Active clinical trials for "Problem Behavior"

Recent research studies of early onset-obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette's syndrome have questioned whether autoimmunity could play a role in the development of these conditions. As a result, there has been an increased interest in the field of research on the potential involvement of autoimmunity in other psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia. Autoimmune conditions occur when the normal immune system of the body begins working against itself. The immune system recognizes cells as foreign and begins to attack them. There are several similarities between autoimmune diseases and schizophrenia. Genetics play some role in the development of both diseases. Both conditions show a similar course, and both conditions tend to show worsening of symptoms when exposed to stress. Previous research studies have shown intravenous immunoglobulin to be safe and effective when used in neurologic diseases involving the immune system. Presently the NIMH is testing the effectiveness of IVIg in OCD and Tourette's syndrome. Intravenous Immunoglobulin IVIg is a medication that has been used to treat diseases like Kawasaki disease, systemic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, lupus nephritis, and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. The drug modifies the body's natural immune reactions. This research study is a 13-week trial of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) on patients suffering from childhood-onset schizophrenia, who have failed to respond to other therapies.

Background Impairing emotional and behavioural problems are common in children and adolescents and mark a three-fold increased risk of mental disorder in young adulthood. Evidence-based psychological interventions are recommended for indicated prevention and first-line treatment, but access to treatment is often limited. A new, modular cognitive and behavioural therapy program Mind My Mind (MMM) comprising evidence-based interventions for children with emotional and behavioral problems was designed to be delivered by educational psychologists in the Danish municipalities. A feasibility RCT (NCT03448809), demonstrated that the study design was acceptable among children, parents, and therapists, and it provided data to estimate the sample size needed for the definitive RCT. The investigators test the hypothesis that the parent-reported impact of mental health problems will be significantly lower for children in the MMM group as compared with children in the TAU group after the 18-week intervention period (primary hypothesis), and after follow-up at week 26 (first secondary hypothesis). Aim To investigate the effects and cost-effectiveness of MMM compared with TAU for children and adolescents with impairing anxiety, depressive symptoms and/or behavioral problems. Both beneficial and harmful effects are evaluated. Methods The study compares the new modular MMM with TAU for children aged 6-16 years with anxiety, depressive symptoms or behavioral problems impacting on their daily and social life. The trial is conducted in four Danish municipalities in the period from September 2017 to April 2019. Participants are children with indicated needs. The parents sign up the child for assessment in the Pedagogical Psychological Services in the Municipalities. The assessment includes web-based standardized questionnaires for child and parent: 1) the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ), 2) Spence Children's Anxiety Scale, 3) Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, and 4) family, social and school functioning. The questionnaires are supplemented with a clinical psychopathological interview by a trained psychologist. The investigators exclude children with 1) low levels of problems and no indicated needs, or 2) high levels of problems and need of referral to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 412 children will be included and randomized (1:1) to MMM versus TAU. MMM is supported by a central organization, who is responsible for the education and weekly supervision of the therapists, and the web-based data collection and feedback of data in real time to therapists and researchers. All outcomes are self-, parent- and teacher-reported scores on standardized questionnaires administered at baseline, week 18 and week 26. At entry, the child and the parents own description of the Top-problem is recorded and scored on a 10-point likert scale. The Top-problem and impact of problem is scored by parent and child every second week during the intervention period, and the progress is monitored by the therapists in the MMM group. Information on costs is gathered through administrative registers and questionnaires at baseline, week 18, and week 26. Primary objectives and outcome measures This primary outcome is measured with the parent-reported SDQ impact-scale. The minimum relevant difference in impact of mental health problems was set at 1.0 corresponding to a change from severe to moderate, or from moderate to little-or-no impact in one of five domains of child's life: distress, home-life, friendships, classroom learning and leisure activities. Secondary objectives and outcomes measures The key secondary hypotheses are that the children in the MMM group will show significantly lower levels of parent-reported anxiety, depressive symptoms, functional impairment, Top-problems and behavioural problems, and better school attendance and quality-of-life as compared with the children in the TAU group at week 18. All other outcomes are explored at week 18 and 26, including the primary and secondary measures of potential harm: 1) youths with severe and increased levels of self-reported suicidality, hopelessness and/or negative self-evaluation, and 2) youths with poor quality of life in relation to family, free time and friends. Statistical analyses All analyses will be intention-to-treat with two-sided significance tests. The investigators will use mixed models with repeated measures for continuous outcomes and generalized linear mixed model for binary and non-normally distributed outcomes. For the key secondary outcomes, the investigators will use the strategy of hierarchical testing allowing us to preserve the level of significance, α=0.05, as long as the null hypotheses are rejected. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio will be calculated to analyze cost-effectiveness. Perspectives The results will guide policy makers in deciding whether to implement modular CBT-programs like the MMM.

