Children and Adolescents Inpatient in Psychiatric HospitalNCT05698615
Chess Training as add-on Intervention for Adolescents With Psychiatric and Psychosomatic Disorders
A study testing Chess training in people with Children and Adolescents Inpatient in Psychiatric Hospital, run by Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim at 1 site in Germany.
Trial summary
In the planned study, the effect of chess training on the cognitive abilities of children and adolescents with psychiatric and psychosomatic illnesses will be investigated in a naturalistic setting. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 13 to 17 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Children and Adolescents Inpatient in Psychiatric Hospital
- What is being tested?
- Chess training
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 59 participants
- Where
- 1 siteGermany
- Study dates
- 1 Oct 2022to 30 Jun 2024
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 13 to 17 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child
Who may be able to join
- Inpatient treatment at the Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of Childhood and Adolescence, ZI Mannheim
- Age between 13 and 17 years
- Sufficient ability to answer questions verbally and in written form
- Ability to give consent by patients and their parents after detailed verbal and written explanation
- Consent of patients and parents must be given in paper form
Who cannot join
- Date of inpatient admission more than 3 weeks ago
- Withdrawal of informed consent
- Severe psychiatric, neurological and internal medical comorbidities
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
In the planned study, the effect of chess training on the cognitive abilities of children and adolescents with psychiatric and psychosomatic illnesses will be investigated in a naturalistic setting. Furthermore, the effects on therapy success and quality of life will be determined.Despite the thoroughly positive results, CRT has not yet been included in the official guidelines as an intervention in standard therapy; this is due, among other things, to too few studies and too little knowledge in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry. The planned study aims to fill the research gap in the field of chess training as an adjunctive intervention in children and adolescents and to provide further evidence on the relevance of CRT in child and adolescent psychiatry.
The hypotheses of the proposed study are:
- chess training as a six-week add-on intervention will improve cognitive functioning in adolescents with psychiatric/psychosomatic disorders compared to standard treatment.
- chess training as a six-week add-on intervention improves quality of life in adolescents with psychiatric/psychosomatic disorders compared to standard treatment.
- chess training as a six-week add-on intervention positively influences the course of therapy in adolescents with psychiatric/psychosomatic illnesses compared to standard treatment.
- Being tested
- Chess training
- Keywords
- cognitive remediation, Chess training, working memory, decision making, executiv control, chess, cognitive change, Quality of life in adolescents
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Chess trainingBehavioural
The chess training, which takes place as a measure for CRT with the children and adolescents, is carried out by the concept of the Munich Chess Academy. The concept applied here, "Chess according to the King's Plan", represents a holistic concept. Especially prepared for children and adolescents, theoretical aspects are illustrated in games and exercises.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Chess training group | Experimental | group receiving additional chess training Receives: Behavioral: Chess training |
| control group | No intervention | group receiving standard therapy only |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in comorbidities
Youth Self Report (YSR, Achenbach 1991b)
Measured: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Change in depressive symptoms
Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II, Beck, Steer, Brown 1996)
Measured: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Change in anxiety symptoms
Beck Anyxiety Inventory (BAI, deutsche Version Margraf, Ehlers 2007)
Measured: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Change in Quality of life
The KIDSCREEN Group Europe. (2006).
Measured: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Change of the overall functional level
Global assessment of functioning (Diagnostic screening measure according to DSM-IV)
Measured: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Change in mental flexibility
Dimensional Card Sorting Task (Zelazo et al., 2014
Measured: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Change in attentional capacity
d2 Test of Attention (Brickenkamp 2002)
Measured: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Change in Reaction inhibition
Go-No-Go Task (Sebastian et al., 2013)
Measured: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Change in Fluid intelligence
Stop Signal Task (Sebastian et al., 2013)
Measured: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Change in reaction time
Simple Reaction Time Task (Woods, Wyma, Yund, Herron, \& Reed, 2015)
Measured: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted26 Jan 2023
- Study start1 Oct 2022
- Primary completion30 Jun 2024
- Study completion30 Jun 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Children and Adolescents Inpatient in Psychiatric HospitalStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- After inclusion in the study, participation in chess training begins after screening. Patients who have volunteered for chess training are then matched with patients for the comparison group. Care is taken to ensure that this group is similar to the chess group in terms of diagnoses and age ("pairwise matching").
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 59 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Munich Chess academy
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05698615
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2021-593
- Status last verified
- Apr 2025
- First submitted
- 30 Dec 2022
- Last updated
- 1 May 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 1 May 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Chess Training as add-on Intervention for Adolescents With Psychiatric and Psychosomatic Disorders
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05698615
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 2021-593
- Keywords
- cognitive remediation, Chess training, working memory, decision making, executiv control, chess, cognitive change, Quality of life in adolescents
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 59 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Central Institute of Mental Health, MannheimUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Munich Chess academy
- Study start
- 1 Oct 2022 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Jun 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 30 Jun 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 26 Jan 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
In the planned study, the effect of chess training on the cognitive abilities of children and adolescents with psychiatric and psychosomatic illnesses will be investigated in a naturalistic setting. Furthermore, the effects on therapy success and quality of life will be determined.Despite the thoroughly positive results, CRT has not yet been included in the official guidelines as an intervention in standard therapy; this is due, among other things, to too few studies and too little knowledge in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry. The planned study aims to fill the research gap in the field of chess training as an adjunctive intervention in children and adolescents and to provide further evidence on the relevance of CRT in child and adolescent psychiatry.
The hypotheses of the proposed study are:
- chess training as a six-week add-on intervention will improve cognitive functioning in adolescents with psychiatric/psychosomatic disorders compared to standard treatment.
- chess training as a six-week add-on intervention improves quality of life in adolescents with psychiatric/psychosomatic disorders compared to standard treatment.
- chess training as a six-week add-on intervention positively influences the course of therapy in adolescents with psychiatric/psychosomatic illnesses compared to standard treatment.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- After inclusion in the study, participation in chess training begins after screening. Patients who have volunteered for chess training are then matched with patients for the comparison group. Care is taken to ensure that this group is similar to the chess group in terms of diagnoses and age ("pairwise matching").
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Chess training group | Experimental | Behavioral: Chess traininggroup receiving additional chess training |
| control group | No intervention | –group receiving standard therapy only |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 13 to 17 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Inpatient treatment at the Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of Childhood and Adolescence, ZI Mannheim
- Age between 13 and 17 years
- