Prevention of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Soldiers

Sponsor

University of Konstanz (Other)

Overall Status

Completed

CT.gov ID

NCT01729325

Collaborator

The Volkswagen Foundation (Other)

118

Enrollment

Location

Arms

28.9

Duration (Months)

4.1

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

Soldiers in conflict or former conflict regions deployed in peace-keeping missions were and are often exposed to multiple traumatic events and situations in which they are forced to engage in violent behavior. The Preventive Narrative Exposure Therapy (Pre-NET) aims to reinforce resilience thereby reducing the risk of developing or aggravating PTSD or other mental disorders as a result of traumatic experiences. The effective prevention of mental disorders as a result of war deployment is expected to facilitate reintegration in civil life after deployment and reduce uncontrolled violence.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Aggressive Behavior	Behavioral: Preventive Narrative Exposure Therapy	Phase 2

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Actual Enrollment :

118 participants

Allocation:

Randomized

Intervention Model:

Single Group Assignment

Masking:

Single (Outcomes Assessor)

Primary Purpose:

Prevention

Official Title:

Prevention of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Relation to Appetitive Aggression in Burundian Soldiers Deployed in a Peace-keeping Mission in Somalia

Study Start Date :

Nov 1, 2012

Actual Primary Completion Date :

Jan 1, 2013

Actual Study Completion Date :

Apr 1, 2015

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: Preventive Narrative Exposure Therapy Treatment with Pre-NET before deployment in peace-keeping mission	Behavioral: Preventive Narrative Exposure Therapy During Pre-NET the client, with the assistance of the therapist, constructs a chronological narrative of his whole life with a focus on exposure to traumatic stress. Empathic understanding, active listening, congruency and unconditional positive regard are key components of the therapist's behavior who asks in detail for emotions, cognitions, sensory information, and physiological reactions, linking them to an autobiographical context. During two sessions a chronological overview of the whole life with a focus on traumatic events is developed and the most important traumatic experiences are processed.
No Intervention: No treatment control

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Experimental: Preventive Narrative Exposure Therapy

Treatment with Pre-NET before deployment in peace-keeping mission

Behavioral: Preventive Narrative Exposure Therapy

During Pre-NET the client, with the assistance of the therapist, constructs a chronological narrative of his whole life with a focus on exposure to traumatic stress. Empathic understanding, active listening, congruency and unconditional positive regard are key components of the therapist's behavior who asks in detail for emotions, cognitions, sensory information, and physiological reactions, linking them to an autobiographical context. During two sessions a chronological overview of the whole life with a focus on traumatic events is developed and the most important traumatic experiences are processed.

No Intervention: No treatment control

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Severity of traumatic symptoms measured via the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Scale-Interview (PSS-I) [15 months]
Extend of appetitive aggression via the Appetitive Aggressions Scale (AAS) [15 months]

Secondary Outcome Measures

Severity of depressive symptoms measured via the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) [15 months]
Strength of suicidal ideation measured via the MINI [15 months]
Physical health complains [15 months]

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

20 Years to 60 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study:

Male

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

Exposure to traumatic experiences derived from expert interviews with scores of the Traumatic Life Event List for War and Torture
Soldiers are part of the Burundian army and of the joint African Union and United Nations peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM)