The primary aim of the current study is to examine the immediate effects of a brief compassion induction exercise on PD patients* affect regulation choice in response to imagery-based emotional salient experiences. A secondary aim is to assess to…
ID
Source
Brief title
Condition
- Personality disorders and disturbances in behaviour
Synonym
Research involving
Sponsors and support
Intervention
Outcome measures
Primary outcome
The Emotion Regulation Profile * Revised (ERP-R) is administered to examine the
choice of emotion regulation strategies in response to imagery-based positive
or negative emotion eliciting experiences (primary outcome).
Secondary outcome
Secondary outcomes include:
- Positive and negative affect are measured both directly, with the Positive
and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and indirectly, with the Implicit
Positive and Negative Affect Test (IPANAT).
Control variables:
- Trait compassion, as measured with the Forms of Self-Criticising/Attacking
and Self-Reassuring Scale (FSCRS).
- Trait emotion regulation strategies, as measured with the Difficulties in
Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS).
Background summary
Emotion dysregulation, that is, the inability to effectively respond to and
manage emotions, has been established as a core symptom in patients with
personality disorders (PDs). Effective treatment of emotion dysregulation may
significantly reduce the burden and improve the quality of life of patients
with personality disorders. Unfortunately, conventional treatments are only
moderately successful in attenuating emotion regulation difficulties. An
alternative form of treatment which may offer a helpful strategy for improving
emotion regulation in this specific group of patients is compassion-focused
therapy (CFT). CFT may contribute to more effective emotion regulation through
(1) strengthening the capacity for experiencing and tolerating
affiliative/soothing emotions in the face of setbacks; and (2) strengthening
the capacity for regulating and engaging with unpleasant or feared emotions.
Despite some preliminary, promising evidence that PD patients may benefit from
practising compassion in terms of mental health and well-being, it remains as
yet unclear whether the use of compassion may help PD patients improve their
abilities for adaptive emotion regulation.
Study objective
The primary aim of the current study is to examine the immediate effects of a
brief compassion induction exercise on PD patients* affect regulation choice in
response to imagery-based emotional salient experiences. A secondary aim is to
assess to what extent a brief compassion induction impacts positive and
negative affect. The effects of the compassion induction exercise will be
compared to the effects of a neutral exercise.
Study design
Experimental study with a two-group cross-over design. Participants with a
personality disorder will be randomly allocated over two groups. Both groups
take part in two consecutive experimental sessions on the same day. One group
receives a compassion induction exercise during the first session and a neutral
exercise during the second session, and vice versa for the other group.
Measurements, in the form of self-report questionnaires, take place at baseline
and at the end of each session (i.e. following each exercise).
Intervention
The brief compassion induction consists of a 10-minute exercise called
*building a compassionate image*. During the neutral exercise, participants are
instructed to describe the room with all their senses.
Study burden and risks
For each participant, the total amount of time to participate in the study is
estimated at 1.5 hours. To minimize the burden, both sessions take place on the
same day. In between the sessions, participants will have a short break.
Participation in each session involves participating in a brief exercise (10
minutes) and filling out a number of questionnaires. This is expected to have
no risks for the participants, especially since a therapist will be present
during both sessions in order to create a sense of comfort and safeness among
the participants. Also, participation in this study is completely voluntarily,
and participants are allowed to stop participating at any time without any
clarification.
Drienerlolaan 5
Enschede 7522NB
NL
Drienerlolaan 5
Enschede 7522NB
NL
Listed location countries
Age
Inclusion criteria
1. The patient is admitted to Scelta, GGNet, Apeldoorn.
2. The patient has one or more DSM-IV personality disorders as primary diagnosis.
3. The patient is aged between 18 and 65 years old.
4. The patient is willing and able to provide voluntary and informed consent.
Exclusion criteria
1. Insufficient Dutch language proficiency to be able to participate in the exercises and complete the questionnaires.
Design
Recruitment
Followed up by the following (possibly more current) registration
No registrations found.
Other (possibly less up-to-date) registrations in this register
No registrations found.
In other registers
| Register | ID |
|---|---|
| CCMO | NL61988.044.17 |