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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05432323

Multi-family Therapy and School Refusal: an Exploratory Study With Adolescents and Their Families

The purpose of this study is to determine whether multi-family therapy is effective in the treatment of school refusal with anxiety in adolescence.

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Key information

Conditions

School Phobia Anxiety Disorders Mental Disorders Phobia, School Phobic Disorders

Age range

12 year–18 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Maison de Solenn Maison des Adolescents, Cochin Hospital

Paris, IDF, 75014, France

About this study

Anxious school refusal in adolescence is a major public health problem. The involvement of families is essential and multi-family therapy has shown its effectiveness for many mental disorders. This study aims to explore the benefit of multi-family therapy in the care of anxious school refusal in adolescence.

The method will be qualitative with phenomenological analysis of semi-structured interviews with adolescents and their parents and quantitative with a SCED design to assess the evolution of the level of anxiety of adolescents and parents, as well as personalized objectives.

The objective is therefore to improve the care of adolescents with anxious school refusal.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Families with an adolescent
  • Aged 12 to 18
  • Totally out of school for more than 2 consecutive weeks and less than 18 months
  • Follow-up at the Maison de Solenn-Maison des Adolescents (Cochin Hospital AP-HP) for a school refusal
  • Having agreed to participate in a multi-family therapy
  • Domiciliation in Ile de France
  • Agreement of the parents and the adolescent to participate in the study: Collection of the non-opposition of non-emancipated minors and their legal representatives

Exclusion criteria

  • any family situation that makes it impossible to bring parents and children together in family therapy
  • patient under curatorship or tutorship
  • patient with AME (french State Medical Aid)

Treatment and study plan

Multi-Family Therapy

Behavioral

8 sessions of Multi-family therapy of 3 hours each during 24 weeks

Primary outcomes

  1. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)

    Time frame: 13 to 15 months

    Visual Analogue Scale for anxiety (adolescents and parents) / 0 = no anxiety at all, 10 = maximum anxiety imaginable / Weekly measurement between inclusion and the end of the Single Case Experimental Design (SCED) follow-up (13 to 15 months)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Goal Attainment Scale (GAS)

    Time frame: 13 to 15 months

    School attendance (adolescent) / 3-terminal GAS are 5-level GAS, i.e. with a possible rating ranging from -2 to +2. Level -2 corresponds to the initial state at the time of inclusion. Levels -2, 0 and +2 are precisely described, level -1 corresponds to a rating between -2 and 0 and level +1 to a rating between 0 and +2 / Weekly measurements, parents and adolescent, once a week from inclusion to the end of the SCED follow-up (13 to 15 months)

  2. Adolescent Depression Rating Scale (ADRS)

    Time frame: 13 to 15 months

    Depression (adolescent) / 10 questions / Monthly measurements, adolescent and referring psychiatrist once a month from inclusion to the end of the SCED follow-up (13 to 15 months)

  3. Family Assessment Device General Functioning (FAD-GF)

    Time frame: 13 to 15 months

    Family functioning / 12 questions, minimum = 12, maximum = 48 / Monthly measurements, parents and adolescent, once a month from inclusion to the end of the SCED follow-up (13 to 15 months)

  4. Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF)

    Time frame: 13 to 15 months

    Global Functioning of the adolescent / From 0 = inadequate information, to 100 = higher level of functioning in a wide variety of activities - V-axis of the DSM 5 / Monthly measurements, referring psychiatrist, once a month from inclusion to the end of the SCED follow-up (13 to15 months)

  5. CSQ 8 (Client Satisfaction Questionnaire)

    Time frame: 7 to 9 months

    Satisfaction of the patients and the parents with multi-family therapy / 8 questions, minimum score = 8, maximum = 32 / At the end of the multifamily therapy, parents and teenager

  6. Semi-structured interview

    Time frame: 7 to 9 months

    Semi-structured interview with qualitative phenomenological analysis (patients and parents) At the end of multi-family therapy

  7. Semi-structured interview

    Time frame: 19 to 21 months

    Semi-structured interview with qualitative phenomenological analysis (patients and parents) 12 months after the end of multi-family therapy

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Other

Collaborators

  • URC-CIC Paris Descartes Necker Cochin

Registry information

Acronym: Multi-Fast

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2024
Study completion
2025
First posted
Jun 27, 2022
Registry last updated
May 20, 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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