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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04121650

Executive Function and Symptom Reduction in Youth Receiving Home-based Treatment With Collaborative Problem Solving

In this project, the investigators will extend prior results of parent-reported executive function growth and symptom reduction in children receiving home-based treatment with the Collaborative Problem Solving treatment approach (CPS), with a particular focus on examining children who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The investigators will examine executive functioning (EF) of children who are receiving CPS, measuring EF with parent-report and objective computer-based tasks, at two timepoints: at the start of treatment and approximately four months later, and will collect symptoms at these plus three additional timepoints: at discharge, 6-months after discharge, and 12-months after discharge.

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Key information

Conditions

Child Behavior Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Executive Dysfunction Mental Disorders Neurodevelopmental Disorders Problem Behavior

Age range

7 year–14 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Massachusetts General Hospital

Boston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Clients of participating non-profit organization that are receiving home-based youth mental health care
  • Speaking and writing English at level necessary to complete study requirements

Exclusion criteria

  • Youth is in full state custody and consent cannot be obtained by a guardian
  • Youth and/or guardians do not speak English well enough to complete standardized measures
  • Youth has a confirmed or suspected Full Scale IQ below 70, or carries a prior diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder at the moderate or severe level

Treatment and study plan

Collaborative Problem Solving

Behavioral

CPS is an approach for understanding and reducing challenging behavior in youth. Under CPS, caregivers are taught to understand and identify the specific neurocognitive skill deficits that underlie their child's challenging behavior. Then the caregivers are taught to interact with the child in a way that solves chronic behavior problems while building the lagging neurocognitive skills to avoid future problems.

Other names: CPS

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Behavioral Symptoms

    Time frame: Baseline, 4 months, discharge, 6 months post-discharge, and 12 months post-discharge

    Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Parent-report measuring child emotional problems, conduct issues, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems, and pro- social behavior)

  2. Change in Behavioral Symptoms

    Time frame: Baseline, 4 months, and discharge

    Clinical Global Impressions (Measures clients' symptom severity, global improvement, and therapeutic response)

  3. Change in Executive Functioning Skills

    Time frame: Baseline and 4 months

    Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (Parent-report measuring deficits in different domains of executive functioning)

  4. Change in Executive Functioning Skills

    Time frame: Baseline and 4 months

    CANTAB computer-based cognitive tasks (Motor Screening Task, Stop Signal Task, Spatial Span, Multitasking Test, Stockings of Cambridge, Intra-Extra Dimensional Set Shift)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in Child-Parent Relationship

    Time frame: Baseline and 4 months

    Child-Parent Relationship Scale (A 15-question measure of parents perceptions of their relationship with their child by using a scale of 1-5 where 1 "definitely does not apply" and a 5 "definitely applies to the child-parent relationship")

  2. Treatment providers' fidelity to Collaborative Problem Solving (as a moderator)

    Time frame: provider rating made closest in proximity to four-month timepoint

    CPS Treatment Integrity Rating Form Short (Observational ratings by trained CPS coaches that quantitatively measure providers' fidelity to the practice of the CPS treatment approach)

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Massachusetts General Hospital

Other

Collaborators

  • Gerstner Philanthropies
  • Youth Villages

Registry information

Official study title

Executive Functions and Symptom Reduction in Youth Receiving Home-based Treatment With Collaborative Problem Solving

Important dates

Study start
2019
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Oct 10, 2019
Registry last updated
Jun 15, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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