None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Very little research has examined the potential interventions for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in children following accidental injury. This trial aims to evaluate and compare child only and child plus parent versions of a cognitive-behavioural early intervention. It is hypothesised that children within the treatment conditions will significantly reduce in their post-trauma symptoms compared to those children who do not receive any therapeutic intervention. Furthermore, it is hypothesised that children in the child plus parent condition will reduce in their post-trauma symptoms at a greater rate than those children who receive the intervention without parental assistance. The principal clinical question under investigation is the efficacy of an early, trauma-focused cognitive-behavioural intervention for the treatment of PTSD in children following accidental injury. Specifically, we compare the efficacy of two active treatments (child-focused and family-focused CBT) and a waitlist control (no therapy) to determine which is associated with greater reductions in psychological and health-related outcome measures over time. The primary outcome will be a reduction in trauma symptoms on a diagnostic interview in the active treatments compared to the waitlist control and greater reductions in the family- compared to the child-focused condition. In doing so, this project will also trial a method of stepped screening and assessment to determine those children requiring early intervention for PTSD following accidental injury.
Interventions
Children were screened with the Child Trauma Screening Questionnaires following their accidental injury and 1 month post to determine whether they are at high risk for post-traumatic stress symptoms. If high risk they are then further assessed for PTSD via the Clinically Administered PTSD Scale for children (CAPS-CA). If a clinical or sub-clinical diagnosis is apparent the child and parent are then invited to participate in the intervention stage of the trial. The intervention consists of 2 inte
Children were screened with the Child Trauma Screening Questionnaires following their accidental injury and 1 month post to determine whether they are at high risk for post-traumatic stress symptoms. If high risk they are then further assessed for PTSD via the Clinically Administered PTSD Scale for children (CAPS-CA). If a clinical or sub-clinical diagnosis is apparent the child and parent are then invited to participate in the intervention stage of the trial. The intervention consists of 2 integrated but distinct programs - one for parents ("My child and the accident: A story with a good ending") and one for children/adolescents ("Me and the accident: A story with a good ending"), developed by Vanessa Cobham, Peta Lilley, Justin Kenardy, Sue Spence and Brett McDermott in 2007. Both programs are based on trauma focused cognitive behavioural theory and strategies as well as a strength based resilience building approach. The intervention will be delivered via 2 conditions; child-focussed over 6X1.5 hour individual sessions (6 weeks) and family-focused (parent and child) over 10X1.5 hour individual sessions (4 parent, 6 child; 10 weeks).
Sponsors
University of Queensland
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
7 Years to 16 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Admitted to either the Emergency Department or the wards following an accidental or unintentional injury Admitted overnight Endorsment of CTSQ items indicating 'at-risk' status within 2 weeks of admission Clinical or sub-clinical diagnosis of PTSD as identified via the CAPS-CA
Exclusion criteria
Parents english insufficient to complete questionnaires Developmental delay or mental retardation in the child Moderate to severe head injury or post traumatic amnesia following the accident Severe depression or suicide risk in the child Alcohol, substance abuse or psychosis in the caregiver Child under the care of the Department of Child Safety Injury due to physical or sexual abuse
Outcome results
None listed