Psychological distress Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Conditions
Interventions
Adolescents in participating communities in Lebanon are randomised to the following two conditions.
1. The Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions (EASE) program. This is a group psycholo
Sponsors
War Child
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1. Aged between 10 and 14 years old 2. Reside with a caregiver who is able to provide consent 3. Screens positive for psychological distress during screening (using Child Psychosocial Distress Screener) 4. Children of any nationality and background will be eligible
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: 1. Unaccompanied minor 2. Caregiver was not a family member, as they were not able to provide legal consent 3. Significant cognitive impairment or severe neurological impairments or developmental difficulties as determined by caregiver-report during screening, where this would impair their ability to participate in a group intervention 4. Imminent risk of suicide 5. Currently married, due to legal consent and protection concerns
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Psychological distress measured using the Paediatric Symptom Checklist 35 (PSC-35) youth report at baseline (T0), post-intervention (T1), and 3-month follow-up (T2) | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| All secondary outcomes are assessed at T0, T1, and T2: 1. Adolescent-reported outcomes: 1.1 Symptoms of depression measured using the 9-item adolescent version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-A) 1.2 Symptoms of traumatic stress measured using the 13-item Children’s Revised Impact of Event Scale (CRIES-13) 1.3 Impairment of Daily Functioning measured using a questionnaire that was developed specifically for this study. The questionnaire consisted of 10 items pertaining to the level of impairment experienced with important daily activities; updated 19/06/2019: to consist of 9 items pertaining to the level of impairment experienced with important daily activities. 1.4 Wellbeing measured using the 14-item Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) 2. Caregiver-reported outcomes: 2.1 Caregiver-reported child psychological distress measured using the PSC35 caregiver-version 2.2 Caregiver level psychological distress measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) 2.3 Parenting measured using the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire-42 (APQ42) Where a caregiver has multiple children in the study, the APQ42 and K6 will only be completed once by the caregiver, while the caregiver-report PSC-35 will be completed separately for each child. Moderators: The study is not powered for moderation effects, however, we will conduct an exploratory analysis of the potential moderating effect of child exposure to potentially traumatic events, measured at T0 via caregiver report, using a trauma checklist contextually developed for this site Treatment contamination check, measured using survey questions designed for this study (T1, T2) All outcomes are assessed by a masked team of interviewers not involved in service delivery. | — |
Countries
Lebanon
Outcome results
None listed