Investigating Distress Tolerance in Adults With Tourette Syndrome

Sponsor

Johns Hopkins University (Other)

Overall Status

Recruiting

CT.gov ID

NCT05047705

Collaborator

Tourette Association of America (Other)

Enrollment

Location

Arm

Anticipated Duration (Months)

0.9

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

Although behavior therapy is recognized as a first-line intervention for Tourette's Disorder (TD), less than 40% of adults with TD respond to this evidence-based treatment. Limited tolerance for aversive premonitory urges and affective states that accompany tics may be one likely factor that impedes behavior therapy outcomes. This study examines the relationship between distress tolerance and tic inhibition among adults with TD, and investigates the mechanism and effect of therapeutic skills training to enhance distress tolerance abilities. Findings will determine the optimal approach to enhance distress tolerance among adults with TD and ultimately lead to better behavior therapy outcomes.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Tourette Syndrome Tic Disorders Tics	Behavioral: Distress Tolerance Skills Training	N/A

Detailed Description

Tourette's Disorder and other persistent tic disorders collectively affect about about 1% of the population, cause significant distress, and functional impairment. Although behavior therapy is recognized as a first-line intervention for Tourette's Disorder (TD), less than 40% of adults with TD respond to this evidence-based treatment. Limited tolerance for aversive premonitory urges and affective states that accompany tics may be one likely factor that impedes behavior therapy outcomes. This study examines the relationship between distress tolerance and tic inhibition among adults with TD, and investigates the mechanism and effect of therapeutic skills training to enhance distress tolerance abilities.

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Anticipated Enrollment :

35 participants

Allocation:

N/A

Intervention Model:

Single Group Assignment

Masking:

None (Open Label)

Primary Purpose:

Treatment

Official Title:

Investigating Distress Tolerance in Adults With Tourette Syndrome

Actual Study Start Date :

Jun 2, 2022

Anticipated Primary Completion Date :

Nov 1, 2024

Anticipated Study Completion Date :

Nov 1, 2025

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: Distress Tolerance Skills Training Distress tolerance skills training is a multicomponent intervention drawn from third-wave cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) protocols.	Behavioral: Distress Tolerance Skills Training Individuals with TS will receive distress tolerance skill training. Therapeutic skill training will consist of 4 weekly 1-hour sessions. Skill training will occur either in-person or remotely via videoconferencing software. Sessions will focus on building participants' distress tolerance skills with strategies drawn from third-wave CBT.

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Experimental: Distress Tolerance Skills Training

Distress tolerance skills training is a multicomponent intervention drawn from third-wave cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) protocols.

Behavioral: Distress Tolerance Skills Training

Individuals with TS will receive distress tolerance skill training. Therapeutic skill training will consist of 4 weekly 1-hour sessions. Skill training will occur either in-person or remotely via videoconferencing software. Sessions will focus on building participants' distress tolerance skills with strategies drawn from third-wave CBT.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) [Within 1 week after completion of Distress Tolerance Skills Training]
The Distress Tolerance Scale is a 15-item self-report measure that measures the perceived capacity to tolerate distress from a multidimensional framework, including tolerance, appraisal, absorption, and regulation. Items are rated on a 1-5 Likert scale, and then summed. Score ranges from 15-75. Higher total scores indicate greater difficulty with tolerating distress.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Yale Global Tic Severity Scale-Revised (YGTSS) [Within 1 week after completion of Distress Tolerance Skills Training]
The YGTSS is a clinician-rated semi-structured interview that measures tic symptom severity over the previous week. It consists of 10-items that assess different dimensions of tic severity for motor and vocal tics, which are rated on a 0-5 scale. The YGTSS produces a Total Tic Score (range: 0-50), with higher ratings indicating greater tic severity.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years and Older

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Participants will be eligible for participation if the following inclusion criteria are met:

at least 18 years of age
have moderate tic severity or greater as evidenced by a YGTSS Total Tic Score greater than 14 (>9 for adults with motor or vocal tics only)
exhibit a tic frequency of at least one visible tic per minute
be fluent in English
have a total premonitory urge for tics scale (PUTS) total score greater than 17 at Visit 2
have a total DTS score greater than 30 at Visit 2