A 12-month follow-up of a pilot randomized controlled trial examining co-designed unguided internet cognitive behavior therapy for grieving adolescents.
Egan SJ., Greene D., O'Brien A., Pauley-Gadd SB., Bills E., Callaghan T., Raghav S., Payne N., Myers B., Hall C., Wilson H., Eisma MC., Boelen PA., Smith KV., Wild J., Duffy M., Trickey D., Breen LJ.
Grief is a prevalent experience in adolescence. Outcomes were explored 6 and 12 months after unguided internet cognitive behavior therapy intervention for grieving adolescents (M = 17.04 years, SD = 1.04). The primary outcome was anxiety symptoms and secondary outcomes were well-beingand symptoms of depression, prolonged grief and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Of the 49 adolescents randomized at pre-intervention, 18% completed the 6-month follow-up and 27% completed the 12-month follow-up. Intent-to-treat analysis indicated no significant effects of time for the primary outcome of anxiety symptoms, or secondary outcomes of prolonged grief and PTSD symptoms. However, at 12-month follow-up, participants had significantly lower depressive symptoms and higher well-being compared to pre-intervention. Clinical significance analysis showed more participants recovered or improved, compared to those who deteriorated. The study was limited by high attrition, a small sample size and no control group. Future research should include larger samples over long follow-up periods.