Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial Using a 'Leapfrog' Design
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
This study is a small-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) using a 'Leapfrog' design (Blackwell, Woud, Margraf, & Schönbrodt, 2019) with the aim of investigating feasibility of this design in the context of an RCT of an internet-delivered intervention. The leapfrog design will be applied to a simple cognitive training intervention, imagery cognitive bias modification (imagery CBM), completed over a four-week training period. The trial will start with the three arms described in the initial registration, but these will be removed and new arms added over the course of the trial on the basis of sequential Bayesian analyses.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
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N/A |
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| No Intervention: Monitoring Participants complete weekly questionnaires (QIDS-SR, PMH, GAD-7) on a weekly basis but receive no intervention. |
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| Experimental: Standard imagery cognitive bias modification Participants are scheduled to complete a first introductory session then 12 further training sessions of a 'standard' imagery cognitive bias modification (CBM) intervention derived from that implemented in previous studies. |
Behavioral: Imagery cognitive bias modification
The imagery cognitive bias modification intervention is derived from that developed via experimental psychopathology research (e.g. Holmes et al., 2009) and adapted for clinical applications in the context of depression (e.g. Blackwell & Holmes, 2010; Blackwell et al., 2015). The intervention is a series of training sessions in which participants listen to training scenarios consisting of descriptions of everyday situations, structured so that they start ambiguously but always end positively. Participants are instructed to imagine themselves in the situations described as the scenarios unfold. It is hypothesised that via repeatedly practising imagining positive resolutions for ambiguous situations in the training sessions, a bias is trained to automatically imagine positive resolutions for ambiguous situations encountered in daily life.
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| Experimental: Standard imagery cognitive bias modification plus additional rationale and transfer instructions Participants are scheduled to complete a first introductory session then 12 further training sessions of a 'standard' imagery cognitive bias modification (CBM) intervention, but in addition are first presented with a more extended rationale for completing the training, and during each training session are provided with instructions to practice retrieval and rehearsal of the training contents in between sessions. |
Behavioral: Imagery cognitive bias modification
The imagery cognitive bias modification intervention is derived from that developed via experimental psychopathology research (e.g. Holmes et al., 2009) and adapted for clinical applications in the context of depression (e.g. Blackwell & Holmes, 2010; Blackwell et al., 2015). The intervention is a series of training sessions in which participants listen to training scenarios consisting of descriptions of everyday situations, structured so that they start ambiguously but always end positively. Participants are instructed to imagine themselves in the situations described as the scenarios unfold. It is hypothesised that via repeatedly practising imagining positive resolutions for ambiguous situations in the training sessions, a bias is trained to automatically imagine positive resolutions for ambiguous situations encountered in daily life.
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| Experimental: Standard imagery cognitive bias modification with frequent brief sessions Participants are scheduled to complete a first introductory session then 40 brief (~5 min) sessions of a 'standard' imagery cognitive bias modification (CBM) intervention, with 2 per day five days per week for each of the four training weeks. In addition, as with the arm "Standard imagery cognitive bias modification plus additional rationale and transfer instructions", participants are first presented with a more extended rationale for completing the training, and during many of the training sessions are provided with instructions to practice retrieval and rehearsal of the training contents in between sessions. This arm was added into the ongoing trial on 30.05.21. |
Behavioral: Imagery cognitive bias modification
The imagery cognitive bias modification intervention is derived from that developed via experimental psychopathology research (e.g. Holmes et al., 2009) and adapted for clinical applications in the context of depression (e.g. Blackwell & Holmes, 2010; Blackwell et al., 2015). The intervention is a series of training sessions in which participants listen to training scenarios consisting of descriptions of everyday situations, structured so that they start ambiguously but always end positively. Participants are instructed to imagine themselves in the situations described as the scenarios unfold. It is hypothesised that via repeatedly practising imagining positive resolutions for ambiguous situations in the training sessions, a bias is trained to automatically imagine positive resolutions for ambiguous situations encountered in daily life.
