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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05300061

Values Interventions for Increasing Engagement With What is Feared in Individuals With Specific Phobias

Exposure is considered the therapy of choice for specific phobias (SPs). Nevertheless, therapy engagement is extremely limited. SPs are maintained through avoidance of feared stimuli and as such willingness to approach what is feared constitutes a key factor that could explain limited treatment engagement. Values interventions, a key element of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), might be one way to increase engagement, yet to this date limited research exists in this area. For the purposes of the current study, two brief values interventions were developed: (a) a personal and (b) a prosocial one. These will be compared to (c) a no-instructions control in increasing willingness to approach and approach behaviour towards phobic stimuli. Ninety participants with flying phobia will be randomly allocated to one of the three groups. To measure willingness to engage with feared stimuli and approach behaviour two behavioural approach tasks using novel technologies (virtual reality), which aimed to expose participants to situations analogous to real life, were developed. Willingness and behavioural approach towards airplanes at a one month follow up will also be assessed.

Therefore, it is hypothesised that:

1. Participants in either of the two values intervention groups will have greater willingness to engage and approach behaviour towards feared stimuli compared to those in control, during the study tasks. 2. Participants in either of the two values intervention groups will have greater willingness to engage and approach behaviour towards feared stimuli compared to those in control at follow up.

Additionally, as prosocial values provide an evolutionary advantage, the second study aim was to identify if they lead to greater engagement with phobic stimuli compared to personal ones. Therefore, it was also hypothesised that: 3. Participants in the prosocial values group will have greater willingness to engage and approach behaviour towards feared stimuli compared to those in personal values group, both during the study tasks and at follow up. 4. Participants in the prosocial values group will have greater willingness to engage and approach behaviour towards feared stimuli compared to those in personal values group at follow up.

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Key information

Conditions

Specific Phobia Aerophobia Phobia, Specific

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Cyprus

Nicosia, Non-US/Non-Canadian, 1678, Cyprus

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 18 or older
  • Meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders 5
  • Good knowledge of the Greek language (adequate comprehension level, reading level, and verbal communication)

Exclusion criteria

  • Severe heart disease
  • High blood pressure
  • Photosensitive epilepsy

Treatment and study plan

Personal Values Intervention

Behavioral

A 15 minute personal values intervention. Aim is to help participants clarify their own values around flying and promote committed action towards airplanes.

Prosocial Values Intervention

Behavioral

A 15 minute prosocial values intervention. Aim is to help participants clarify their prosocial values around flying and promote committed action towards airplanes.

Primary outcomes

  1. Willingness

    Time frame: Day 1 (During experimental tasks)

    In order to capture willingness to engage with feared stimuli three questions were employed, one question for each study task and one for follow up. For example to capture willingness to engage with the virtual reality behavioural approach task, participants were asked: "How willing are you to participate in a virtual reality task involving airplanes?". Answers for all three questions were rated on a scale from 1 (Not willing at all) to 10 (Extremely willing), with higher scores indicating greater willingness levels (i.e., total score: 1 - 10). This approach for developing willingness questions was based on other studies similarly aiming to capture willingness as part of their outcomes using a brief measure (e.g., Fink-Lamotte et al., 2020).

  2. Virtual Reality Behavioural Approach Task (VR BAT)

    Time frame: Day 1 (During experimental tasks)

    The virtual reality (VR) behavioural approach task was developed for the current study to capture approach behaviour towards airplanes in VR. In total the task included seven steps. Each step depicted a different aspect of flying with associated VR visuals and sounds: 1) airplane stopped engine off, 2) airplane stopped engine running, 3) taxiing, 4) take off, 5) cruising, 6) turbulence and 7) landing, each lasting between 51 and 129 seconds. Approach behaviour was calculated by adding the number of steps participants completed in the VR BAT with total approach behaviour score ranging from 0 to 7.

  3. Behavioural Willingness Assessment (BWA)

    Time frame: Day 1 (During experimental tasks)

    For this task, participants were presented with the option to book a short complementary flight. This was a categorical response variable: Participants could either book a flight or decline to participate. Booking a flight indicated approach behaviour towards airplanes.

  4. Follow up Flying Behaviour

    Time frame: One month follow up

    To measure approach behaviour towards airplanes outside the laboratory setting at a one month follow up, one question was employed ("In the past month, have you come in contact with airplanes in any way, such as taking a flight, or booking flight tickets or hotels abroad?") with a "yes" or "no" response (categorical response variable). An affirmative response indicated approach behaviour towards airplanes.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Avoidance Behaviours

    Time frame: Day 1 (During experimental tasks)

    Total number of avoidance behaviours employed by the participants during the virtual reality behavioural approach task were tallied by the experimenter.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Cyprus

Other

Collaborators

  • Youth Board of Cyprus

Registry information

Official study title

Evaluating the Use of Brief Values Interventions in Increasing Willingness to Approach and Approach Behaviour Towards Phobic Stimuli in Specific Phobias

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2021
Study completion
2021
First posted
Mar 29, 2022
Registry last updated
Mar 29, 2022

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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