The Effects of Attention Training on Emotion Regulation and Stress Related Complaints During COVID-19

Not Applicable

Terminated

• Conditions: Anxiety; Stress; Rumination; Depressive Symptoms
• Interventions: Other: psycho-education video

• Registration Number: NCT04367636
• Lead Sponsor: University Ghent

Brief Summary

Attention control for external information and cognitive control for internal information play a causal role in emotion regulation according to different theories and empirical research. Former research in the lab of the investigators has shown positive effects of an interactive attention control/interpretation training, in which participants learned to unscramble scrambled sentences ("life is my a party mess") in a positive way ("my life is a party") by getting eye-tracking feedback about attention for positive ("party") vs. negative information ("mess"). After the training, participants could better reinterpret negative photos in a positive way. Attention- and cognitive control mechanisms prior to negative stressors (proactive control) and after negative stressors (reactive control) seem to play a role in this. Moreover, research has shown that low perceived control and negative expectations about future emotion regulation skills results in lower proactive control and a higher need of reactive control. Based on this, the assumption can be made that the effects of attention control training - targeting reactive control - could benefit from adding techniques that affect proactive control (e.g. psycho-education). In the present study this is investigated by testing a new two weeks attention control training to see if this has a positive effect on stress related complaints, depressive symptoms and emotion regulation. Given that the current COVID-19 pandemic is perceived as very stressful by a lot of people, the training could help here. Participants between 18 to 65 years of age are recruited during this corona crisis. The attention control training is a new smartphone based application. Participants have to unscramble scrambled sentences into grammatically correct sentences. In the training condition, participants are asked to unscramble the scrambled sentences in a positive way. By swiping, participants can see part of the sentences. This gives the investigators an image about the processing of the sentences. This procedure allows to measure how long participants attend to positive and negative words. In the training condition participants get feedback about the duration they process positive and negative words. In the control group participants unscramble the sentences as fast as possible without feedback on emotional attention. Participants only get feedback about the speed at which sentences are unscrambled. Before and after the 10 training sessions, attention of the participants is measured to see the effects of the training. Questionnaires on depressive and anxiety complaints, emotion regulation strategies, well-being and stress are administered before and after the training. There is also a follow-up measure 2 months after the training. Both groups (training and control) watch a psycho-education video before the start of the training.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2020-04-20
• Study First Submitted QC: 2020-04-27
• Study First Posted: 2020-04-29
• Study Start: 2020-09-30
• Primary Completion: 2021-04-20
• Study Completion: 2021-04-20
• Status Verified: 2022-11
• Last Update Submitted: 2022-11-21
• Last Update Posted: 2022-11-28

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: TERMINATED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 49

Inclusion Criteria

• Android smartphone

Exclusion Criteria

• severe depressive complaints

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Active Comparator: PSE + OCAT-sham	psycho-education video	Psycho-education video + an active placebo training, consisting of 10 sessions of ±15 minutes each (during an intervention period of two weeks), will be administered. The training task is an undirected scrambled sentences task with online contingent feedback.
Experimental: PSE + OCAT	psycho-education video	Psycho-education video + an attention training, consisting of 10 sessions of ±15 minutes each (during an intervention period of two weeks), will be administered. The training task is a positively directed scrambled sentences task with online contingent feedback.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Changes in depression-, anxiety- and psychosomatic stress symptoms	pre-test (before starting the training), post-test (immediately after the training), follow-up (two months after the training)	Measured by Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (MASQ-30). It measures the dimensions of Clark and Watson's tripartite model, covering both shared and distinct symptoms of depression and anxiety. It has three sub-scales: Negative Affect (NA), associated with both depression and anxiety; lack of Positive Affect (PA), associated with depressive moods; and Somatic Arousal (SA), associated with anxiety. Scores are ranging from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating more severe psychopathology.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Changes in cognitive emotion regulation strategies.	pre-test (before starting the training), post-test (immediately after the training), follow-up (two months after the training)	Measured by the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). Which measures different emotion regulation strategies. This questionnaire has 9 sub-scales: self-blame, other-blame, rumination, catastrophizing, putting into perspective, positive refocusing, positive reappraisal, acceptance and planning. Each sub-scale has a scoring range between 4 and 20. A higher score represents a greater frequency of engaging in that emotion regulation strategy.
Changes in emotional attention	pre-test (before starting the training), post-test (immediately after the training)	Measured by a baseline measure in our OCAT app and measure of the end of the training period.
Changes in rumination.	pre-test (before starting the training), post-test (immediately after the training), follow-up (two months after the training)	Measured by Rumination Response Scale (RRS). This 22-item questionnaire provides a total rumination score (range: 22 - 88), as well as Brooding and Reflection sub-scale scores (range: 5 - 20). Brooding is characterized by a passive style of moody pondering. Higher scores indicate a worse outcome.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Ghent University; 🇧🇪 Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium