Facing Fears in Big or Smalls Steps?

University of Groningen50 enrolled

Overview

Anxiety problems are a major concern of youth mental health given that the prevalence of anxiety disorders in Dutch adolescents aged 12 to 18 is approximately 10 percent. In this group, specific phobias are among the most common. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with exposure as its key ingredient, takes a prominent place in national guidelines for the treatment of anxiety disorders. These guidelines are based on empirical support that exposure is effective in the treatment of specific phobia. Therapists help phobic adolescents to overcome their fear by gradually, step by step, working their way up from less scary situations to situations that cause a greater deal of anxiety. Although it is clear that exposure is effective, the size of the steps to be taken in this process remains unclear. However, there are multiple reasons to assume that one or the other works best. On the one hand, adolescents will soon gain trust in their own abilities when taking small steps, which enlarges their feeling of self-control (e.g., self-efficacy). On the other hand there is the risk that these small steps might be experienced as safety behavior and avoidance, which is counterproductive to the essence of exposure (i.e., overcoming the fear) and undermines the potential effect. This might result in either a longer treatment or insufficient treatment benefits. Considering this risk, and the fact that confrontation with a feared object or situation in daily life is also not a step-by-step process, this study proposes to evaluate the optimal dosage of exposure, by studying whether exposure in big steps is more effective than exposure in small steps.

Objective: The primary goal of this study is to evaluate whether exposure in big steps is more effective than a small step-by-step approach. The secondary goal is to find child, parent and therapist factors that possibly relate to the effectiveness of the exposure exercises. Study design: Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) with two parallel groups (intervention versus intervention). Study population: Adolescents aged 12 to 17 years with a specific phobia of the animal/situational subtype. Intervention (if applicable): The intervention will be designed as a CBT, a therapy which has proven to be effective in treating specific phobia. The intervention consists of three individual sessions, each up to 60 minutes long. Each condition starts with a psycho-education session on specific phobias and exposure, during which the participants will create a fear hierarchy (from 1 as least fearful to 10 as most fearful). Following this session either two exposure-in-big-steps or two exposure-in-small-steps sessions are offered. In the big steps exposure condition the adolescent moves in three big steps from bottom to top (1-5-10) in their fear hierarchy. In the small steps exposure condition the adolescent moves in many small steps from bottom to top in their fear hierarchy, for example from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 etc. The intervention will be provided by an experienced mental health professional. Main study parameters/endpoints (see outcome measures paragraph): The main study parameter isseverity of the specific phobia. Secondary study parameters are out-session fear, fearful cognitions, bodily tension, avoidance, coping, in-session fear, in-session harm expectancy (possible mediator variables), approach behavior and self-efficacy. Tertiary study parameters are healthcare costs and quality of life (cost-effectiveness), note: cost-effectiveness is assessed for another study. Other study parameters are specific phobiadiagnosis, general comorbidity, comorbid anxiety and depression, and demographic variables (possible moderator variables); and credibility and expectancy of the treatment, treatment satisfaction, treatment integrity and therapeutic alliance (treatment characteristics).

Interventions

Cognitive Behavioral TherapyBEHAVIORAL

Each intervention will contain a 60-minute psycho-education session (PE) and two 60-minute exposure sessions (EX), conducted by a mental health professional together with a master student in psychology, who are both weekly supervised by a CBT certified psychologist. In the first (PE) session, participants learn about anxiety, specific phobias and exposure. During this session they will create a fear hierarchy (1 relating to least fearful and 10 indicating most fearful situation), formulate their cognition about the feared object or situation and determine what they want to achieve during treatment (e.g. goal situation). The next two sessions consist of exposure exercises in either big or small steps.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in specific phobia severity (Interference, number of symptoms and general impression of the psychologist)

Specific phobia severity in children will be measured with a clinical semi-structured interview using the Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule for Children and Parents (ADIS-IV-C/P). The study will only include the section of specific phobia. Severity of the specific phobia will be rated on a 0-8 interval scale by an independent psychologist on the ADIS-IV (see above). This rating is based on the level of interference, number of symptoms and general impression of the psychologist. A rating 0, 1, 2 or 3 is labelled as no specific phobia, a rating of 4 or 5 is labelled as a mild specific phobia, whereas a rating of 6, 7 or 8 means the specific phobia is labelled as severe. This rating is used to randomize the participants to the different conditions. The ADIS-IV has good test-retest reliability and concurrent validity.

Time frame: Time Frame: At intake (T0), four weeks later at pre-intervention assessment (T1), another four weeks later at post-intervention assessment (T5) and another four weeks later at follow-up assessment (T6)

Secondary Outcomes

Change in level of anxiety (Subjective level of fear, Fearful cognitions, Bodily tension, Avoidance and Coping)

Level of anxiety compromised of Subjective level of fear, Fearful cognitions, Bodily tension, Avoidance and Coping will be measured by Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) ranging from 0-100 (ratio scale) on which the child rates the following aspects of the goal situation as set in the PE session: * Subjective level of fear: 'Not frightened at all' (0) - 'Completely frightened' (100) * Fearful cognitions: 'I do not believe this at all' (0) - 'I completely believe this' (100), in which the credibility of the cognition about the feared object or situation as set in the PE session is rated. * Bodily tension: 'My body feels not tense at all' (0) - 'My body feels completely tense' (100) * Avoidance: 'I would never avoid this situation/object if I could' (0) - 'I would always avoid this situation/object if I could' (100) * Coping: 'I cannot cope with this situation/object at all when I encounter it' (0) - 'I can completely cope with this situation/object when I encounter it' (100)

Time frame: Time Frame: In the first treatment session (T2), one week later in the second treatment session (T3), one week later in the third treatment session (T4), and one week later at post-intervention (T5), and four weeks later at follow-up assessment (T6)

Change in approach behaviour (Time and Distance)

Approach behaviour will be measured by three situational Behavioural Approach Tests (BAT) for feared and avoided objects or situations. The test consists of a number of increasingly difficult steps in which children are asked to approach a phobic object or situation, but are told they can stop the test at any time they wish to do so. During the BAT, individuals are asked to provide "subjective unit of disturbance scale" (SUDS 0-100 ratio scale) ratings immediately after encountering the phobic animal or situation.

Time frame: Time Frame: At pre-intervention assessment (T1), four weeks later at post-intervention assessment (T5) and four weeks later at follow-up assessment (T6)

Change in self-efficacy (Academic, Social and Emotional)

Self-efficacy will be measured by the Self Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C). This questionnaire contains 24 questions regarding academic, social and emotional self-efficacy. Items are rated on a 5-point interval scale from 'not at all' (1) to 'very well' (5). The SEQ-C is proven to be a valid instrument with sufficient reliability.