Treatment Response of Affect Regulation Group Therapy for Recently Traumatized School Children

Chung Yeub Chung; Daeho Kim; Seok-hyeon Kim; Hwallip Bae; Kounseok Lee; Bokja Go

doi:10.4306/jknpa.2014.53.3.171

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Chung, Kim, Kim, Bae, Lee, and Go: Treatment Response of Affect Regulation Group Therapy for Recently Traumatized School Children

Original Article

Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association 2014; 53(3): 171-177.

Published online: 29 May 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4306/jknpa.2014.53.3.171

Treatment Response of Affect Regulation Group Therapy for Recently Traumatized School Children

Chung Yeub Chung, MD¹, Daeho Kim, MD, PhD^1,², Seok-hyeon Kim, MD, PhD¹, Hwallip Bae, MD, PhD³, Kounseok Lee, MD⁴, Bokja Go, MD, PhD⁵

¹Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.

²Trauma and Stress Program, Hanyang University Guri Hospital, Guri, Korea.

³Department of Psychiatry, Myongji Hospital, Goyang, Korea.

⁴Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.

⁵Department of Psychiatry, Incheon Christian Hospital, Incheon, Korea.

Address for correspondence: Daeho Kim, MD, PhD. Department of Psychiatry, Hanyang University Guri Hospital, 153 Gyeongchun-ro, Guri 471-701, Korea. Tel +82-31-560-2274, Fax +82-31-554-2599, dkim9289@hanyang.ac.kr

Received 9 March 2014 Revised 15 April 2014 Accepted 15 April 2014

Abstract

Objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate the treatment effect and predictors of response of affect regulation group therapy (ARGT) delivered to a group of recently traumatized children.

Methods

A total of 464 school children, who had witnessed or confronted a tragic accident at school, were given a single-session of affect regulation group therapy, that which included psychoeducation and affect regulation elements from eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Of 213 children whose with initial score of Subject Unit of Disturbance Scale (SUDS) score over 4, we compared pre- and post-treatment scores and performed conducted the responder vs. non-responder comparison. The pPost-traumatic disorder (PTSD) symptom scores measured by using Child Reaction to Traumatic Events Scale-Revised (CRTES-R), demographic variables, and clinical variables were considered.

Results

Affect regulation group therapy was effective for children who had experienced an acute traumatic event (t=16.3, p<0.001). Baseline SUDS score of for non-responder were was significantly higher (t=-2.89, p<0.001) and CRTES-R score approached a level of significance level (t=-1.72, p=0.09). However, results of logistic regression analysis identified showed that the pretreatment SUDS score was the only significant predictor of non-response.

Conclusion

Affect regulation group therapy appeared to be effective for children who had undergone experienced an acute traumatic event. And in addition, the survivors' subjective distress was more important to treatment response than severity of PTSD symptoms severity.

Keywords: Trauma, Acute stress disorder, Group therapy, Affect regulation, EMDR, Children

Figures and Tables

Table 1

General characteristics of the participants (n=213)

Table 2

Baseline and post-treatment scores of K-CRTES-R & SUDS (n=210)^*

^*: Three children did not report post-treatment SUDS scores. K-CRTES-R : Korean-Child Reaction to Traumatic Events Scale-Revised, SUDS : Subject Unit of Disturbance Scale, M : mean

Table 3

Comparison between responder vs. non-responder to affect regulation group therapy

^*: Those who showed more than 50% decrease in SUDS score after treatment. K-CRTES-R : Korean-Child Reaction to Traumatic Events Scale-Revised, SUDS : Subject Unit of Disturbance Scale

Table 4

Stepwise forward logistic regression analysis of affect regulation group therapy : responder^* vs. non-responder category as dependent variable

Explanatory variables entered on step 1 : Baseline SUDS scores, Baseline K-CRTES-R scores. ^*: Those who showed more than 50% decrease in SUDS score after treatment. K-CRTES-R : Korean-Child Reaction to Traumatic Events Scale-Revised, SUDS : Subject Unit of Disturbance Scale, CI : Confidence interval

Notes

The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.

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