anxiety
Conditions
Interventions
Respondents in the experimental condition are offered the self-help book. The intervention or course entails 6 different
techniques, based on elements from cognitive behavioural therapy. Duration of t
Sponsors
prof. dr. P. Cuijpers
head of department of Clinical Psychology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Eligibility
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1. The presence of clinically relevant anxiety and/or depressive symptoms as established by a score of 7 or higher on the HADS-A and/or a score of 16 or higher on the CES-D; 2. The participant is suffering from low self-esteem as established by administration of the Rosenberg selfesteem scale (Rosenberg, 1965); 3. The participant is troubled and/or limited by the aforementioned symptoms.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Insufficient understanding of the Dutch language.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The intervention's primary focus is enhancing self-esteem. The primary outcome measure used in this study is the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1965). This scale includes 10 statements (such as 'generally speaking, I am content with myself'). The respondent then checks a score on a 4-point scale which indicates the extent to which the respondent identifies with the statement. Total scores vary from 0 to 30, higher scores indicate higher self esteem. In a sample of the Dutch population, a mean score of 20.9 was reported with a standard deviation of 4.4. Both international and Dutch studies report high reliability, validity and internal homogeneity (Cronbach alpha .86; Franck et al., 2008). | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The study's secondary focus is establishing whether the intervention is succesful in reducing anxiety and/or depressive symptoms: 1. Anxiety symptoms are measured with the Anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (the HADSA). This is a validated 7-item self-report measure of anxiety, with a 4-point scale. Total scores vary from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating more anxiety symptoms(Spinhoven et al., 1997); 2. Depressive symptoms are measured with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). This is a validated 20-item self report questionnaire, with a 4-point scale. Total scores vary from 0 to 60, with higher scores indicating more depressive symptoms (Radloff, 1977); 3. In order to establish whether the respondent uses other health care resources and to establish the presence of work related problems as a consequence of the psychological symptoms, the Tic-P will be administered. This questionnaire is developed by the Institute of Medical Technology Assessment (iMTA) of the Erasmus university and the Trimbosinstitute and has been used in a variety of different studies (van Dam et al., 1998; Hakkaart-van Roijen, 2002; Penninx et al., 2008); 4. Quality of life is increasingly regarded as an important secondary outcome measure. In order to establish quality of life, the RAND-36 will be administered. This is a 36-item self-report questionnaire involving a variety of subscales that portray health-related quality of life (Ware and Sherbourne, 1992). | — |
Contacts
Public ContactJ. Schuurmans
Van der Boechorststraat 1
Outcome results
None listed