Aggression

Researchers are studying how bite force and bone turnover markers change during the retention phase after orthodontic treatment in patients with different vertical facial growth patterns. The study compares patients with vertical (hyperdivergent) and horizontal (hypodivergent) craniofacial growth to understand relapse and bone remodeling processes over a 12-month retention period. This prospective clinical trial aims to provide insights into maintaining teeth alignment using retention appliances after fixed orthodontic treatment. The trial includes two groups of patients who have completed fixed orthodontic treatment and are ready for retainer delivery. Group 1 consists of patients with vertical growth patterns (FMA 26° or more), while Group 2 includes those with horizontal growth patterns (FMA 24° or less). Both groups will receive a Begg's retainer formed conventionally and delivered within 24 hours of debonding. Changes in bite force will be measured using a bite force device, and bone turnover markers CTX (bone resorption) and BALP (bone formation) will be assessed using ELISA at baseline and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after retainer delivery. Participants will undergo bite force measurements and biomarker testing at five timepoints during the 12 months retention phase: at retainer delivery, then after 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. Data on bone turnover markers and bite force changes will be collected and compared between the two groups. The study includes monitoring of functional occlusion, oral hygiene, and retainer compliance. The total participation time spans 12 months, during which researchers will assess both clinical and biochemical indicators of bone remodeling and bite function after orthodontic treatment.

This research aims to evaluate a 5-session cognitive behavioral program called 1MoreStep, designed for Black women living with HIV who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past two years. The study focuses on teaching skills to access personal and external strengths, safety strategies, knowledge about HIV care and stigma, communication skills to handle stigma, and addressing barriers to HIV care. It also examines the program's acceptability and feasibility among participants. Participants are randomly assigned to either the 1MoreStep intervention or an equal attention control group. The intervention includes seven group sessions and one individual session held weekly, led by experienced facilitators from the Black community. Sessions cover topics such as safety planning, HIV care engagement, stigma communication, and goal setting using cognitive behavioral skills. The control group attends weekly support group sessions that cover general health topics important to Black women living with HIV but not directly related to the intervention's goals. Throughout the study, participants complete assessments at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months to measure changes in safety strategies and HIV care engagement. Measures include surveys, medical record reviews, and interviews to evaluate treatment acceptance, session attendance, and participant experiences. The study spans approximately 6 months post-baseline, with follow-up surveys and qualitative interviews to explore program fit and barriers to participation.

Women who have experienced interpersonal violence often face a higher risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In France, female victims can request a medico-legal examination at a clinical forensic medicine unit, which also offers initial psychological assessment. However, many women do not attend follow-up appointments. This research is a prospective, multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of a case management algorithm that uses early phone contact to improve clinical outcomes after such consultations for female victims of violence. Participants are divided into two groups. The experimental group, called VIGITRAUMA, will receive a phone call three weeks after their consultation, with a second call if needed. If contact is not made after the second call, a postcard will be sent. The control group will receive the usual follow-up care without this additional phone contact. The study is conducted by the University Hospital, Lille. Participants will be assessed through phone calls at 3, 6, and 12 months after their consultation to monitor clinical outcomes. Researchers will measure PTSD symptom severity, general psychopathology, somatic symptoms, medical costs, judicial outcomes, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts. The study aims to track these outcomes over a full year to understand the impact of the case management algorithm compared to standard care.

This research aims to evaluate a gender-transformative intervention designed to reduce intimate partner violence (IPV) against infertile women. It focuses on couples diagnosed with female-factor infertility undergoing their first or second IVF or ICSI cycle. The trial addresses the overlap between infertility and IPV, recognizing that infertile women face higher risks of IPV and that their needs have often been overlooked. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two groups. The intervention group receives five 60-minute sessions led by trained nurses and social workers throughout the fertility treatment cycle. These sessions cover gender norms, gender equality, and healthy relationship skills at key treatment stages: before the cycle starts, during follicular monitoring, before oocyte retrieval, two weeks after embryo transfer, and 28-30 days post-transfer. The control group receives standard reproductive care. A total of 376 couples will participate, split evenly between the two groups. During the study, couples will undergo assessments at baseline and multiple points up to about 14 months after delivery. Researchers will measure the rate of IPV against infertile women over the past 12 months as the primary outcome. Secondary assessments include IPV against male partners, attitudes toward gender roles, marital quality, coping with stress, patient satisfaction with treatment, pregnancy outcomes, and neonatal health. This comprehensive follow-up includes questionnaires, clinical pregnancy tests, and monitoring of birth outcomes to understand the intervention's impact over time.

Researchers are evaluating a family-centred approach to prevent cardiovascular diseases (CVD) among adolescents and their families in Uganda. This 5-year study focuses on reducing risk factors like unhealthy diet and physical inactivity that contribute to CVD and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The study adapts a proven intervention from Asia to the Ugandan context, aiming to support healthier lifestyle behaviors during the critical adolescence period when habits form that affect adult health. The study includes two groups: one receiving the FaCe-D intervention, which involves home visits by Village Health Teams delivering diet, physical activity, and health messaging; and a control group receiving standard care with usual health promotion activities. The study is divided into three phases: adapting the intervention, implementing it, and evaluating its effectiveness and feasibility in 32 villages. Participants will be involved for at least 12 months, during which researchers will assess changes in cardiovascular health and sleep quality. Evaluations include monitoring behavior changes, health outcomes, and implementation costs. The study also considers adoption and feasibility to understand how well the intervention works in real community settings.

