Aggression, Anger
Conditions
Keywords
Anger, Aggression, CBT, Videogame, biofeedback
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to determine whether Anger Control Therapy (ACT) with Regulate and Gain Emotional-Control (RAGE-Control) is a feasible behavioral therapy to provide on a pediatric inpatient psychiatric unit.
Detailed description
Aggression and disruptive behavior are the most common reasons for child and adolescent inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. Aggressive children and adolescents who merit admission to inpatient psychiatric hospitals for treatment typically display dramatic problems with self-regulation that interfere with global adaptive functioning. The goal of this study is to teach self-regulation techniques by combining Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with a biofeedback video game in effort to motivate patients to learn and practice these coping skills, which will translate to decreased feelings of anger and aggression while hospitalized.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALACT with RAGE-Control
This is an open trial of ACT with RAGE-Control which is a behavioral intervention. The therapy involves five psychotherapy sessions taking place over five consecutive days.
Sponsors
Boston Children's Hospital
Harvard University
Gonzalez-Heydrich, Joseph, M.D.
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
8 Years to 17 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* consecutive admissions to the psychiatric inpatient unit between the ages of 9 and 17 years of age * who were not expected to begin or undergo a change \>25% to their antipsychotic or mood stabilizing medications * elevated levels of anger as demonstrated by baseline score on the State Trait Anger Expression Inventory - Child and Adolescent (STAXI-CA) combined State-anger and Trait-anger score greater than 30.
Exclusion criteria
* Inability to consent, comprehend, and effectively participate in the study. * Gross cognitive impairment due to mental retardation, dementia, or intoxication. * Started on an antipsychotic or mood stabilizing drug within 5 days of beginning the study
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Change from baseline in State Trait Anger Expression Inventory - Child and Adolescent | change from baseline to just after 5th daily session of the study treatment |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Percentage of time playing videogame with heart rate under preset threshold | During videogame play at end of each of the 5 daily sessions of the study treatment | — |
| Therapeutic Helpfulness Questionnaire | after session number 5 of the 5 daily study treatment sessions | To provide information about feasibility, ratings of perceived helpfulness were collected using the Therapeutic Helpfulness Questionnaire5, which elicits both quantitative and qualitative data in three dimensions: 1) the degree to which it is helpful versus hurtful 2) the degree to which the focus of the treatment was helpful 3) overall satisfaction with the treatment. Participants rated each item from 1 = very unhappy or unhelpful to 7 = very happy or helpful. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed