NCT05223842

Family Promoting Positive Emotions Pilot Study

Targeting Positive Emotions to Prevent Emotional Disturbances in Children During COVID-19

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 74 (actual)
• Sponsor: Vanderbilt University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 8 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Anhedonia is characterized by loss of interest or pleasure. The proposed pilot study would be the first to test an innovative, neuroscience-informed intervention in mothers reporting depressive symptoms and stress to enhance positive emotionality with the goal of preventing anhedonia and associated emotional disturbances in their children. This study will recruit dyads (mothers and their children) for the intervention.

Detailed description

Anhedonia, characterized by loss of interest or pleasure, is a primary symptom of depression. Depression is increasingly prevalent and can cause significant impairments in life functioning. Given the increased presence of stress during COVID-19, there is a significant need for interventions that can prevent the development of anhedonia and depression. This study examines a neuroscience-informed positive emotion intervention to determine its effects on preventing anhedonia and associated emotional disturbances in dyads of children and their mothers. Participants will be randomized to either receive the positive emotion intervention for 8 sessions for 8 weeks with a clinician or the self-administered written information condition. Depressive symptoms, anhedonia, stress and other internalizing disorders will be assessed at baseline, and at the end of the intervention.

Conditions

• Depression
• Anhedonia
• Stress
• Depressive Disorder
• Behavioral Symptoms
• Mood Disorders
• Mental Disorder
• Mood Disturbance

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Family Promoting Positive Emotions (F-PPE)	F-PPE is an 8-session dyadic intervention designed to enhance positive emotionality and buffer against the effects of stress on anhedonia in children. The intervention will be administered online through videoconferencing sessions with a clinician to mothers and their children.
BEHAVIORAL	Written Information	Mothers assigned to the Written Information condition will receive email newsletters providing resources relevant to depression.

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-12-01
• Primary completion: 2023-01-20
• Completion: 2023-01-20
• First posted: 2022-02-04
• Last updated: 2023-02-01

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States