The HuggyPuppy Intervention for War-related Distress

Summary

This clinical trial will test the efficacy of parent-delivered HuggyPuppy Intervention in alleviating war-related stress in children aged 3-8 during the Gaza-Israel war. Moreover, it will test whether the type of doll provided moderates the efficacy of the intervention. Children will be provided a doll ('Huggy') of to their homes or places of shelter, and asked to take care of it. Five different types of dolls will be randomly assigned to children. Pre-intervention, parents will complete a brief questionnaire asking about the child's past week stress symptoms, and exposure to traumatic war-experiences. Three weeks following the intervention, parents will be asked to complete a post-intervention questionnaire, asking about the child's symptoms, their own anxiety, depression, and stress, as well as their use of the intervention.

Conditions

• Stress Related Disorder

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

The HuggyPuppy Intervention: Original doll

The HuggyPuppy Intervention, originally designed to alleviate war-related stress in children (Sadeh et al., 2006), is a concise psychosocial intervention featuring a soft plush toy, originally a puppy, accompanied by a 'cover story.' This narrative informs the child that 'Huggy' is seeking care, prompting the child to adopt and comfort the toy. In the parent-delivered version tested in this trial, parents will receive three instructional videos (each lasting 1.5-5 minutes), guiding them on introducing the doll to their child. These videos encourage parents to foster a strong bond between the child and the doll, emphasizing activities such as hugging and expressing emotions through this comforting companion.

BEHAVIORAL

The HuggyPuppy Intervention: Monkey doll

The HuggyPuppy Intervention, originally designed to alleviate war-related stress in children (Sadeh et al., 2006), is a concise psychosocial intervention featuring a soft plush toy, originally a puppy, accompanied by a 'cover story.' This narrative informs the child that 'Huggy' is seeking care, prompting the child to adopt and comfort the toy. In this version children receive a plush monkey doll. In the parent-delivered version tested in this trial, parents will receive three instructional videos (each lasting 1.5-5 minutes), guiding them on introducing the doll to their child. These videos encourage parents to foster a strong bond between the child and the doll, emphasizing activities such as hugging and expressing emotions through this comforting companion.

BEHAVIORAL

The HuggyPuppy Intervention: Dog without velcro doll

The HuggyPuppy Intervention, originally designed to alleviate war-related stress in children (Sadeh et al., 2006), is a concise psychosocial intervention featuring a soft plush toy, originally a puppy, accompanied by a 'cover story.' This narrative informs the child that 'Huggy' is seeking care, prompting the child to adopt and comfort the toy. In this version children receive a plush dog doll, without velcro in palms. In the parent-delivered version tested in this trial, parents will receive three instructional videos (each lasting 1.5-5 minutes), guiding them on introducing the doll to their child. These videos encourage parents to foster a strong bond between the child and the doll, emphasizing activities such as hugging and expressing emotions through this comforting companion.

BEHAVIORAL

The HuggyPuppy Intervention: Bear doll

The HuggyPuppy Intervention, originally designed to alleviate war-related stress in children (Sadeh et al., 2006), is a concise psychosocial intervention featuring a soft plush toy, originally a puppy, accompanied by a 'cover story.' This narrative informs the child that 'Huggy' is seeking care, prompting the child to adopt and comfort the toy. In this version children receive a plush smiling bear doll. In the parent-delivered version tested in this trial, parents will receive three instructional videos (each lasting 1.5-5 minutes), guiding them on introducing the doll to their child. These videos encourage parents to foster a strong bond between the child and the doll, emphasizing activities such as hugging and expressing emotions through this comforting companion.

BEHAVIORAL

The HuggyPuppy Intervention: Rabbit doll

The HuggyPuppy Intervention, originally designed to alleviate war-related stress in children (Sadeh et al., 2006), is a concise psychosocial intervention featuring a soft plush toy, originally a puppy, accompanied by a 'cover story.' This narrative informs the child that 'Huggy' is seeking care, prompting the child to adopt and comfort the toy. In this version children receive a plush rabbit doll, with a neutral expression. In the parent-delivered version tested in this trial, parents will receive three instructional videos (each lasting 1.5-5 minutes), guiding them on introducing the doll to their child. These videos encourage parents to foster a strong bond between the child and the doll, emphasizing activities such as hugging and expressing emotions through this comforting companion.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Tel Aviv University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

3 Years

Max Age

8 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-11-08

Primary Completion

2024-03-15

Completion

2024-03-15

Countries

• Israel

Study Locations