@article{ref1,
title="Protocol for an app-based affective control training for adolescents: proof-of-principle double-blind randomized controlled trial",
journal="Wellcome open research",
year="2019",
author="Schweizer, Susanne and Leung, Jovita T. and Kievit, Rogier and Speekenbrink, Maarten and Trender, William and Hampshire, Adam and Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne",
volume="4",
number="",
pages="e91-e91",
abstract="<b>Background:</b> 75% of all mental health problems have their onset before the end of adolescence. Therefore, adolescence may be a particularly sensitive time period for preventing mental health problems. Affective control, the capacity to engage with goal relevant and inhibit distracting information in affective contexts, has been proposed as a potential target for prevention. In this study, we will explore the impact of improving adolescents' affective control capacity on their mental health. <b>Methods:</b> The proof-of-principle double-blind randomized controlled trial will compare the effectiveness of an app-based affective control training (AffeCT) to a placebo training (P-Training) app. In total, 200 (~50% females) adolescents (11-19 years) will train for 14 days on their training app. The AffeCT will include three different <i>n</i>-back tasks: visuospatial, auditory and dual (i.e., including both modalities). These tasks require participants to flexibly engage and disengage with affective and neutral stimuli (i.e., faces and words). The P-Training will present participants with a perceptual matching task. The three versions of the P-Training tasks vary in the stimuli included (i.e., shapes, words and faces). The two training groups will be compared on gains in affective control, mental health, emotion regulation and self-regulation, immediately after training, one month and one year after training. <b>Discussion:</b> If, as predicted, the proposed study finds that AffeCT successfully improves affective control in adolescents, there would be significant potential benefits to adolescent mental health. As a free app, the training would also be scalable and easy to disseminate across a wide range of settings. <b>Trial registration:</b> The trial was registered on December 10th 2018 with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (Registration number: ISRCTN17213032).<br><br>Copyright: © 2019 Schweizer S et al.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2398-502X",
doi="10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15229.2",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15229.2"
}