Appetitive Aggression
Conditions
Keywords
Aggression, Violence, Post-conflict reconstruction, Demobilization, Traumatized offenders
Brief summary
Heightened levels of aggression are fuelling violent incidents at all levels, especially in post-war regions. Narrative Exposure Therapy for Forensic Offender Rehabilitation (FORNET) aims to address trauma symptoms along with reactive and instrumental/appetitive aggression to encounter the downward cycle of perpetration and enforce a sustainable (re-)integration into civil life. In the present study, the investigators provide an adapted version of FORNET to former combatants in the North Kivu, Eastern DR Congo. Structured baseline, 3 and 6 month follow up interviews will be administered to assess the main outcome measures recent violent acts and appetitive aggression.
Detailed description
Participants will be recruited through local NGOs and eligible clients randomized to the treatment or waitlist control group, respectively. The treatment will be provided by supervised local counsellors after a 4-week training. At baseline, 3-month and 6-month follow up, sociodemographic data, trauma exposure, perpetrated violent acts, PTSD, recent aggression, functionality and drug dependency will be assessed. The interviews will be conducted by blind Congolese psychological interviewers after an intensive 3-weeks training and continuous supervision.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALFORNET (adapted version)
Sponsors
University of Konstanz
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
16 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Eligibility criteria * Former participant of an armed group in DR Congo * Involvement in violent attacks Inclusion Criteria: * PTSD diagnosis or AAS sum score of 22 or higher
Exclusion criteria
* Acute intoxification (alcohol or other drugs) * Acute psychotic symptoms * Sign of cerebro-organic diseases
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Appetitive aggression (sumscore; 0-60 indicating higher levels) | Change from baseline to 3-5 and 6-9 months post treatment | Appetitive Aggression Scale (Weierstall & Ebert, 2011) |
| Current violent behavior (sumscore; 0-96 indicating more acts) | Change from baseline to 3-5 and 6-9 months post treatment | A list of violent offenses perpetrated during the last 3 months (formerly used in Burundi; Crombach/Augsburger/Nandi) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| PSS-I: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (sumscore, 0-80 indicating higher severity) | Change from baseline to 3-5 and 6-9 months post treatment | PTSD Symptom Scale (Foa & Tolin, 2000) |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Social acknowledgement (0-45 indicating more social acknowledgment) | Change from baseline to 3-5 and 6-9 months post treatment | Social Acknowledgement Questionnaire (Maerker & Mueller, 2004) |
| Epigenetic changes | Change from baseline to 6-9 month post treatment | Genome wide methylation patterns (to be explored) |
| Depression (0-27 indicating higher severity) | Change from baseline to 3-5 and 6-9 months post treatment | Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 (Kroenke & Spitzer, 2002) |
| Substance use problems | Change from baseline to 3-5 and 6-9 months post treatment | Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (Humeniuk et al., 2008) |
Countries
Germany
Outcome results
None listed