Social Information Processing in Adolescents With Eating Disorders

Summary

This research project aims to examine whether adding an online programme of cognitive training exercises may be a helpful addition to treatment as usual for young people with eating disorders. The cognitive training exercises aim to modify distortions in attention and thinking during hypothetical, ambiguous social interactions involving the risk of social rejection.

All participants will complete a baseline assessment consisting of a battery of questionnaires and computerised tasks, to assess attention and thinking during ambiguous social interactions involving the risk of social rejection. Participants who display distortions in attention and thinking will then be randomised to one of two groups. In one group participants will receive the computerised training alongside their usual treatment. In the other group participants will continue to receive their treatment as usually only.

Healthy controls will also be invited to take part in the baseline assessment to allow for comparisons between clinical and non-clinical groups.

Conditions

• Eating Disorders in Adolescence

Interventions

OTHER

Cognitive Bias Modification

CBM-Attention (CBM-A) will be used with the aim of ameliorating negative cognitive biases in attention by redirecting attention towards positive social stimuli (accepting faces). Similarly CBM-Interpretation (CBM-I) will be used to ameliorate negative interpretation bias, by reinforcing benign outcomes of ambiguous social scenarios. Implementation intentions will be used to guide participants in planning new ways to face difficult social situations involving the risk of social rejection/criticism. Participants will continue to receive their usual treatment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

  collaborator OTHER

• South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust

  collaborator OTHER

• Ellern Mede Ridgeway

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Ellern Mede Barnet

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• King's College London

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Valentina Cardi, PhD · King's College London

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

13 Years

Max Age

17 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-03-28

Primary Completion

2020-03-28

Completion

2020-03-28

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations