Study Summary
This trial will test if a 6-week online group therapy can help improve symptoms for teens with chronic illnesses, compared to no treatment.
- Chronic Illness
Treatment Effectiveness
Effectiveness Progress
Study Objectives
1 Primary · 8 Secondary · Reporting Duration: baseline at the start of study, change from baseline at 6 weeks, change from baseline at 10 weeks, change from baseline at 18 weeks
Trial Safety
Trial Design
1 Treatment Group
Intervention (Immediate)
1 of 1
Experimental Treatment
144 Total Participants · 1 Treatment Group
Primary Treatment: Virtual Acceptance Commitment Therapy · No Placebo Group · N/A
Trial Logistics
Trial Timeline
Who is running the clinical trial?
Eligibility Criteria
Age 14 - 21 · All Participants · 6 Total Inclusion Criteria
Mark “Yes” if the following statements are true for you:- Bethell, Christina D., Michael D. Kogan, Bonnie B. Strickland, Edward L. Schor, Julie Robertson, and Paul W. Newacheck. 2011. “A National and State Profile of Leading Health Problems and Health Care Quality for US Children: Key Insurance Disparities and Across-state Variations”. Academic Pediatrics. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.acap.2010.08.011.
- Sansom-Daly, Ursula M., Michelle Peate, Claire E. Wakefield, Richard A. Bryant, and Richard J. Cohn. 2012. “A Systematic Review of Psychological Interventions for Adolescents and Young Adults Living with Chronic Illness.”. Health Psychology. American Psychological Association (APA). doi:10.1037/a0025977.
- Waters, E., E. Davis, C. Nicolas, M. Wake, and S. K. Lo. 2008. “The Impact of Childhood Conditions and Concurrent Morbidities on Child Health and Well-being”. Child: Care, Health and Development. Wiley. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2008.00825.x.
- Witlox, Maartje, Vivivan Kraaij, Nadia Garnefski, Margot W. M. de Waal, Filip Smit, Erik Hoencamp, Jacobijn Gussekloo, Ernst T. Bohlmeijer, and Philip Spinhoven. 2018. “An Internet-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Intervention for Older Adults with Anxiety Complaints: Study Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial”. Trials. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1186/s13063-018-2731-3.
- Compas, Bruce E., Sarah S. Jaser, Madeleine J. Dunn, and Erin M. Rodriguez. 2012. “Coping with Chronic Illness in Childhood and Adolescence”. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. Annual Reviews. doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032511-143108.
- Hayes, Steven C., Jason B. Luoma, Frank W. Bond, Akihiko Masuda, and Jason Lillis. 2006. “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Model, Processes and Outcomes”. Behaviour Research and Therapy. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2005.06.006.
- Pinquart, M., and Y. Shen. 2011. “Behavior Problems in Children and Adolescents with Chronic Physical Illness: A Meta-analysis”. Journal of Pediatric Psychology. Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsr042.
- Wicksell, Rikard K., Gunnar L. Olsson, and Steven C. Hayes. 2011. “Mediators of Change in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Pediatric Chronic Pain”. Pain. Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). doi:10.1016/j.pain.2011.09.003.
- Barnes-Holmes, Yvonne, Steven C. Hayes, Dermot Barnes-Holmes, and Bryan Roche. 2002. “Relational Frame Theory: A Post-skinnerian Account of Human Language and Cognition”. Advances in Child Development and Behavior. Elsevier. doi:10.1016/s0065-2407(02)80063-5.
- Lappalainen, Päivi, Sitwat Langrial, Harri Oinas-Kukkonen, Asko Tolvanen, and Raimo Lappalainen. 2015. “Web-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Depressive Symptoms with Minimal Support”. Behavior Modification. SAGE Publications. doi:10.1177/0145445515598142.
- Ataie Moghanloo, Vahid, Roghayyeh Ataie Moghanloo, and Mousa Moazezi. 2015. “Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Depression, Psychological Well-being and Feeling of Guilt in 7 - 15 Years Old Diabetic Children”. Iranian Journal of Pediatrics. Briefland. doi:10.5812/ijp.2436.
- Wicksell, Rikard K., Lennart Melin, Mats Lekander, and Gunnar L. Olsson. 2009. “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Exposure and Acceptance Strategies to Improve Functioning and Quality of Life in Longstanding Pediatric Pain – A Randomized Controlled Trial”. Pain. Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). doi:10.1016/j.pain.2008.11.006.
- Woidneck, Michelle R., Kate L. Morrison, and Michael P. Twohig. 2013. “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Among Adolescents”. Behavior Modification. SAGE Publications. doi:10.1177/0145445513510527.
- Bai, Guannan, Marieke Houben–van Herten, Jeanne M. Landgraf, Ida J. Korfage, and Hein Raat. 2017. “Childhood Chronic Conditions and Health-related Quality of Life: Findings from a Large Population-based Study”. Edited by Karin Bammann. Plos One. Public Library of Science (PLoS). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0178539.
- Chihwen Cheng, R. Clark Brown, Lindsey L. Cohen, Janani Venugopalan, Todd H. Stokes, and May D. Wang. 2013. “Iact - an Interactive Mhealth Monitoring System to Enhance Psychotherapy for Adolescents with Sickle Cell Disease”. 2013 35th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC). IEEE. doi:10.1109/embc.2013.6609992.
- Scott, W., J. Chilcot, B. Guildford, A. Daly-Eichenhardt, and L.M. McCracken. 2018. “Feasibility Randomized-controlled Trial of Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Patients with Complex Chronic Pain in the United Kingdom”. European Journal of Pain. Wiley. doi:10.1002/ejp.1236.
- Hoffmann, Ditte, Charlotte Ulrikka Rask, Erik Hedman-Lagerlöf, Jens Søndergaard Jensen, and Lisbeth Frostholm. 2020. “Efficacy of Internet-delivered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Severe Health Anxiety: Results from a Randomized, Controlled Trial”. Psychological Medicine. Cambridge University Press (CUP). doi:10.1017/s0033291720001312.
- Trompetter, Hester R., Ernst T. Bohlmeijer, Martine M. Veehof, and Karlein M. G. Schreurs. 2014. “Internet-based Guided Self-help Intervention for Chronic Pain Based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial”. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1007/s10865-014-9579-0.
- Sawyer, Michael G., Katherine E. Reynolds, Jennifer J. Couper, Davina J. French, Declan Kennedy, James Martin, Rima Staugas, Tahereh Ziaian, and Peter A. Baghurst. 2004. “Health-related Quality of Life of Children and Adolescents with Chronic Illness – a Two Year Prospective Study”. Quality of Life Research. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1023/b:qure.0000037489.41344.b2.
- Buhrman, Monica, Astrid Skoglund, Josefin Husell, Kristina Bergström, Torsten Gordh, Timo Hursti, Nina Bendelin, Tomas Furmark, and Gerhard Andersson. 2013. “Guided Internet-delivered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial”. Behaviour Research and Therapy. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2013.02.010.
- Rodriguez, E. M., M. J. Dunn, T. Zuckerman, K. Vannatta, C. A. Gerhardt, and B. E. Compas. 2011. “Cancer-related Sources of Stress for Children with Cancer and Their Parents”. Journal of Pediatric Psychology. Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsr054.
- Varni, James W, Christine A Limbers, and Tasha M Burwinkle. 2007. “Impaired Health-related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents with Chronic Conditions: A Comparative Analysis of 10 Disease Clusters and 33 Disease Categories/severities Utilizing the Pedsql™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales”. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1186/1477-7525-5-43.
- Hysing, Mari, Irene Elgen, Christopher Gillberg, Stein Atle Lie, and Astri J. Lundervold. 2007. “Chronic Physical Illness and Mental Health in Children. Results from a Large-scale Population Study”. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Wiley. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01755.x.
- Moazzezi, Mousa, Vahid Ataie Moghanloo, Roghayeh Ataie Moghanloo, and Malihe Pishvaei. 2015. “Impact of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Perceived Stress and Special Health Self-efficacy in Seven to Fifteen-year-old Children with Diabetes Mellitus”. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Briefland. doi:10.17795/ijpbs956.
- Rickardsson, Jenny, Vendela Zetterqvist, Charlotte Gentili, Erik Andersson, Linda Holmström, Mats Lekander, Malin Persson, Jan Persson, Brjánn Ljótsson, and Rikard K. Wicksell. 2020. “Internet-delivered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (iact) for Chronic Pain—feasibility and Preliminary Effects in Clinical and Self-referred Patients”. Mhealth. AME Publishing Company. doi:10.21037/mhealth.2020.02.02.
- Fletcher, L., & Hayes, S. C. (2005). Relational frame theory, acceptance and commitment therapy, and a functional analytic definition of mindfulness. Journal of rational-emotive and cognitive-behavior therapy, 23(4), 315-336.
- Hoffmann, Ditte, Charlotte Ulrikka Rask, Erik Hedman-Lagerlöf, Jens Søndergaard Jensen, and Lisbeth Frostholm. 2020. “Efficacy of Internet-delivered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Severe Health Anxiety: Results from a Randomized, Controlled Trial”. Psychological Medicine. Cambridge University Press (CUP). doi:10.1017/s0033291720001312.
- Buhrman M, Skoglund A, Husell J, Bergstrom K, Gordh T, Hursti T, Bendelin N, Furmark T, Andersson G. Guided internet-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy for chronic pain patients: a randomized controlled trial. Behav Res Ther. 2013 Jun;51(6):307-15. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2013.02.010. Epub 2013 Mar 14.
- Hayes SC, Luoma JB, Bond FW, Masuda A, Lillis J. Acceptance and commitment therapy: model, processes and outcomes. Behav Res Ther. 2006 Jan;44(1):1-25. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2005.06.006.
- Hoffmann D, Rask CU, Hedman-Lagerlof E, Jensen JS, Frostholm L. Efficacy of internet-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy for severe health anxiety: results from a randomized, controlled trial. Psychol Med. 2021 Nov;51(15):2685-2695. doi: 10.1017/S0033291720001312. Epub 2020 May 14.
- Varni JW, Limbers CA, Burwinkle TM. Impaired health-related quality of life in children and adolescents with chronic conditions: a comparative analysis of 10 disease clusters and 33 disease categories/severities utilizing the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2007 Jul 16;5:43. doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-5-43.
- Hysing M, Elgen I, Gillberg C, Lie SA, Lundervold AJ. Chronic physical illness and mental health in children. Results from a large-scale population study. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2007 Aug;48(8):785-92. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01755.x.
- Barnes-Holmes Y, Hayes SC, Barnes-Holmes D, Roche B. Relational frame theory: a post-Skinnerian account of human language and cognition. Adv Child Dev Behav. 2001;28:101-38. doi: 10.1016/s0065-2407(02)80063-5. No abstract available.
- Scott W, Chilcot J, Guildford B, Daly-Eichenhardt A, McCracken LM. Feasibility randomized-controlled trial of online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for patients with complex chronic pain in the United Kingdom. Eur J Pain. 2018 Apr 28. doi: 10.1002/ejp.1236. Online ahead of print.
- Sansom-Daly UM, Peate M, Wakefield CE, Bryant RA, Cohn RJ. A systematic review of psychological interventions for adolescents and young adults living with chronic illness. Health Psychol. 2012 May;31(3):380-93. doi: 10.1037/a0025977. Epub 2011 Nov 7.
- Compas BE, Jaser SS, Dunn MJ, Rodriguez EM. Coping with chronic illness in childhood and adolescence. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2012;8:455-80. doi: 10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032511-143108. Epub 2011 Dec 20.
- Rickardsson J, Zetterqvist V, Gentili C, Andersson E, Holmstrom L, Lekander M, Persson M, Persson J, Ljotsson B, Wicksell RK. Internet-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy (iACT) for chronic pain-feasibility and preliminary effects in clinical and self-referred patients. Mhealth. 2020 Jul 5;6:27. doi: 10.21037/mhealth.2020.02.02. eCollection 2020.
- Sawyer MG, Reynolds KE, Couper JJ, French DJ, Kennedy D, Martin J, Staugas R, Ziaian T, Baghurst PA. Health-related quality of life of children and adolescents with chronic illness--a two year prospective study. Qual Life Res. 2004 Sep;13(7):1309-19. doi: 10.1023/B:QURE.0000037489.41344.b2.
- Waters E, Davis E, Nicolas C, Wake M, Lo SK. The impact of childhood conditions and concurrent morbidities on child health and well-being. Child Care Health Dev. 2008 Jul;34(4):418-29. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2008.00825.x.
- 2021. "Virtual ACT for Adolescent Stress". ClinicalTrials.gov. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04978610.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this experiment include geriatric patients in its sample size?
"This study is looking for 14-21 year olds to participate." - Anonymous Online Contributor
Are there still spots available in this clinical trial for new patients?
"According to the most recent information available on clinicaltrials.gov, this clinical trial is still searching for patients. The trial was originally posted on March 3rd, 2021 and was last edited on July 26th, 2021. The trial is searching for 144 patients at 1 site." - Anonymous Online Contributor
Are there any ineligibility requirements for potential participants of this research?
"This study needs 144 young participants, aged 14-21, who have chronic diseases. Other requirements for potential patients include: a diagnosis of a chronic illness (which must last for at least a year and require regular medical care or limit normal activities), being able to speak English, having a device with internet and webcam capabilities, being able to have private sessions for the study, and being 18 years or older (with the legal guardian's permission)." - Anonymous Online Contributor