Attention Training for Underserved Youth With Anxiety

Summary

This study aims to test the efficacy and feasibility of administering a computerized attention training program targeting clinical levels of anxiety in Latino youth between the ages of 8-17. 52 youth from Imperial County, a rural and predominantly Latino region, will be randomized to receive either 1) a 12-session attention modification program (AMP) or 2) an attention condition program (non-active treatment). Clinical assessment of symptom severity will be conducted before, during, and after treatment. We hypothesize that at the end of treatment, children who receive the active intervention (AMP) will show (1) decreased attention bias to anxiety-related triggers using an independent measure of attention bias to assess change and (b) reduced anxiety severity. We also hypothesize that this study will be feasible, tolerable, acceptable, and safe in this underserved sample of Latino youth. This study is an initial step towards demonstrating the feasibility of implementing a novel computerized attention training program in anxiety in underserved community samples.

Conditions

• Anxiety

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Attention Modification Program

Each trial begins with a fixation cross at the center of the computer screen for 500 ms. The cross is then replaced by a face pair presented in the center of the screen. The face pair disappears and a probe (letter "E" or "F") appears immediately in the location of one of the two previous stimuli. Youth will be instructed to decide whether the letter is an E or an F and press the corresponding mouse button. This paradigm has been modified to facilitate an attention bias away from threat material. In this case, the probe always replaces the neutral stimuli. Thus, although there will be no specific instruction to direct attention away from the threat stimuli, on all trials, the position of the neutral stimulus will indicate the position of the probe.

BEHAVIORAL

Attention Control Condition

Each trial begins with a fixation cross presented in the center of the computer screen. The cross is then replaced by a face pair presented in the center of the screen. The face pair disappears and a probe (letter "E" or "F") appears immediately in the location of one of the two previous stimuli. Youth will be instructed to decide whether the letter is an E or an F and press the corresponding mouse button. This paradigm is not intended to facilitate an attention bias away from threat material. In this case, the probe randomly replaces the threat or neutral stimulus.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, Los Angeles

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Susanna Chang, PhD · UCLA Department of Psychiatry

• Denise Chavira, PhD · University of California, Los Angeles

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

8 Years

Max Age

17 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-09-01

Primary Completion

2020-04-12

Completion

2020-06-15

Countries

• United States

Study Locations