Aggression, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Problem Behavior
Conditions
Keywords
Problem Behavior, Aggression, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Adolescents
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to determine whether war-traumatize male adolescents with behavioral and emotional problems who participate in mind-body skills groups will have improvement in behavioral and emotional problems, aggression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, compared to a wait list control group.
Detailed description
Mind-body skills incorporate meditation, guided imagery, breathing techniques, autogenic training, biofeedback, genograms, and self-expression through words, drawings, and movement in a small group setting. These groups have been used in war-traumatize populations in Kosovo, Gaza and the United States. This study will be investigating the effect of the mind-body skills groups on boys with behavioral and emotional problem at a high school in Gaza to determine if there is improvement in behavioral and emotional problems, aggression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. The results will be compared to a control high school with boys who will not be attending mind-body skills groups and who have experienced similar levels of trauma and also have behavioral and emotional problems. The mind-body skills groups will be held for 2 hours once a week for 10 weeks and then once a month for 10 months. Measures will be taken at baseline, after the 10 week mind-body skills group program and again at 10 month follow-up.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALMind-Body Skills Groups
Mind-Body Skills groups consist of small groups of about 8-10 participants who learn and practice meditation, guided imagery, breathing techniques, autogenic training, biofeedback, genograms, and self-expression through words, drawings, and movement.
Sponsors
The Center for Mind-Body Medicine
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
14 Years to 17 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Criteria for eligibility for the study will include having a baseline self-reported score of 18 points or higher on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire which indicates high to very high levels of emotional and behavioral problems
Exclusion criteria
* None
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire | Change from Baseline to the end of the 10 week program (Post) | The 25 item Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) measures behavioral and emotional function. These 25 items are divided into 5 subscales: emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems, and prosocial behavior. The SDQ is scored on a 3 point Likert-type scale with the responses not true, somewhat true, and certainly true. Total SDQ scores include all the subscales except the prosocial scale. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| The Aggression Questionnaire | Change from Baseline to the end of the 10 week program (Post) | Aggression will be measured using the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) which is a revision of the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory that has been widely used to measure aggression. The AQ consists of 34 items scored on a 5 point Likert-type scale with responses ranging from not at all like me to completely like me. The AQ has the following subscales: physical aggression,verbal aggression, anger, hostility, and indirect aggression. |
| PTSD Checklist-5 | Change from Baseline to the end of the 10 week program (Post) | Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms will be measured using the PTSD Checklist-5 (PCL-5). PCL-5 is a a self-report measure that assesses 20 symptoms of PTSD. The rating scale is 0-4 for each symptom with responses ranging from Not at all, A little bit, Moderately, Quite a bit, to Extremely. |
Countries
Palestinian Territories
Outcome results
None listed