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Completed

NCT Number: NCT06708442

Guided Narrative Technique After Coronavirus Outbreak Influencing Positive and Negative Emotions and Cognition for Children--A Randomized Controlled Trial

At the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 broke out in Wuhan, raging across the country quickly afterwards. As a sudden public health emergency, this epidemic caused some stress reactions (including emotional, cognitive, and behavioral reactions) in children. These stress responses, in moderation, may be beneficial as a response to the challenge. However, excessive, and inappropriate stress responses may damage children's mental health, immune function, and daily function.

School-based CBT intervention is effective in alleviating children and adolescent anxiety. However, the effect last only shortly. Therefore, adding a new intervention component is necessary. Guided Narrative Technique (GNT) is an intervention focusing on narrative coherence and emotional expression. It has writing and drawing versions. The writing version was developed from Expressive Writing and has a significant effect on the improvement of various negative emotions and negative cognitions of traumatized individuals.

In this study, a randomized controlled experiment will be implemented. All participants will take a CBT course first. Then, they will be asked to write or draw about the epidemic or other life events using GNT. The study will explore the impact of CBT course combined with GNT on negative emotions and cognition of children after such a public crisis.

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Key information

Conditions

Anxiety and Depression Anxiety Disorders Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Depression Mental Disorders

Age range

8 year–14 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Peking University

Beijing, China

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • have the ability to read and write in Chinese

Exclusion criteria

  • no parental consent

Treatment and study plan

School-based CBT intervention

Behavioral

School-based CBT intervention: a 3-day, 40-minute per day cognitive behavioral intervention. The intervention will take place in a school classroom in a format similar to offline classroom lectures and classroom interactions. The intervention will lead by one undergraduate student from the School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and one first-year doctoral student with training in clinical psychology. The content of the intervention was based on the theory of cognitive behavioral therapy for children, with a complete self-developed intervention manual, and three interventions targeting emotional awareness and management, thought recognition, and problem coping, respectively.

Guided Narrative Technique (GNT) Writing

Behavioral

Guided Narrative Technique (GNT) Writing : GNT writing is an intervention through writing. It will be conducted once a day for 20-30 minutes for three days. Subjects will be asked to complete Guided Narrative Writing at a set time each day for three consecutive days, under the guidance and supervision of a school teacher, following guidelines.

Guided Narrative Technique (GNT) drawing

Behavioral

Guided Narrative Technique (GNT) Drawing: GNT drawing is an intervention through drawing. It will be conducted once a day for 20-30 minutes for three days. Subjects will be asked to complete Guided Narrative Drawing at a set time each day for three consecutive days, under the guidance and supervision of a school teacher, following guidelines.

Primary outcomes

  1. Anxiety and depression

    Time frame: From enrollment to the 6-month follow-up

    Child anxiety and depression symptoms measured by RCADS-25.

Secondary outcomes

  1. PTSD for children

    Time frame: From enrollment to the 6-month follow-up

    The Child PTSD Symptom Scale for DSM-5 (CPSS-5) for adolescents and children (scores from 0 to 4, and total scores vary from 0 to 80). A higher score represents worse PTSD symptoms.

Other outcomes

  1. Emotion awareness

    Time frame: From enrollment to the 6-month follow-up

    A 30-item Emotion awareness questionnaire measures emotion awareness on a 3-point Likert scale (1 to 3, and total scores vary from 30 to 90). A higher score represents better emotion awareness.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Peking University

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2021
Study completion
2021
First posted
Nov 27, 2024
Registry last updated
Nov 27, 2024

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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