Multi-family Therapy and School Refusal: an Exploratory Study With Adolescents and Their Families

Active, not recruiting

• Conditions: School Phobia
• Interventions: Behavioral: Multi-family therapy

• Registration Number: NCT05432323
• Lead Sponsor: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether multi-family therapy is effective in the treatment of school refusal with anxiety in adolescence.

Detailed Description

Anxious school refusal in adolescence is a major public health problem. The involvement of families is essential and multi-family therapy has shown its effectiveness for many mental disorders. This study aims to explore the benefit of multi-family therapy in the care of anxious school refusal in adolescence.

The method will be qualitative with phenomenological analysis of semi-structured interviews with adolescents and their parents and quantitative with a SCED design to assess the evolution of the level of anxiety of adolescents and parents, as well as personalized objectives.

The objective is therefore to improve the care of adolescents with anxious school refusal.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2022-06-14
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-06-20
• Study First Posted: 2022-06-27
• Study Start: 2022-09-12
• Status Verified: 2024-09
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-09-30
• Last Update Posted: 2024-10-02
• Primary Completion: 2025-06
• Study Completion: 2025-12

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 74

Inclusion Criteria

• Families with an adolescent
• Aged 12 to 18
• Totally out of school for more than 2 consecutive weeks and less than 18 months
• Follow-up at the Maison de Solenn-Maison des Adolescents (Cochin Hospital AP-HP) for a school refusal
• Having agreed to participate in a multi-family therapy
• Domiciliation in Ile de France
• Agreement of the parents and the adolescent to participate in the study: Collection of the non-opposition of non-emancipated minors and their legal representatives

Exclusion Criteria

• any family situation that makes it impossible to bring parents and children together in family therapy
• patient under curatorship or tutorship
• patient with AME (french State Medical Aid)

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Adolescents	Multi-family therapy	-
Parents	Multi-family therapy	-

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)	13 to 15 months	Visual Analogue Scale for anxiety (adolescents and parents) / 0 = no anxiety at all, 10 = maximum anxiety imaginable / Weekly measurement between inclusion and the end of the Single Case Experimental Design (SCED) follow-up (13 to 15 months)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
CSQ 8 (Client Satisfaction Questionnaire)	7 to 9 months	Satisfaction of the patients and the parents with multi-family therapy / 8 questions, minimum score = 8, maximum = 32 / At the end of the multifamily therapy, parents and teenager
Semi-structured interview	19 to 21 months	Semi-structured interview with qualitative phenomenological analysis (patients and parents) 12 months after the end of multi-family therapy
Goal Attainment Scale (GAS)	13 to 15 months	School attendance (adolescent) / 3-terminal GAS are 5-level GAS, i.e. with a possible rating ranging from -2 to +2. Level -2 corresponds to the initial state at the time of inclusion. Levels -2, 0 and +2 are precisely described, level -1 corresponds to a rating between -2 and 0 and level +1 to a rating between 0 and +2 / Weekly measurements, parents and adolescent, once a week from inclusion to the end of the SCED follow-up (13 to 15 months)
Adolescent Depression Rating Scale (ADRS)	13 to 15 months	Depression (adolescent) / 10 questions / Monthly measurements, adolescent and referring psychiatrist once a month from inclusion to the end of the SCED follow-up (13 to 15 months)
Family Assessment Device General Functioning (FAD-GF)	13 to 15 months	Family functioning / 12 questions, minimum = 12, maximum = 48 / Monthly measurements, parents and adolescent, once a month from inclusion to the end of the SCED follow-up (13 to 15 months)
Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF)	13 to 15 months	Global Functioning of the adolescent / From 0 = inadequate information, to 100 = higher level of functioning in a wide variety of activities - V-axis of the DSM 5 / Monthly measurements, referring psychiatrist, once a month from inclusion to the end of the SCED follow-up (13 to15 months)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Maison de Solenn Maison des Adolescents, Cochin Hospital; 🇫🇷 Paris, IDF, France