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Clinical Trials/NCT06755827
NCT06755827
Recruiting
Phase 1

Emotion Regulation Intervention to Improve Neural Responsiveness and Health

Texas Tech University1 site in 1 country30 target enrollmentFebruary 28, 2026

Overview

Phase
Phase 1
Intervention
Emotion regulation and self-monitoring to treat pediatric obesity
Conditions
Overweight Adolescents
Sponsor
Texas Tech University
Enrollment
30
Locations
1
Primary Endpoint
Percentage BOLD (Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent) signal change
Status
Recruiting
Last Updated
2 months ago

Overview

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if an emotion regulation and self-monitoring intervention can help treat overweight and obesity in teens. The main question it aims to answer is:

  • Does emotion regulation and self-monitoring help reduce biases in teens with overweight and obesity?
  • Do changes in biases relate to changes in health functioning and health behavior?

Researchers will compare the intervention to the provision of educational handouts about overweight and obesity to see if the intervention is more effective.

Participants will:

  • Complete self-report questionnaires, an fMRI scan, and have their blood drawn
  • Received educational handouts or attend weekly telehealth group sessions weekly for four weeks and be asked to self-monitor their mood and behavior between sessions
  • Return to complete the same questionnaires, fMRI and blood draw procedures
Registry
clinicaltrials.gov
Start Date
February 28, 2026
End Date
December 31, 2026
Last Updated
2 months ago
Study Type
Interventional
Study Design
Parallel
Sex
All

Investigators

Responsible Party
Principal Investigator
Principal Investigator

Caroline Cummings, PhD

Assistant Professor

Texas Tech University

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

  • Being English-proficient
  • Ages 11-14
  • At or above the 85th BMI percentile based on age and sex norms
  • Having access to WIFI or cellular data to attend the telehealth groups
  • Living in a home in Lubbock County (TX) or surrounding areas.

Exclusion Criteria

  • Having a psychiatric or medical diagnosis that interferes with participation (e.g., significant developmental delay; pregnancy)
  • Current enrollment in overweight/obesity treatment.
  • Because the study will include entering an MRI scanner, additional standard exclusion criteria will be considered (e.g., having immovable medical devices with batteries, body piercings on the head/face, and having substantial visual impairment that cannot be corrected with staff-provided glasses)

Arms & Interventions

Emotion Regulation and Self-Monitoring Program

Participants randomized to this condition will receive an active intervention which includes 4 weeks of an emotion regulation and self-monitoring program. Participants will attend telehealth group sessions once weekly and be asked to self-monitor their mood and health behaviors daily between sessions.

Intervention: Emotion regulation and self-monitoring to treat pediatric obesity

Psychoeducation Control Group

Participants assigned to the psychoeducation control group will receive informational handouts about overweight and obesity, including current daily sleep, diet, and physical activity recommendations to prevent/treat overweight and obesity.

Intervention: Psychoeducation

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Percentage BOLD (Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent) signal change

Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at week 5

Used to index pre-post changes in neuronal responsiveness to obesity-related cues

Glucose tolerance per blood samples

Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at week 5

Used to index pre-post changes in health indicators linked to overweight and obesity severity

Triglycerides per blood samples

Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at week 5

Used to index pre-post changes in health indicators linked to overweight and obesity severity

Cholesterol per blood samples

Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at week 5

Used to index pre-post changes in health indicators linked to overweight and obesity severity

C peptide per blood samples

Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at week 5

Used to index pre-post changes in health indicators linked to overweight and obesity severity

Emotion regulation per Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Short Form (DERS-SF) and Positive Affect (DERS-PA) versions

Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at week 5

Used to index pre-post changes in difficulties with positive and negative emotion regulation. Sum scores and average scores for each measure and subscale are used, with higher scores indicating greater difficulties with each domain

Self-report disordered eating cognitions and behaviors per Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire

Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at week 5

Used to index pre-post changes in health behavior. Items are summed together and averaged, with higher scores indicating greater disordered eating cognitions and behaviors

Self-report average daily minutes and intensity of physical activity per Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) scale

Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at week 5

Used to index pre-post changes in health behavior. Items are summed together with higher scores indicating greater frequency and intensity of physical activity

Self-report average daily minutes and intensity of physical activity per Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A)

Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at week 5

Used to index pre-post changes in health behavior. Items are summed together with higher scores indicating greater frequency and intensity of physical activity

Self-report average daily minutes engaging in sedentary behavior per National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) items

Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at week 5

Used to index pre-post changes in health behavior. Items are summed together with higher scores indicating more frequent sedentary behavior

Self-report acceptability per face-valid questionnaire

Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at week 5

Sum scored, with higher score indication higher acceptability

Percentage of sessions attended (by participant)

Time Frame: From enrollment to study completion, an average of 1 year

Used to index intervention feasibility

Number of participants enrolled

Time Frame: From enrollment to study completion, an average of 1 year

Used to index intervention feasibility

Rate of attrition

Time Frame: From enrollment to study completion, an average of 1 year

Used to index intervention feasibility

Study Sites (1)

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