Targeting Negative Affect Through Mindfulness Training in Youth at Risk for Internalizing Problems (R33)
Vanderbilt University
Summary
The goal of this randomized clinical trial is to compare the effects of an online mindfulness program to an active supportive comparison condition and a no-intervention control group on reducing and preventing mood and anxiety symptoms in at-risk youth. Youth who are high on trait negative affect will be randomized to one of the three conditions. The primary outcomes of interest are reductions in momentary negative affect and internalizing problems in adolescents ages 12 to 17 years old. All participants will be evaluated prior to being randomized, after the 9-session intervention period, and at a 6-month follow-up. The first hypothesis is that the mindfulness intervention will predict decreases in stressor-reactive momentary negative affect and internalizing symptoms. The second hypothesis is that changes in momentary negative affect will partially account for the effects of the mindfulness intervention on internalizing symptoms.
Description
Rates of anxiety and depression in youth are substantial, causing a major unmet need for effective prevention and treatment. A salient risk factor for anxiety and depression is negative affectivity - a partially heritable propensity to experience and express more frequent, intense, and enduring aversive emotional states. Prior longitudinal studies have shown that elevated trait negative affectivity (tNA) during mid-adolescence predicted internalizing disorders later in adolescence and early adulthood, and this relation was partially mediated by changes in momentary negative affect (mNA) measur…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 12–17 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * Ages 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 * Parental Consent * Participant Assent * Live in Illinois, California, or Tennessee Exclusion Criteria: * current diagnosis of an anxiety or depressive disorder with significant clinical impairment * current alcohol or substance use disorder * current serious suicidal ideation or behavior * lifetime diagnosis of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism, conduct disorder, or developmental delay * reading level below 4th grade * not English speaking at a level that would allow them to participate in the intervention and assessments
Interventions
- BehavioralMindfulness Program
Online, coached mindfulness training program
- BehavioralActive Comparator
Remote meetings with a supportive coach
Locations (3)
- University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, California
- Northwestern UniversityEvanston, Illinois
- Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Tennessee