Background:
Irritability is defined as proneness to anger that may impair a person's ability to function. It is a common reason for why some children need mental health care. Yet no therapies have been developed just to target irritability. Researchers want to compare different types of therapy for irritability.
Objective:
To test different types of therapy for children and teens with severe irritability.
Eligibility:
People aged 8 to 16.5 years with severe irritability. Their parents are also needed.
Design:
Participants will have 28 study visits in 18 months.
They will have a baseline visit. They will answer questions about their mood, behavior, and daily life.
All parents and children will have 12 therapy sessions. Sessions will be once a week; they will last 30 to 60 minutes. Some of the child sessions may be done by telehealth.
Each parent and child will have 1 of 3 therapy types:
Exposure therapy (child). Participants will face things that make them angry. A therapist will help them practice managing their anger.
Management therapy (parent). Therapists will coach parents on ways to manage their child s behaviors.
Psychoeducation/supportive psychotherapy (child and/or parent). Participants will talk with therapists about their or their child s feelings and behaviors. They will list their problems and goals; build coping skills; learn to relax; improve communication; and work on managing stress.
Sessions may be videotaped. Participants may opt out of being recorded.
Participants will have phone calls every 2 weeks during therapy. They will answer questions about how they are doing. Follow-up calls will continue for 1 year after therapy.
Age 8-16.5 years
Caregiver and/or child reports irritability as a primary clinical concern. Specifically, compared to his/her peers, the child exhibits markedly increased reactivity to negative emotional stimuli that manifests verbally or behaviorally. For example, the child responds to frustration with extended temper tantrums (inappropriate for age and/or precipitating event), verbal rages, and/or aggression toward people or property.
Parent of a child eligible for this protocol that can attend 12 parent sessions
Fluent in English
Active major depressive disorder or history of psychosis, bipolar I disorder, Level 2 or 3 autism spectrum disorder, active severe substance use disorders (within the last month), conduct disorder, have active suicidal intent or plan as detected on screening instruments.
IQ < 70 as assessed by a WASI or assessment by trained clinical staff
Past or present medical or neurological condition, disease, disorder, genetic finding, or injury that, in the opinion of the Investigator, may significantly increase the potential risks of study participation, reduce or compromise a subject s ability to fully comply with all study requirements for the duration of the study or may compromise the integrity of the data.
IQ < 70
This study is for children ages 8-16.5 with irritability as a primary concern, including frequent verbal outbursts, or aggression in response to frustration or negative emotions. Symptoms must occur at least three times weekly and impair functioning in at least two settings, such as home, school, or with peers. A parent must be able to attend 12 parent sessions. Both children and parent must be able to speak and read English. Children are excluded for active major depression, psychosis, bipolar I disorder, level 2 or 3 autism spectrum disorder, recent severe substance use, conduct disorder, active suicidal intent or plan, IQ below 70, or significant medical or neurological conditions. Parents are excluded for IQ below 70, active psychosis, or recent substance/alcohol problems needing separate treatment.
Other
Prospective
Psychotherapy
BehavioralParticipants will receive either exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy, parent management training, or psychoeducation supportive psychotherapy.
Clinician Affective Reactivity Index (CL-ARI)
A 12-item clinician-administered measure of temper outbursts, irritable mood, and impairment over the past week, based on parent and child report.
Clinical Global Impressions Improvement (CGI-I)
A clinician-rated, diagnosis-independent measure of overall treatment response, assessing change from relative to a baseline on a 7-point scale (1 = very much improved to 7 = very much worse)
CBT for Irritability-Adherence Scale
The CBT for irritability- Adherence Scale was developed specifically for the exposure-based CBT treatment we developed. The measure contains 26 items focused on standard elements of cognitive behavioral therapy (e.g., setting agenda, homework, motivation), treatment-specific elements (e.g., exposure for the child and parent skills training for the parent), and mode of delivery elements (e.g., modeling, rehearsal, coaching). Each item is phrased as to the extent to which the therapist adheres to that task; for instance, Therapist encourages child participation in one or more exposure tasks. Therapist completes each measure for child and parent after each of the 12 sessions and rating each item on a 7-point scale: 1 = not at all, 4 = considerably, 7 = extensively.
Working Alliance Inventory (WAI)
The WAI (Horvath \& Greenberg, 1989) is 12-item, 7-point Likert-scale measure of alliance in the therapist-client dyad. We plan to use this measure to assess the alliance between therapist and parent. Individual item responses range from 0 ( Never ) to 6 ( Always ). Items are worded as statements on the dyadic relationship between therapist and parent. The WAI contains 3 subscales based on Bordin s (1979) analysis of the primary components of therapeutic alliance: Goal, Task, and Bond, which assess the degree to which the parent feels they agree with the therapist on the primary goals of therapy, the usefulness of the tasks completed in therapy, and feelings of trust and compatibility with the therapist, respectively. The WAI has demonstrated good reliability and validity in previous studies (Hatcher et al., 2020; Munder et al., 2010). This measure takes about 5 minutes to complete and will be administered at each session.
Affective Reactivity Index (ARI)
A brief parent- and self-report measure of irritability with 6 core items (score range 0 12) and an additional impairment item not included in the total.
Brief Irritability Test (BITe)
A 5-item self-report measure assessing irritability over the past two weeks on a 6-point scale, designed to minimize overlap with related constructs.
Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS)
A clinician-administered measure of past-week anxiety severity across major domains, using a symptom checklist and severity ratings based on child and parent report.
Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED)
A 41-item parent- and child-report measure of recent anxiety symptoms rated on a 3-point scale, with total and subscale scores.
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