The method "Collaborative and Proactive Solutions" (CPS) was developed by Dr. Ross Greene, Harvard University, to understand and help kids with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. The underlying theory is that challenging behavior is caused by lagging cognitive skills, commonly in the domains of flexibility/adaptability, frustration tolerance, and problem-solving. Thus, challenging behavior can be seen as a form of developmental delay, and the most effective way for adults to help the children and to facilitate interaction with them is to understand the lagging skills behind the behavior and to change their own mindset accordingly. ADHD and autism belong in a group of overlapping neurodevelopmental conditions now often referred to under the umbrella term of ESSENCE (Early Symptomatic Syndromes Eliciting Neurodevelopmental Clinical Examinations). A common impairing problem in both autism and ADHD - and in several of the other disorders in the group of ESSENCE (including Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders) - is the marked inability to control temper, coupled with oppositional-defiant behaviors. The CPS-method has been evaluated by Ross Greene et al. in United States studies for families, in schools, and in institutions for young people with serious behavior problems. Our research group published the first Swedish study with the method in 2012, a small open pilot study. Based on experiences in clinical work after that study our group reached the conclusion that, in order for the intervention to be useful for families with severely impairing ESSENCE, the CPS model needed to be modified. After a number of research meetings and seminars, we therefore designed a new model, based on our CPS-experience, that we now refer to as PR-ESSENCE (Problem Resolution in ESSENCE). The present study is a randomized controlled trial for approximately 130 children and adolescents aged 5-18 years, with neuropsychiatric disorders (for instance Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), Conduct Disorder (CD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Tourette syndrome, learning difficulties), children who have been assessed at our Child Neuropsychiatry Clinic (CNC), and from the Habilitation Services, Child Psychiatry Units or schools in the Göteborg region.

This study aims to evaluate the therapeutic effect of low frequency rTMS over the right DLPFC, versus right OFC versus Sham group of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients. Sixty patients will be recruited from the out-patient psychiatric clinic of a university hospital, and randomized into three equal groups. The 1st group will receive 10 sessions of low frequency rTMS targeting right DLPFC by means of a butterfly coil, 120% RMT, 1 Hz, 3 trains, each of 500 pulses with a 40 seconds inter-train interval allowing the coil to cool. The 2nd group will receive 10 sessions of low-frequency rTMS over the right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), the international 10-20 EEG system will be used to position the coil over the right OFC, at the right frontopolar 2 (Fp2) electrode site, using the following parameters: 120% motor threshold, 1 Hz, 3 trains, each of 500 pulses with a 40 seconds inter-train interval allowing the coil to cool. The 3rd group will receive sham stimulations with the same pulse delivery as the other groups but with the coil placed perpendicular to the scalp. The resting motor threshold (RMT) and cortical silent period (CSP) at different intensities from 110 % to 150 % will be measured before and after the end of sessions. All assessments like (Y-BOCS), (HAM-A), Beck Depression Inventory, (CGI-S), (MoCA) will be performed before and after end of the sessions and 3 months later.

