Positive Affect Treatment for Adolescents With Early Life Adversity
This study is looking at a treatment called Positive Affect Treatment (PAT) for adolescents aged 12-16 who have experienced two or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and are at risk for depression. PAT involves 15 weekly, one-hour sessions focusing on behaviors, thoughts, and compassion. The study will compare PAT to supportive psychotherapy (SUP), which offers attention and social support. Researchers want to see if PAT can improve positive feelings and reduce symptoms of depression, specifically anhedonia (loss of pleasure). They will also look at reward sensitivity and inflammation levels. You cannot join if you are currently taking antidepressants or certain other medications, or have a history of manic or psychotic symptoms.
- Study design
- This is an interventional study planning to enroll 300 participants, though an initial pilot phase will recruit 30 adolescents. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either Positive Affect Treatment or supportive psychotherapy.
- What's involved
- You would attend 15 weekly, one-hour sessions for the treatment. Measurements for depressive symptoms, reward sensitivity, and inflammation will be taken at 4 months (end of treatment).
- Compensation
- Not stated in the trial record.
- Follow-up
- Participants will be assessed at the end of treatment, which is 4 months after starting.
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Positive Affect Treatment for Adolescents With Early Life Adversity
At a glance
Conditions
NCT06273137
Where you'd take part
This study runs at 1 site. They're the same protocol — you choose where, and that choice sets who your contact draft is addressed to.
University of California Irvine
Irvine, Californiastudy coordinator listed
Recruiting
Sites open and close at different times, so the status above is per site — it can differ from the study's overall status.
Study leadership
- Kate R Kuhlman · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · UC Irvine
Who to contact
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Inclusion
Exclusion
What this trial measures
- depressive symptoms - anhedonia subscale4 months / end of treatment
Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale 2nd Edition - anhedonia subscale score; Scores can range from 7-28 with higher values indicating more severe anhedonia.
- reward sensitivity4 months / end of treatment
Reward motivation will be assessed behaviorally with the Effort Expenditures for Reward Task (EEfRT). The EEfRT assesses reward sensitivity by compelling participants to choose to engage in high and low effort motor tasks for varying potential monetary gains and computes reward sensitivity as the difference in propensity to choose hard choice trials at increasing trial values.
- Systemic inflammation - C-reactive protein (CRP)4 months / end of treatment
C-reactive protein concentrations measured in saliva; assay detection range is approximately 25 pg/mL - 1600 pg/mL with higher values indicating the presence of more systemic inflammation.
- 8. Self-reported reward sensitivity4 months / end of treatment
Self-reported reward sensitivity will be assessed using the 21-item Positive Valence System Scale (PVSS-21) which will be assessed at study enrollment, and then 4-, 8-, and 12-months after study enrollment. For each item, responses can range from 1-8, and the questionnaire is scored using a sum. Total scores can range from 21 - 189 and lower scores reflect a worse outcome.