This study evaluates the effectiveness of an internet-delivered cognitive control training as a preventive intervention for remitted depressed patients. Half of the participants will receive a cognitive control training, while the other half will receive a low cognitive load training that acts as an active control condition.
Prospective studies have linked impaired cognitive control to increased cognitive vulnerability for future depression. Importantly, experimental studies indicate that cognitive control training can be used to reduce rumination and depressive symptomatology in MDD (major depressive disorder) and RMD (remitted depressed) samples. Provided that remitted depressed patients form a high-risk group for developing future depressive episodes, the current study will explore whether an internet-delivered cognitive control training can be used to reduce vulnerability for future depression in remitted depressed patients. A computer training, consisting of 10 sessions of 15 minutes each, will be administered to participants, which are remitted depressed patients. This training can either be a cognitive control training, using an adaptive paced auditory serial addition task, or an active control training, with a low cognitive load task. Dependent variables will be assessed pre- and post-training, as well as 3 and 6 months after the training, and consist of depressive symptomatology, related variables and cognitive control measures.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
68
10 sessions of an adaptive paced auditory serial addition task, each lasting 15 minutes, over the course of two weeks.
10 sessions of an low cognitive load task, each lasting 15 minutes, over the course of two weeks.
Ghent University
Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Change in depressive symptomatology
Measured by the Beck Depression Inventory - II (BDI-II)
Time frame: Assessed at pre-training assessment and at 6 months follow-up
Change in depressive symptomatology
Measured by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS)
Time frame: Assessed at pre-training assessment, at post-training assessment (within 1 week of completing the training), at 3 months follow-up and at 6 months follow-up
Change in depressive rumination (brooding)
Measured by the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), especially the brooding subscale
Time frame: Assessed at pre- and post-training assessment (within 1 week of completing the training) and at 3 and 6 months follow-up
Change in cognitive emotion regulation strategies
Measured by the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ)
Time frame: Assessed at pre- and post-training assessment (within 1 week of completing the training) and at 3 and 6 months follow-up
Change in quality of life
Measured by the Quality of Life in Depression Scale (QLDS)
Time frame: Assessed at pre- and post-training assessment (within 1 week of completing the training) and at 3 and 6 months follow-up
Remission from depression
Measured by the Remission of Depression Questionnaire (RDQ)
Time frame: Assessed at pre- and post-training assessment (within 1 week of completing the training) and at 3 and 6 months follow-up
Resilience
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Measured by the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC)
Time frame: Assessed at pre- and post-training assessment (within 1 week of completing the training) and at 3 and 6 months follow-up