Understanding Reactions to Emotional Material in the Media During COVID-19 - Study 2
NCT ID: NCT05063825
Last Updated: 2021-12-23
Study Results
The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.
Basic Information
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COMPLETED
NA
98 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2021-10-06
2021-12-13
Brief Summary
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Non-clinical participants will view film footage with COVID-19 related and potentially traumatic content (e.g. of seriously ill or dying patients in hospitals). Following film viewing, participants will be randomly allocated to either the experimental condition (simple cognitive task intervention, i.e. a memory cue followed by playing the computer game "Tetris" with mental rotation instructions) or the control condition (attention placebo, i.e., a memory cue followed by listening to a podcast for a similar duration). Any intrusive memories induced by the film (analogue trauma) will be monitored in a daily diary. It is predicted that the film (analogue trauma) will generate intrusive memories. If intrusive memories are generated, then it is predicted that participants in the experimental condition will report fewer intrusive memories related to the film (analogue trauma) during the following week than participants in the control condition.
The development of this paradigm may inform the future development of a simple technique to prevent intrusive memories e.g. after repeated media consumption related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Detailed Description
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Our first feasibility study (NCT04608097) suggests it may be possible to generate intrusions when delivering the trauma film paradigm protocol remotely (online rather than in an in person laboratory) but this might lead to more variability between participants than when the paradigm is delivered in an in person laboratory. One possible reason might be that people are less emotionally affected by the film in a remote (online) setting compared to when they are viewing it in a more controlled laboratory setting. In this second study we will therefore only include participants who rate distress related to the trauma film as 5 or more out of 10 (see also James et al., 2015 for average scores on film distress in an in person laboratory setting).
Our first feasibility work also suggests it may be harder to deliver an experimental intervention remotely using instruction videos with little experimenter interaction. To address this, while still keeping the remote (online) format, i.e. minimal experimenter input, we made some adaptations such as changing our digital materials e.g. film clips and film viewing instructions within the video.
The first aim of this study is to investigate if the film (analogue trauma) will generate intrusive memories. The second aim is, if intrusive memories are generated, to investigate if participants in the experimental condition will report fewer intrusive memories of the film (analogue trauma) than participants in the control condition.
Conditions
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Keywords
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
BASIC_SCIENCE
DOUBLE
Study Groups
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Simple cognitive task intervention
A memory cue followed by playing the computer game "Tetris" (on own smartphone) with mental rotation instructions for ca. 12 minutes.
Simple cognitive task intervention
A memory cue followed by playing the computer game "Tetris" (on own smartphone) with mental rotation instructions for ca. 12 minutes.
Attention placebo
A memory cue followed by listening to a podcast (on own smartphone) for ca. 12 minutes.
Attention placebo
A memory cue followed by listening to a podcast (on own smartphone) for ca. 12 minutes.
Interventions
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Simple cognitive task intervention
A memory cue followed by playing the computer game "Tetris" (on own smartphone) with mental rotation instructions for ca. 12 minutes.
Attention placebo
A memory cue followed by listening to a podcast (on own smartphone) for ca. 12 minutes.
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* Fluent in spoken and written Swedish
* Willing to watch a video containing emotional, distressing footage
* Have access to an internet enabled smartphone/computer
Exclusion Criteria
* Currently receiving treatment for a mental health problem (e.g. depression, anxiety, ADHD, addiction), including psychological therapy, counselling or medication
* Neurological illness (e.g., epilepsy)
* Planning to undertake a stress-inducing examination (e.g. university examination or driving test) during the week of study participation.
18 Years
65 Years
ALL
Yes
Sponsors
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Uppsala University
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Emily Holmes
Professor
Principal Investigators
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Emily Holmes, Prof
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
Uppsala University
Locations
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Uppsala University
Uppsala, , Sweden
Countries
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References
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James EL, Lau-Zhu A, Clark IA, Visser RM, Hagenaars MA, Holmes EA. The trauma film paradigm as an experimental psychopathology model of psychological trauma: intrusive memories and beyond. Clin Psychol Rev. 2016 Jul;47:106-42. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2016.04.010. Epub 2016 Apr 21.
James EL, Bonsall MB, Hoppitt L, Tunbridge EM, Geddes JR, Milton AL, Holmes EA. Computer Game Play Reduces Intrusive Memories of Experimental Trauma via Reconsolidation-Update Mechanisms. Psychol Sci. 2015 Aug;26(8):1201-15. doi: 10.1177/0956797615583071. Epub 2015 Jul 1.
Other Identifiers
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2020-03991, 2021-03991
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id