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Treatment of Aggressive Behavior and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Treatment of Aggressive Behavior and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Former Street Children and Vulnerable Children in Burundi With Narrative Exposure Therapy for Violent Offenders

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT01519193
Enrollment
42
Registered
2012-01-26
Start date
2011-01-31
Completion date
2012-05-31
Last updated
2012-11-07

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

Conditions

Aggressive Behavior, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Keywords

Aggressive Behavior, Appetitive Aggression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Brief summary

Street children and children of vulnerable families in conflict or former conflict regions are often exposed to multiple traumatic events and situations in which they are forced to engage in violent behavior. The Narrative Exposure Therapy for violent offenders (NETvo) aims to reduce both PTSD symptoms and aggressive behavior. It helps the children to anchor fearful experiences and positive emotions linked to violent behaviour in the past. Additionally, visions for the future are developed in order to foster successful reintegration into society.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALNarrative Exposure Therapy for violent offenders (NETvo)

During NETvo the client, with the assistance of the therapist, constructs a chronological narrative of his whole life with a focus on exposure to traumatic stress and also on perpetrated violent acts. Empathic understanding, active listening, congruency and unconditional positive regard are key components of the therapist's behavior who asks in detail for emotions, cognitions, sensory information, and physiological reactions, linking them to an autobiographical context. Positive emotions and cognitions reported for violent acts are linked to the respective past. During four sessions the most important traumatic experiences and perpetrated violent acts are processed. In the fifth session plans and ideas for the future are developed to assist the children to reintegrate themselves into society.

Sponsors

University of Konstanz
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
12 Years to 23 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Positive Emotions concerning aggressive behavior derived from expert interviews with higher Scores of the Appetitive Aggression Scale (AAS) * children are part of an aid program for reintegration into society

Exclusion criteria

* current substance dependance or use of antipsychotic drugs * chronically ill children

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Load of traumatic symptoms measured via the UCLA Adolescent PTSD Index (Clinician-administered PTSD scale)6 months
Positive emotions linked to aggressive behavior via the AAS-CS (Appetitive Aggressions Scale for children and students)6 months

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
Load of depressive symptoms measured via the MINI-KID6 months
Strength of suicidal ideation measured via the MINI-KID6 months
Functionality measured via the CGAS (Children's Global Assessment Scale) and SDQ (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire)6 months

Countries

Burundi

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026