AI-GF-GNW on Prolonged Grief Reactions

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

AI-Assisted Grief-Focused Guided Narrative Writing: Participants will independently complete the intervention writing tasks via the H5 platform. Participants were required to complete a 6-day, 3-session narrative writing task. Each session requires more than 20 minutes of uninterrupted writing. Session 1 requires describing the specific details and feelings of the bereavement event; Session 2 requires describing the negative impact of the event and one's own negative feelings; Session 3 requires a description of the positive impact of the event and one's own positive feelings, with a one-day interval between each session, synchronized with the NF-GF-GNW group. When participants complete and submit their writing, they will immediately receive a response generated by the AI large language model. Participants are not allowed to engage in any additional interaction with the AI large language model other than submitting writing content and receiving feedback.

No-Feedback Guided Narrative Writing: All processes are the same as the AI-GF-GNW group, except that when participants complete their writing and submit, the platform will only display a "submission successful" prompt and will not provide any feedback on the writing content.

Free Writing: Participants in the FWG will not receive structured guidance, and are only required to write freely about their loss experiences. The writing sessions will follow the same schedule and duration as the other groups.

Study summary

Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) is a severe, disabling condition characterized by intense yearning and difficulty accepting the reality of loss, which significantly impairs the academic and psychosocial functioning of bereaved adolescents. While Grief-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (GF-CBT) is effective, its high cost and resource-intensive nature limit its accessibility for adolescents in mainland China. Grief-Focused Guided Narrative Writing (GF-GNW) offers a scalable, low-cost alternative that facilitates memory integration.

Furthermore, integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide personalized, structured feedback has the potential to simulate therapist functions and enhance intervention efficacy. However, the specific efficacy of AI-assisted feedback in this context remains empirically unvalidated.

This parallel randomized controlled trial aims to examine the effectiveness of AI-assisted GF-GNW (AI-GF-GNW) in treating Chinese adolescents (aged 10-19) with subclinical PGD, compared to a no-feedback NF-GF-GNW group and a free writing group. Primary outcomes include PGD symptom severity, while secondary outcomes assess depression, anxiety, and daily functioning. We hypothesize that both active intervention arms will significantly alleviate PGD and related symptoms compared to the free writing group, and that the AI-GF-GNW group will demonstrate a significantly greater reduction in symptoms and functional impairment than the NF-GF-GNW group.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Prolonged Grief Disorder-13-Revision (PG-13-R) — Baseline (0 Day), post-treatment assessment (5 Day), follow-up assessment (35 Day)
  PG-13-R is a standardized diagnostic tool designed to assess the severity of prolonged grief disorder symptoms over the past month. The instrument consists of 10 questions scored on a 5-point Likert scale, alongside 2 true/false questions and 1 open-ended question assessing functional impairment and duration.Who gets 30 points or higher will be considered as clinical prolonged grief reactions.
• Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) — Baseline (0 Day), post-treatment assessment (5 Day), follow-up assessment (35 Day)
  PHQ-9 is a brief, validated screening tool used to measure the severity of depression symptoms in adolescents over the past two weeks. 9 questions are scored on a Likert scale of 0-3 with 0 being not at all and 3 being nearly every day.

Trial sites (1)

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