NCT05989737

A RCT of an AEBT Website for Adults With Skin Picking

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a AEBT Website for Adults With Skin Picking

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 84 (actual)
• Sponsor: Utah State University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to test an online intervention for adults with excoriation disorder (skin picking). The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Is the online intervention effective, compared to a waitlist control condition? 2. Is the online intervention acceptable to use? Participants will be randomized into either the online intervention or waitlist control condition: 1. Participants in the intervention condition will be asked to complete an 8 module acceptance-enhanced behavioral training (AEBT) program for skin picking and 4 surveys over 3 months. 2. Participants in the waitlist condition will be asked to complete 4 surveys over 3 months, and will receive access to the intervention once the study is complete.

Detailed description

Excoriation disorder, also known as skin picking, is a chronic repetitive condition that impacts an individual's daily functioning and causes clinically significant distress. Excoriation is estimated to impact between 2-5% of the general population, although some studies have found up to 14% prevalence rates in undergraduate samples. Acceptance-enhanced behavioral training (AEBT), has shown promising results for targeting skin picking symptoms. However, a recent study demonstrated that mental health providers have limited knowledge of skin picking and how to treat it effectively, creating a dearth of available treatment opportunities . This study aims to address the gap in accessible evidence-based excoriation treatment by examining the efficacy and feasibility of a self-guided, online program based in AEBT. Participants will be recruited from across the United States from August to November 2023, and will be randomized into either the online intervention group or a waitlist control condition. All participants will complete online self-report assessments at baseline, mid-, post-intervention, and 1 month follow-up, and waitlist participants will be provided access to the program once the study is complete. For the primary aim evaluating efficacy, the investigators predict that both primary (skin picking severity) and secondary outcomes (psychological flexibility, well-being, and distress) will be significantly improved in the active treatment condition compared to a waitlist control group. For the secondary aim evaluating feasibility, the investigators predict that participants will report acceptable feasibility as measured through treatment adherence, reports of usability, and program feedback.

Conditions

• Excoriation (Skin-Picking) Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Acceptance-Enhanced Behavior Therapy	8-module intervention delivering acceptance-enhanced behavior therapy through a fully automated website. This intervention was adapted from the Acceptance-enhanced behavior therapy workbook (Woods \& Twohig, 2008).

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-08-11
• Primary completion: 2025-08-01
• Completion: 2025-08-01
• First posted: 2023-08-14
• Last updated: 2023-12-13

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States