This research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Elevate VR, a hospital-based brief violence intervention using virtual reality, to prevent firearm-related violence, injury, and death among youth. Firearm violence is a major public health concern, especially for young people, with rates of firearm-related deaths and injuries increasing nationally and particularly in Virginia. The study addresses the urgent need for new and innovative interventions to reduce firearm-related harm and its significant economic impact. Participants include youth aged 13 to 17 years who have received hospital treatment for intentional or unintentional injuries or those recruited from community sources, along with their caregivers aged 18 or older. The Elevate VR program consists of a 40-minute intervention based on positive psychology, motivational goal setting through gameplay, psychoeducation, and cognitive-behavioral and dialectical behavioral therapies. The study also involves completing questionnaires assessing firearm-related violence, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. During the study, participants will complete assessments at baseline and again at 1 and 3 months to measure firearm-related violence, violent crime involvement, firearm attitudes, re-injury, risky behaviors, personality traits, and future aspirations. These evaluations will help determine the intervention's impact. The study is non-randomized and does not involve masking. The overall goal is to gather data to support effective violence prevention methods among youth in high-risk communities.

Researchers are evaluating the iDECIDE curriculum, a new drug education and diversion program, in about 300 middle and high school students who have recently broken school substance use rules. This randomized controlled trial aims to see if iDECIDE improves knowledge about drugs, attitudes toward substance use, and actual substance use behavior compared to a waitlist control group. The study focuses on adolescents' understanding of drug effects, brain development, and readiness to reduce or quit substance use. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: the iDECIDE group or a waitlist control group. The iDECIDE group will complete four weekly sessions of a drug education curriculum, delivered via videoconference or in-person, each lasting 60 to 75 minutes. This curriculum covers topics such as addiction neurobiology, brain development, industry tactics, and healthy alternatives. The control group will undergo symptom and substance use monitoring during the weekly visits and may choose to join the iDECIDE program after one month. The study involves nine visits over about one year, including baseline assessment, four weekly intervention or monitoring visits, and four follow-up visits at one week, one month, six months, and one year after the intervention. Participants will complete questionnaires, assessments, and urine tests at various visits, with raters blinded to group assignment. The study will measure knowledge of drug effects and brain development, frequency of substance use, readiness to quit, and perceptions of harm. Participants will receive compensation for attending sessions and providing urine samples.

Researchers are evaluating a brief and individually tailored behavioral parent training program for children aged 2 to 12 years who have behavioral difficulties such as oppositional, defiant, aggressive, hyperactive, impulsive, and inattentive behaviors. The study aims to compare this new short parent training with care as usual (CAU) in mental healthcare centers, focusing on both short- and long-term effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. The trial addresses current challenges like limited access to certified therapists and high dropout rates due to the length and rigidity of standard programs. Parents in the intervention group participate in three sessions over three to four weeks: two individually tailored sessions lasting two hours each, followed by a one-hour evaluation and maintenance session. Optional booster sessions are available once every four weeks for up to one year after the program to help maintain improvements. The control group receives usual care, which may include psychoeducation, counseling, longer parent training, medication, or family therapy. Both treatments are delivered within routine Dutch mental health care, and therapists receive specialized training and supervision to deliver the brief program. Participants provide information and complete various assessments at baseline, one week after treatment, six months, and twelve months later. These include parent questionnaires, audio recordings of mealtime routines, and daily phone calls to monitor child behavior, parenting stress, and parent-child relationships. Researchers also evaluate program feedback from parents and therapists, treatment costs, and health utilities. The total participation spans about one year, with careful monitoring to ensure treatment fidelity and ethical standards.

Researchers are studying ways to improve teaching self-control and communication skills to children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 with challenging behaviors. The goal is to find methods that make behavior-change treatments more effective and long-lasting, even when environments or reinforcement schedules change. The study looks at how cognitive and behavioral factors like memory, timing, and decision-making affect treatment success. Participants will receive a behavioral intervention that includes functional communication training to teach appropriate communication responses, extinction-correlated stimuli to signal reinforcement changes, schedule thinning to reduce reinforcement frequency, competing stimuli to reduce challenging behaviors during delays, and caregiver training to support skill use at home. These approaches will be personalized and applied in structured sessions. During the study, participants will complete assessments to identify preferred activities and understand causes of challenging behaviors. They will learn new communication skills to replace problem behaviors and practice transferring these skills to new situations and people. Researchers will monitor changes in challenging behavior from enrollment through 16 weeks of intervention to evaluate treatment durability and generalization.

Adolescents and young adults with HIV (AYWH) aged 15 to 24 years are the fastest-growing group living with HIV worldwide and face worse outcomes than adults, with HIV/AIDS being a leading cause of death and disability in this group. This research aims to develop and test a youth-friendly mobile health (mHealth) social media intervention to improve retention in HIV care, which may reduce AIDS-related deaths and new HIV transmissions. The study also supports the investigator's training in research and clinical trial skills focused on AYWH in low-resource settings. The study will use a social media-based intervention delivered through WhatsApp modules designed to encourage behaviors that improve retention in care for AYWH. Participants will be randomly assigned either to start receiving the intervention immediately or to a wait-list control group, which will begin the intervention after six months. The intervention targets new or re-engaging AYWH in HIV care and considers different infection routes to tailor support. Participants will take part for at least 12 months during which researchers will assess how feasible and acceptable the intervention is and measure retention in care. Data will be gathered from AYWH who are new or returning to care, including their HIV knowledge, experiences, and challenges. The study includes language fluency assessments and smartphone access for some parts. Safety and consent abilities are monitored, and the study is conducted without blinding, allowing direct observation of participation and outcomes.