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| Experimental: Standard imagery cognitive bias modification with a less intensive schedule Participants are scheduled to complete a first introductory session then 11 further sessions of a 'standard' imagery cognitive bias modification (CBM) intervention, with 3 sessions scheduled for each of the four training weeks. Sessions have fewer training scenarios than the "Standard imagery cognitive bias modification" condition and more varied task instructions. In addition, as with the arm "Standard imagery cognitive bias modification plus additional rationale and transfer instructions", participants are first presented with a more extended rationale for completing the training, and during many of the training sessions are provided with instructions to practice retrieval and rehearsal of the training contents in between sessions. This arm was added into the ongoing trial on 09.06.21. |
Behavioral: Imagery cognitive bias modification
The imagery cognitive bias modification intervention is derived from that developed via experimental psychopathology research (e.g. Holmes et al., 2009) and adapted for clinical applications in the context of depression (e.g. Blackwell & Holmes, 2010; Blackwell et al., 2015). The intervention is a series of training sessions in which participants listen to training scenarios consisting of descriptions of everyday situations, structured so that they start ambiguously but always end positively. Participants are instructed to imagine themselves in the situations described as the scenarios unfold. It is hypothesised that via repeatedly practising imagining positive resolutions for ambiguous situations in the training sessions, a bias is trained to automatically imagine positive resolutions for ambiguous situations encountered in daily life.
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Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS) [Post-intervention (4 weeks post-baseline).]
A 17-item scale measuring anhedonia (Rizvi et al., 2015). The primary analysis is a between-groups comparison of post-intervention scores, controlling for baseline scores, using constrained longitudinal data analysis (cLDA). An approximate Bayes factor is then calculated via the t-statistic for the Time x Group effect with a directional default Cauchy prior (rscale parameter = √2/2).
Secondary Outcome Measures
- Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology - Self Report (QIDS) [Baseline, 1 week post-baseline, 2 weeks post-baseline, 3 weeks post-baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks post-baseline)]
A 15-item version of the QIDS (Rush et al., 2013), excluding the suicidal ideation item, will be used
- GAD-7 [Baseline, 1 week post-baseline, 2 weeks post-baseline, 3 weeks post-baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks post-baseline)]
A brief 7-item measure of generalized anxiety symptoms (Spitzer et al., 2006)
- Positive Mental Health Scale (PMH) [Baseline, 1 week post-baseline, 2 weeks post-baseline, 3 weeks post-baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks post-baseline)]
A 9-item questionnaire designed to assess positive mental health (Lukat et al., 2016)
- Ambiguous Scenarios Test for Depression (AST) [Baseline and post-intervention (4 weeks post-baseline)]
A measure with two 15-item parallel forms designed to assess depression-relevant negative interpretation biases (Rochbacher & Reinecke, 2014)
- Prospective Imagery Test (PIT) [Baseline and post-intervention (4 weeks post-baseline)]
A measure designed to assess vividness of positive and negative future-oriented imagery (Stöber et al., 2000), here administered with as two 10-item parallel versions (each with 5 positive and 5 negative items).
- Negative Effects Questionnaire - Short Form (NEQ) [Post-intervention (4 weeks post-baseline)]
A 20-item questionnaire designed to assess potential negative effects of psychological interventions (Rozental et al., 2019)
Other Outcome Measures
- Spontaneous Use of Imagery Scale (SUIS) [Baseline]
A 12-item questionnaire assessing experience of spontaneous non-emotional mental imagery in daily life (Reisberg et al., 2003)
- Credibility / Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ) [Baseline]
A 6-item questionnaire assessing participants' evaluation of the credibility of an intervention (3 items) and their expectancy of symptom improvement (3 items) over the course of an intervention (Devilly & Borkovec, 2000)
- Feedback questionnaire [Post-intervention (4 weeks post-baseline)]
A questionnaire containing both rating scales and open questions for eliciting participants' feedback about the study and interventions completed (if applicable)
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
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Aged 18 or over
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Fluent German
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Willing and able to complete all study procedures (including having a suitable device/ internet access)
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Interested in monitoring their mood over the study time-period (one month)
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Score of ≥ 6 on the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, including ≥ 1 on item 13 (General Interest), indicating at least mild levels of depression symptoms and anhedonia
Exclusion Criteria:
- No exclusion criteria set
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ruhr University of Bochum | Bochum | Nordrhein-Westfalen | Germany | 44801 |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- Ruhr University of Bochum
- Ludwig-Maximilians - University of Munich
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Simon E Blackwell, Dr. phil., Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Additional Information:
Publications
- 365