer-Boyd, Alan
Clegg, Hannah
So, Tierney
Wright, Gemma
Lenaert, Bert
MYRIAD Team
Publication Date
2022-03-30Journal Title
BMJ Open
ISSN
2044-6055
Publisher
BMJ
Volume
12
Issue
3
Language
en
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Bennett, M. P., Knight, R., Dunning, D., Archer-Boyd, A., Blakemore, S., Dalmaijer, E., Ford, T. J., et al. (2022). Protocol for a randomised controlled trial investigating an intervention to boost decentering in response to distressing mental experiences during adolescence: the decentering in adolescence study (DECADES).. BMJ Open, 12 (3) https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056864
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Decentering describes the ability to voluntarily adopt an objective self-perspective from which to notice internal, typically distressing, stressors (eg, difficult thoughts, memories and feelings). The reinforcement of this skill may be an active ingredient through which different psychological interventions accrue reductions in anxiety and/or depression. However, it is unclear if decentering can be selectively trained at a young age and if this might reduce psychological distress. The aim of the current trial is to address this research gap. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Adolescents, recruited from schools in the UK and Ireland (n=57 per group, age range=16-19 years), will be randomised to complete 5 weeks of decentering training, or an active control group that will take part in a combination of light physical exercise and cognitive training. The coprimary training outcomes include a self-reported decentering inventory (ie, the Experiences Questionnaire) and the momentary use of decentering in response to psychological stressors, using experience sampling. The secondary mental health outcomes will include self-reported inventories of depression and anxiety symptoms, as well as psychological well-being. Initial statistical analysis will use between-group analysis of covariance to estimate the effect of training condition on self-rated inventories, adjusted for baseline scores. Additionally, experience sampling data will be examined using hierarchical linear models. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study was approved by the Cambridge Psychology Research Ethics Committee, University of Cambridge (PRE.2019.109). Findings will be disseminated through typical academic routes including poster/paper presentations at (inter)national conferences, academic institutes and through publication in peer-reviewed journals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN14329613.
Keywords
Mental health, 1506, 1712, child & adolescent psychiatry, anxiety disorders, depression & mood disorders, clinical trials, preventive medicine
Sponsorship
Economic and Social Research Council (SUAI/067)
Wellcome (104908/Z/14/z, Wellcome Trust Mental Health Priority Area Special)
UK Medical Research Council (SUAG/043 G101400)
Identifiers
bmjopen-2021-056864
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056864
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/335670
Rights
Licence:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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