Family focused cognitive behaviour therapy versus behaviourally oriented psycho-education for chronic fatigue syndrome in 11 to 18 year olds: a randomised controlled treatment trial

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN59388875

Enrollment

Registered

2007-05-22

Start date

2000-02-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2015-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) otherwise known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) Nervous System Diseases Diseases of the brain

Interventions

13 sessions of family focused CBT versus four sessions of psycho-education over six months.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Adolescents between 11and 18 2. Fulfill criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome 3. Have been investigated by a Paediatrician 4. If on anti-depressants, then had to be on a stable dose for three months

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Major depression 2. Somatisation disorder 3. Conversion disorder 4. History of self harm 5. Identifiable disease

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
School attendance expressed as a percentage of what was expected.	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
As a secondary outcome school attendance was dichotomised with a good outcome set at 70% or more, as at this age many healthy adolescents are not attending school or college full time. The following were recorded at six months: 1. Fatigue: Chalder Fatigue Scale - internal consistency in this sample was excellent with a Chronbach?s alpha of 0.89 2. Functional impairment: physical functioning subscale of the 36-item Short Form health survey (SF-36) (range 0 to 100 higher scores denoting better health) - this measure is valid and reliable and has been used in adolescents with CFS 3. Degree to which fatigue interfered with adolescent?s life: Social Adjustment Scale - Chronbach?s alpha was 0.91 4. Emotional and social responses: adolescents and their mothers completed the strengths and difficulties questionnaire - this measure has been shown to be valid and reliable in a number of studies 5. Global improvement and satisfaction: Global Outcome Scales - an assessor, blind to the group in which participants were randomised, carried out a semi-structured interview with the adolescent and rated degree of improvement in fatigue and disability on a nine-point scale from ?much better? to ?much worse?	—

Measure

Time frame

As a secondary outcome school attendance was dichotomised with a good outcome set at 70% or more, as at this age many healthy adolescents are not attending school or college full time. The following were recorded at six months: 1. Fatigue: Chalder Fatigue Scale - internal consistency in this sample was excellent with a Chronbach?s alpha of 0.89 2. Functional impairment: physical functioning subscale of the 36-item Short Form health survey (SF-36) (range 0 to 100 higher scores denoting better health) - this measure is valid and reliable and has been used in adolescents with CFS 3. Degree to which fatigue interfered with adolescent?s life: Social Adjustment Scale - Chronbach?s alpha was 0.91 4. Emotional and social responses: adolescents and their mothers completed the strengths and difficulties questionnaire - this measure has been shown to be valid and reliable in a number of studies 5. Global improvement and satisfaction: Global Outcome Scales - an assessor, blind to the group in which participants were randomised, carried out a semi-structured interview with the adolescent and rated degree of improvement in fatigue and disability on a nine-point scale from ?much better? to ?much worse?

—

Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026