An observational study in Mental Disorder in Adolescence, Depression in Adolescence and Anxiety, sponsored by Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf. Recruiting at 1 site in Germany. Open to participants aged 14 Years to 17 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-01.
Sponsored by Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf · Observational
The quality of parent-adolescent communication has been found to be associated with adolescent mental health. However, little is known about the association of parent-adolescent communication and adolescent mental health in the context of psychiatry inpatient treatment.
This study aims to find out whether self-reported parent-adolescent communication quality at the time of admission to psychiatry predicts the treatment outcome in terms of symptom reduction 6 months later in an adolescent inpatient sample. It also aims to track changes in adolescent self-reported communication quality in the course of inpatient treatment and afterwards (2, 4 and 6 months after admission) to see whether improvement predicts treatment outcome, with treatment outcome being defined as symptom reduction to baseline. As a secondary endpoint, it will be assessed whether a placement of the adolescent outside the family was considered during treatment and whether self-reported communication quality at the time of admission predicts the consideration of placement outside the family.
The main hypotheses of the study are:
1a Higher quality of self-reported parent-adolescent communication at baseline is positively associated with higher symptom reduction from baseline (psychiatry admission, t0) to 6 months after admission (t3).
The hypotheses 1a and 1b will be assessed with a linear regression model, hypothesis 2 will be assessed with a logistic regression model.
Covariates that will be taken into consideration are symptom severity at baseline, socioeconomic status of the family, adolescent gender, age, and comorbidity. Sensitivity analyses will be calculated for inpatient treatment duration and outpatient treatment duration after discharge from the hospital.
Symptom severity as the primary outcome is assessed with three measures: YSR (Youth Self-Report), DISYPS-ANG (Diagnostik-System für Psychische Störungen - Angststörungen) and DISYPS-DES Diagnostik-System für Psychische Störungen - Depressive Störungen). The relevant scale will be chosen according to the primary clinical diagnosis: If the primary diagnosis is anxiety (F40-F41), DISYPS-ANG will be used for the primary outcome. If the primary diagnosis is depression (F32-F33), DISYPS-DES will be used. If any other condition is the primary diagnosis, the YSR total scale will be used. Raw values of the DISYPS and the YSR will be transformed into z-values.
719 studies on the registry are indexed under Communication; 159 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 60 is below the median of 104 across 132 observational studies indexed under Communication.
Browse Communication studies →Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf is the lead sponsor of 416 studies on the registry; 86 are open to participants now.
Compared within Communication, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Anxiety Disorders. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →
Adolescents aged 14;1 to 17;12 years with a diagnosis of a mental disorder requiring inpatient treatment at a psychiatric site.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Adolescent inpatients at the child and adolescent psychiatry, age 14-17 years.
Change in self-rated relevant symptoms according to the discharge diagnosis (general mental health)
General mental health symptoms will be assessed with the YSR (Youth Self-Report). If a condition other than F32-33 or F40-41 is the primary diagnosis, the YSR total scale will be used. The YSR consists of 112 items, rated on a three-step scale. Higher values indicate higher symptom burden.
Time frame: From baseline to 6 months after admission (T3)
Change in self-rated relevant symptoms according to the discharge diagnosis (depression symptoms)
Depression symptoms will be assessed with the DISYPS-DES (Diagnostik-System für Psychische Störungen - Depressive Störungen). If the primary diagnosis is depression (F32-F33), DISYPS-DES will be used. The DISYPS-DES consists of consist of 29 items, rated on a four-step scale. Higher values indicate higher symptom burden.
Time frame: From baseline to 6 months after admission (T3)
Change in self-rated relevant symptoms according to the discharge diagnosis (anxiety symptoms)
Anxiety symptoms will be assessed with the DISYPS-ANG (Diagnostik-System für Psychische Störungen - Angststörungen). If the primary diagnosis is anxiety (F40-F41), DISYPS-ANG will be used for the primary outcome. The DISYPS-ANG consists of 44 items, rated on a four-step scale. Higher values indicate higher symptom burden.
Time frame: From baseline to 6 months after admission (T3)
Discussion of external placement (rated by clinician)
The responsible clinician rates whether an external placement (outside the family) of the adolescent was discussed in the context of psychiatric treatment (yes/no). It has to be considered as discussed (\"yes\") if either the adolescent, one parent or more or the treatment team articulate a wish/recommendation regarding external placement during the period of treatment toward any other party.
Time frame: From baseline to 6 months after admission (T3)
Change in self-rated parent-adolescent communication quality
PACS (Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale) questionnaire. The PACS consists of 20 items rated on a five-step scale and ranges from 20-100 with better values indicating higher communication quality.
Time frame: From baseline to 6 months after admission (T3)
Plan to share: Undecided
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