The purpose of this study is to investigate the utility of post-session administration of D-cycloserine to enhance fear extinction in a sample of people with acrophobia who will be treated with CBT.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
40
The aim of CBT is to help participants become more comfortable with heights situations. Participants will receive 2 sessions over two weeks of individual CBT.
D-Cycloserine
Sugar Pill
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, Texas, United States
Acrophobia Questionnaire With Avoidance (AAVQ)
Self-report measure that assesses fear and avoidance of a variety of heights situations. This questionnaire (Cohen, 1977) describes 20 situations and assesses levels of avoidance (0-3) and anxiety (0-6). These scales widely used measure of acrophobia with adequate retest reliability (r = .82-.86) and validity (Baker et al., 1973). Higher scores indicate higher levels of avoidance/anxiety (i.e., worse outcome). All subscales are summed for a total score. AAVQ will be assessed at each visit throughout the 2 month protocol. The minimum score is 0, the maximum is 90.
Time frame: 2 months
Attitudes Towards Heights Questionnaire (ATHQ)
Self-report measures that assesses thoughts and feelings towards heights situations. This questionnaire (Abelson and Curtis, 1989) includes six heights situations and assesses attitudes toward these situations using a 0-10 scale. Higher scores indicate a worse outcome and total scores are summed over subscales. Will be assessed at each visit throughout the 2 month protocol. The minimum score is a 0; the maximum is a 60.
Time frame: 2 months
Clinical Global Improvement Scale (CGI)
Clinician-rated measure of improvement in acrophobia symptoms and severity. Will be assessed at each visit throughout the 2 month protocol. The CGI-S and CGI-I are widely used measures of global psychopathology severity and improvement initially developed for the study of psychotropic drugs (Guy, 1970). In order to obtain CGI ratings, the therapists (blind to study condition) interviewed the participant and used the SCID (including the specific phobia module) as well as the additional measures of acrophobia symptoms (BAT, AAQ, AAVQ, and ATHQ). In the current study, response was defined as either "very much improved" or "much improved" on CGI-I (score ≤ 2). Remission was defined as either "normal" or "minimally ill" on CGI-S (score ≤ 2). The minimum rating is a 1 and the highest is a 7. Lower scores indicate a better outcome.
Time frame: 2 months
Behavioral Avoidance Test (BAT)
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During the initial screen, at post-treatment, and at follow-up, participants underwent a behavioral avoidance test in the virtual reality height environment. Participants reported on a 0-100 scale (100 being the most intense fear) their SUDS for floors 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 19 of the virtual glass elevator and balconies. This test has been used successfully as a measure of treatment gains in previous studies of acrophobia research (Ressler et al., 2004). For the outcome analyses, we included the level of fear reported at the highest floor of the virtual elevator environment (19th floor). Higher scores indicate a worse outcome.
Time frame: 2 months