Approximately 4.1% of the adult US population meets the criteria for SMI, a mental disorder associated with significant functional impairment. Even when effective, pharmacologic and psychological treatments often leave individuals with SMI with residual symptoms, impairment, and at risk for re-hospitalization and suicide. The month following hospitalization is a particularly risky time; thus, augmentation treatments that can speed up improvement during brief hospital stays, as well as provide a bridge to outpatient care are urgently needed. Thus, the investigators propose to develop an augmentation to psychiatric hospital care (called "I-Change") that can be continued at home following discharge. I-Change targets interpretation bias, the tendency to resolve ambiguous situations negatively. Interpretation bias is a well-established cognitive vulnerability for psychopathology and is associated with poor emotion regulation, rumination, symptom severity, and suicidal ideation. For example, in a psychiatric hospital sample, interpretation bias upon admission accounted for 28% of the variance in treatment response, and predicted suicidal ideation at discharge, controlling for ideation at admission. Although some existing treatments target this mechanism, most notably Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), they require individuals to be able to recognize their automatic interpretations and use complex techniques to reappraise them. Individuals with SMI who are experiencing symptoms acute enough to require hospitalization are often treatment refractory and may experience particular difficulty applying these techniques. It is therefore critical to more efficiently and effectively engage this target. Over the past 14 years, the Principal Investigator has developed and validated a training task that utilizes repetition and feedback to reinforce a healthier interpretive style. The computer-delivered version of the task was acceptable to an SMI population and led to better treatment response than a placebo task in patients who exhibited interpretation bias at baseline. The investigators seek to develop this task into a personalized smart-phone delivered intervention. The investigators will harness smart-phone technology to enhance skill acquisition and generalization by improving user engagement and prompting participants to complete a session at set times to ensure adequate dosage and spacing of sessions. The investigators will conduct an open trial (n = 16) and a randomized controlled trial (n = 64) to confirm target engagement (improvement in interpretation bias), evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of delivering I-Change during and following discharge from a partial hospital, and examine clinical outcomes (global improvement, functioning) related to changes in interpretation. I-Change is expected to shift interpretation bias, be acceptable to patients with SMI, and lead to greater global improvement compared to a Symptom Tracking control. Results will support a fully-powered effectiveness trial.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the Cognitive Orientation to daily daily Occupational Performance Approach (CO-OP Approach) on activity and participation in school-aged children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD).

This pilot study aims to implement and evaluate Teacher-Child Interaction Training - Universal (TCIT-U), an empirically-supported classroom-based intervention aimed at improving child behavior and social-emotional skills through strengthening teacher-child relationships at a preschool that serves children from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds who are at risk for behavioral health difficulties. The main objectives are to (a) examine TCIT-U's effects on teacher behavior, teachers' sense of efficacy, and child behavior problems and social-emotional skills compared to usual care (UC) and (b) explore the feasibility and acceptability of implementing TCIT-U at a diverse urban preschool.

Substance-abusing youth - especially those who are involved in the juvenile justice system - are at higher risk than nonusers for mental health problems, including depression, conduct problems, personality disorders, suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide, and completed suicide. The proposed Phase II project aims to develop and test the efficacy of a mobile app, called Rewire, that is geared toward helping high risk adolescent substance users reduce or quit their substance use. The Rewire app is based on the primary substance use cessation components tested in our previous work with juvenile justice-involved adolescents and on intervention components shown to be central to smoking cessation; it applies a mindfulness approach as the guiding framework for the intervention.

The purpose of this pilot study is to preliminary examine the impact of a design mechanism aimed at increasing engagement in an unguided digital parent training program for child's behavior problems. Parents will be enrolled into one of two digital parent training intervention arms, dedifferentiated by their level of correspondence with the related deign mechanism.

This study examines the immediate and long-term effectiveness of a group cognitive behavioral therapy intervention (GCBT) in improving health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children treated for mixed psychiatric disorders in naturalistic child psychiatric outpatient settings. The effects of a treatment-as-usual condition (TAU) is also examined. Further, the study aims to explore the associations among children´s HRQOL dimensions and parental well-being, and how GCBT may influence these associations.