The early course and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in very young children: diagnostic prevalence and predictors in hospital-attending children and a randomized controlled proof-of-concept trial of trauma-focused cognitive therapy, for 3- to 8-year-olds.

BACKGROUND: The introduction of developmentally adapted criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has improved the identification of ≤6-year-old children with clinical needs. Across two studies, we assess predictors of the development of PTSD in young children (PTSD-YC), including the adult-led acute stress disorder (ASD) diagnosis, and provide proof of principle for cognitive-focused therapy for this age range, with the aim of increasing treatment options for children diagnosed with PTSD-YC. METHOD: Study 1 (N = 105) assessed ASD and PTSD-YC diagnosis in 3- to 8-year-old children within one month and at around three months following attendance at an emergency room. Study 2 (N = 37) was a preregistered (www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN35018680) randomized controlled early-phase trial comparing CBT-3M, a cognitive-focused intervention, to treatment-as-usual (TAU) delivered within the UK NHS to 3- to 8-year-olds diagnosed with PTSD-YC. RESULTS: In Study 1, the ASD diagnosis failed to identify any young children. In contrast, prevalence of acute PTSD-YC (minus the duration requirement) was 8.6% in the first month post-trauma and 10.1% at 3 months. Length of hospital stay, but no other demographic or trauma-related characteristics, predicted development of later PTSD-YC. Early (within one month) diagnosis of acute PTSD-YC had a positive predictive value of 50% for later PTSD-YC. In Study 2, most children lost their PTSD-YC diagnosis following completion of CBT-3M (84.6%) relative to TAU (6.7%) and CBT-3M was acceptable to recipient families. Effect sizes were also in favor of CBT-3M for secondary outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: The ASD diagnosis is not fit for purpose in this age-group. There was a strong and encouraging signal of putative efficacy for young children treated using a cognitive-focused treatment for PTSD, and a larger trial of CBT-3M is now warranted.

A randomised controlled trial of memory flexibility training (MemFlex) to enhance memory flexibility and reduce depressive symptomatology in individuals with major depressive disorder.

Successful navigation within the autobiographical memory store is integral to daily cognition. Impairment in the flexibility of memory retrieval can thereby have a detrimental impact on mental health. This randomised controlled phase II exploratory trial (N = 60) evaluated the potential of a novel intervention drawn from basic science - an autobiographical Memory Flexibility (MemFlex) training programme - which sought to ameliorate memory difficulties and improve symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder. MemFlex was compared to Psychoeducation (an evidence-based low-intensity intervention) to determine the likely range of effects on a primary cognitive target of memory flexibility at post-intervention, and co-primary clinical targets of self-reported depressive symptoms and diagnostic status at three-month follow-up. These effect sizes could subsequently be used to estimate sample size for a fully-powered trial. Results demonstrated small-moderate, though as expected statistically non-significant, effect sizes in favour of MemFlex for memory flexibility (d = 0.34, p = .20), and loss of diagnosis (OR = 0.65, p = .48), along with the secondary outcome of depression-free days (d = 0.36, p = .18). A smaller effect size was observed for between-group difference in self-reported depressive symptoms (d = 0.24, p = .35). Effect sizes in favour of MemFlex in this early-stage trial suggest that fully-powered evaluation of MemFlex may be warranted as an avenue to improving low-intensity treatment of depression. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier NCT02371291.