Prevention of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Soldiers

NCT01729325 — Phase 2, Completed, 118 participants, University of Konstanz

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Prevention of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Relation to Appetitive Aggression in Burundian Soldiers Deployed in a Peace-keeping Mission in Somalia

Registry	NCT01729325
Status	Completed
Phase	Phase 2
Study type	Interventional; randomized, single group, masking: single, prevention
Enrollment	118 (Actual)
Sponsor	University of Konstanz (Other); collaborators: The Volkswagen Foundation
Conditions	Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Aggressive Behavior
Interventions	Preventive Narrative Exposure Therapy (Behavioral)
Dates	start 2012-11-01, primary completion 2013-01-01, completion 2015-04-01, first posted 2012-11-20, last updated 2015-06-04
Locations	1 site in Burundi

-Summary

Soldiers in conflict or former conflict regions deployed in peace-keeping missions were and are often exposed to multiple traumatic events and situations in which they are forced to engage in violent behavior. The Preventive Narrative Exposure Therapy (Pre-NET) aims to reinforce resilience thereby reducing the risk of developing or aggravating PTSD or other mental disorders as a result of traumatic experiences. The effective prevention of mental disorders as a result of war deployment is expected to facilitate reintegration in civil life after deployment and reduce uncontrolled violence.

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+Arms and interventions

Arm	Type	Interventions	Description
Preventive Narrative Exposure Therapy	Experimental	Behavioral: Preventive Narrative Exposure Therapy	Treatment with Pre-NET before deployment in peace-keeping mission
No treatment control	No intervention

Preventive Narrative Exposure Therapy (Behavioral): During Pre-NET the client, with the assistance of the therapist, constructs a chronological narrative of his whole life with a focus on exposure to traumatic stress. Empathic understanding, active listening, congruency and unconditional positive regard are key components of the therapist's behavior who asks in detail for emotions, cognitions, sensory information, and physiological reactions, linking them to an autobiographical context. During two sessions a chronological overview of the whole life with a focus on traumatic events is developed and the most important traumatic experiences are processed.

+Outcome measures

Primary outcomes

Severity of traumatic symptoms measured via the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Scale-Interview (PSS-I) [15 months]
Extend of appetitive aggression via the Appetitive Aggressions Scale (AAS) [15 months]

Secondary outcomes

Severity of depressive symptoms measured via the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) [15 months]
Strength of suicidal ideation measured via the MINI [15 months]
Physical health complains [15 months]

+Eligibility

Sex: Male, ages: 20 Years to 60 Years, accepts healthy volunteers

Inclusion Criteria:

* Exposure to traumatic experiences derived from expert interviews with scores of the Traumatic Life Event List for War and Torture
* Soldiers are part of the Burundian army and of the joint African Union and United Nations peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Current use of mind altering drugs
* Psychotic symptoms

+Locations (1)

Facility	City	Country	Status
Burundian Army (FDN)	Bujumbura, Bujumbura Mairie Province	Burundi