Asperger syndrome and anxiety disorders (PAsSA) treatment trial: a study protocol of a pilot, multicentre, single-blind, randomised crossover trial of group cognitive behavioural therapy

Langdon, P. E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7745-1825, Murphy, G. H., Wilson, Edward ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8369-1577, Shepstone, L., Fowler, D., Heavens, D., Malovic, A. and Russell, A. (2013) Asperger syndrome and anxiety disorders (PAsSA) treatment trial: a study protocol of a pilot, multicentre, single-blind, randomised crossover trial of group cognitive behavioural therapy. BMJ Open, 3 (7). ISSN 2044-6055

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Abstract

Introduction: A number of studies have established that children, adolescents and adults with Asperger syndrome (AS) and high functioning autism (HFA) have significant problems with anxiety. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for anxiety in a variety of clinical populations. There is a growing interest in exploring the effectiveness of CBT for people with AS who have mental health problems, but currently there are no known clinical trials involving adults with AS or HFA. Studies with children who have AS have reported some success. The current study aims to examine whether modified group CBT for clinically significant anxiety in an AS population is likely to be efficacious. Methods and analysis: This study is a randomised, single-blind crossover trial. At least 36 individuals will be recruited and randomised into a treatment arm or a waiting-list control arm. During treatment, individuals will receive 3 sessions of individual CBT, followed by 21 sessions of group CBT. Primary outcome measures focus on anxiety. Secondary outcome measures focus on everyday social and psychiatric functioning, additional measures of anxiety and fear, depression, health-related quality of life and treatment cost. Assessments will be administered at pregroup and postgroup and at follow-up by researchers who are blinded to group allocation. The trial aims to find out whether or not psychological treatments for anxiety can be adapted and used to successfully treat the anxiety experienced by people with AS. Furthermore, we aim to determine whether this intervention represents good value for money. Ethics and dissemination: The trial received a favourable ethical opinion from a National Health Service (NHS) Research Ethics Committee. All participants provided written informed consent. Findings will be shared with all trial participants, and the general public, as well as the scientific community. Trial Registration: ISRCTN 30265294 (DOI: 10.1186/ISRCTN30265294), UKCRN 8370.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 3.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ This article presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research for Patient Benefit programme (Grant Reference: PB-PG-1208-18024). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the National Health Service (NHS), the National Institute for Health Research or the Department of Health. PEL is funded by a National Institute for Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship
Uncontrolled Keywords: sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/good_health_and_well_being
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Epidemiology and Public Health
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Norwich Clinical Trials Unit
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Services and Primary Care
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Public Health and Health Services Research (former - to 2023)
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Economics
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Population Health
Depositing User: Pure Connector
Date Deposited: 20 Aug 2013 05:29
Last Modified: 27 Oct 2023 00:57
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/43134
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-003449

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