Youth Pregnancy and PTSD Research Study
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center are conducting a study with pregnant and postpartum teens and young adults to evaluate a type of therapy designed to reduce trauma symptoms. Participants may have experienced a traumatic event either directly or by witnessing it happen to someone else.
Fast Facts
15-24 Years Old & Currently Pregnant or Pregnant in Past Year
Experienced a Traumatic Event
Compensation Provided
Conducted in Dallas, TX
Study Background
Feasibility and Preliminary Effectiveness of Written Exposure Therapy (WET) for Pregnant or Postpartum Adolescents and Youth with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in an Open Pilot Trial (EMPWR)
This study involves a short, trauma-focused therapy called Written Exposure Therapy. It is designed for teens and young adults who are currently pregnant or have been pregnant in the past year, who may be experiencing trauma-related symptoms. If you are between 15-24 years old, pregnant or recently pregnant, and experienced a traumatic event—either something that happened directly to you or something you directly witnessed happening to someone else (which does not have to be related to pregnancy), you could be a fit for this research study.
If you participate, you’ll be in the study for about 12 weeks. Each week, you will be sent a few short self-report surveys to assess things like your mood and daily habits. Once a month, you will also meet with a clinician to discuss your trauma symptoms. Each participant is also provided a Garmin smartwatch, which collects heartrate, sleep, and other data throughout the study. All study procedures except for setting up the watch and electroencephalography (EEG) can be done either remotely or in-person, although in-person is preferred.
Eventually, we hope that the findings of this study might be useful for treating trauma symptoms and improving quality of life for young people like you.
Study Background
Feasibility and Preliminary Effectiveness of Written Exposure Therapy (WET) for Pregnant or Postpartum Adolescents and Youth with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in an Open Pilot Trial (EMPWR)
This study involves a short, trauma-focused therapy called Written Exposure Therapy. It is designed for teens and young adults who are currently pregnant or have been pregnant in the past year, who may be experiencing trauma-related symptoms. If you are between 15-24 years old, pregnant or recently pregnant, and experienced a traumatic event—either something that happened directly to you or something you directly witnessed happening to someone else (which does not have to be related to pregnancy), you could be a fit for this research study.
If you participate, you’ll be in the study for about 12 weeks. Each week, you will be sent a few short self-report surveys to assess things like your mood and daily habits. Once a month, you will also meet with a clinician to discuss your trauma symptoms. Each participant is also provided a Garmin smartwatch, which collects heartrate, sleep, and other data throughout the study. All study procedures except for setting up the watch and electroencephalography (EEG) can be done either remotely or in-person, although in-person is preferred.
Eventually, we hope that the findings of this study might be useful for treating trauma symptoms and improving quality of life for young people like you.
Additional Information
The purpose of this study is to see if a type of therapy called Written Exposure Therapy (WET) can help reduce trauma-related symptoms in teens and young adults who are currently pregnant or who have been pregnant in the past year. The main goal is to determine whether this therapy is easy to complete and acceptable for people in this population.
Eligible participants include those who have experienced a traumatic event—either something that happened directly to them or something they directly witnessed happening to someone else. The trauma does not need to be related to pregnancy.
We are also examining whether this therapy helps reduce trauma-related symptoms over the course of 12 weeks. In addition, we’re looking at changes in heart rate, brain activity, sleep, and other metrics throughout the study.
You may qualify for this study if you meet the following criteria.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Ages 15-24
- Currently pregnant OR have been pregnant within the past year
- Experienced a traumatic event during your life (e.g., physical assault, sexual violation, serious accidents, natural disasters, etc.) either directly to yourself or having directly witnessed it happening to someone else
The entire study lasts about 12 weeks. Once enrolled, the study involves:
- Screening visit (3-5 hours): Informed consent, interview about past traumatic event and PTSD symptoms, interview about past mental health history. Can be virtual; in-person preferred.
- Baseline visit (1 hour): Watch setup, electroencephalography, self-report surveys. Must be in-person.
- Weekly surveys (5-15 minutes, 12 total): Short self-report surveys about mood, daily habits, and trauma symptoms. Can be done in-person or remotely.
- Monthly visits (1 hour, 3 total): Interview about past traumatic event and PTSD symptoms. Can be done in-person or remotely.
- Therapy sessions (1 hour each, 5 total): All will be done within the first 4 weeks of the study. Can be done in-person or remotely.
- Study exit (2 hours): Interview with clinician about traumatic event and PTSD symptoms, electroencephalography, feedback about therapy. Can be virtual, but in-person strongly encouraged. If virtual, you will not be able to do EEG and thus will not be compensated for it.
As a participant, you can receive up to $900 for completing all of the study procedures.
There is no cost for you to participate in our research study.