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Published in: Trials 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Letter

Attention placebo control in randomized controlled trials of psychosocial interventions: theory and practice

Authors: Lukka Popp, Silvia Schneider

Published in: Trials | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Attention placebo control (APC) is considered a highly valid control condition when conducting trials of social interventions. Unfortunately, an appropriate APC condition is rarely used. This letter discusses the tension between methodological and ethical requirements of an APC group in psychosocial interventions based on our experiences with a randomized controlled efficacy study of a parent training program. To prevent negative side effects and high drop-out rates, feasible and accepted attention control conditions are discussed. The paradigms of placebo research must be adapted to the special challenges of psychosocial intervention research.
Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02313493: registered 10 December 2014
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Metadata
Title
Attention placebo control in randomized controlled trials of psychosocial interventions: theory and practice
Authors
Lukka Popp
Silvia Schneider
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Trials / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1745-6215
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-015-0679-0

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