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Adult Depression

Changes in neuroticism through the unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders

(PS3-A3) Changes in Neuroticism Through the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Depressive and Anxiety Disorders

Friday, November 18, 2022

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST

Location: Westside Ballroom, 5th Floor

Author(s)

SS

So Sugita, B.S.

Research assistant
National center of neurology and psychiatry, National center for cognitive behavior therapy and research
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan

Co-Author(s)

MI

Masaya Ito, Ph.D.

Director of research and development
National center of neurology and psychiatry, National center for cognitive behavior therapy and research
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
NK

Noriko Kato, M.D.

Visiting researcher
National center of neurology and psychiatry, National center for cognitive behavior therapy and research
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
AT

Ayaka Toyota, M.A.

Researcher
National center of neurology and psychiatry, National center for cognitive behavior therapy and research
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
SN

Shun Nakajima, Ph.D.

Chief of clinical technology development
National center of neurology and psychiatry, National center for cognitive behavior therapy and research
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
YT

Yoshitake Takebayashi, Ph.D.

Visiting researcher
National center of neurology and psychiatry, National center for cognitive behavior therapy and research
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
AK

Asami Komazawa, Ph.D.

Researcher
National center of neurology and psychiatry, National center for cognitive behavior therapy and research
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
CN

Chiaki Nakayama, Ph.D.

Researcher
National center of neurology and psychiatry, National center for cognitive behavior therapy and research
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
KY

Keiko Yamaguchi, Ph.D.

Research Fellow
National center of neurology and psychiatry, National center for cognitive behavior therapy and research
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
YO

Yuki Oe, M.A.

Researcher
National center of neurology and psychiatry, National center for cognitive behavior therapy and research
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
HF

Hiroko Fujisato, Ph.D.

Research Fellow
National center of neurology and psychiatry, National center for cognitive behavior therapy and research
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
MM

Mitsuhiro Miyamae, Ph.D.

Researcher
National institutes for quantum science and technology
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
MH

Masaru Horikoshi, Ph.D.

Director of Clinical Training
National center of neurology and psychiatry, National center for cognitive behavior therapy and research
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
KY

Kaichi Yabe, B.A.

Research assitant
National center of neurology and psychiatry, National center for cognitive behavior therapy and research
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
KK

Kyosuke Kaneko, M.A.

Research assistant
National center of neurology and psychiatry, National center for cognitive behavior therapy and research
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan

Changes in neuroticism through the unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders

Background: Neuroticism is a transdiagnostic vulnerability in which the individual responds to stress with intense negative emotions. The unified protocol for the transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders (UP; Barlow et al., 2011) is designed to target this temperament. UP demonstrated a greater reduction in neuroticism among patients with panic, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorders than the disorder-specific cognitive behavioral therapy and wait-list condition (Sauer-Zavala et al., 2021). The current study aimed to extend this finding and investigate whether similar changes in a broader diagnostic group, specifically emotional disorders, including anxiety and depressive disorders.

Methods: Data was obtained from the Japan Unified Protocol Clinical Trial (Ito et al., 2022). Patients with a principal diagnosis of depressive disorder (n = 54) and anxiety disorder (n = 50), allocated to either receive a 21-week UP with treatment-as-usual (UP+TAU) or treatment-as-usual while waitlist control condition (WL+TAU) were included in the analysis. Neuroticism was measured at baseline, 10 weeks, and post-treatment using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised-Short version (EPQR-S). Multilevel modelling compared patterns of change over time between the two conditions.

Results: The mean EPQR-S scores in the UP+TAU and WL+TAU groups were 9.76 (SD = 1.96) and 9.70 (SD = 2.20) at baseline and 8.15 (SD = 2.59) and 9.76 (SD = 2.22) at 21 weeks. Participants in the UP+TAU condition demonstrated significantly lower levels of neuroticism compared to WL+TAU (UP+TAU; Mean t (452) = -3.58, p < .001).

Discussion: Consistent with previous findings, our results show that UP contributed to a reduction in neuroticism among both patients with anxiety and depressive disorders. This study is the first to assess the effect of the transdiagnostic intervention on a treatment process in a non-western population. Understanding the treatment mechanism can provide insight into increasing the effectiveness of the UP.