POTS 2004

Question 1

aims

Answer 1

• to investigate the effectiveness of CBT as a treatment compared to drugs alone or combined with drugs.
• the study was funded by the national institution for mental health in USA in order to find best intervention, as stats show that up to 50% of adults with it developed it in childhood.

Question 2

procedure

Answer 2

• volunteer sample of 112 adolescents and children 7-17
  diagnosed with ocd.
• the severity of their symptoms were measured using CYBOCS and only those with a score of 16+ inc.
• those with comorbidity excluded but if on right meds ADHD stayed
• none on meds for ocd.

Question 3

procedure

Answer 3

each child was randomly allocated to one of four conditions
1. CBT only
2. drugs only
3. combination
4. placebo

Question 4

procedure

Answer 4

• study lasted 12 weeks and each child had a psychiatrist to monitor progress.
• symptoms assessed at weeks 4, 8 and 12.
• the process was strictly supervised and reviewed.

Question 5

results

Answer 5

97 completed study
- all conditions showed improvements at the 12 weeks, however placebo improvement was not significant.
- in the CBT alone condition, 39.3% entered remission, compared to 21.4% in the drugs alone condition.
- this figure rose marginally in combined.

Question 6

conclusion

Answer 6

shows an effect of CBT leading to a higher improvement rate than drugs.
- however the improvement is slightly higher if the two are combined.

Question 7

generalisability

Answer 7

large sample and low drop out rate

Question 8

reliability

Answer 8

CBT followed strict protocols and drug dose increase guided by strict schedules.

Question 9

application

Answer 9

have important implications for how OCD is treated in young people.
shows how combined treatment was well tolerated and lead to routine use which will benefit society and young people.

Question 10

validity

Answer 10

well controlled procedures
eg.assessors were blind to the condition each participant was in to avoid bias in their evaluation of improvement.
CA= however this was not true in all cases as 12 participants and clinicians were aware that those on. combined treatment were receiving real drugs not placebo.
this suggests that masking was imperfect in some cases knowledge of group membership may have had an effect on outcomes.

Question 11

ethics

Answer 11

could be argued that researchers were sensitive to ethical issues.
for example, children’s parents gave consent and the lead researcher ensured confidentiality and security of data.
CA= however, those who were on placebo, were left untreated which means they were not getting the benefit of any kind of therapy.
despite this after the study they were then able to choose a genuine treatment.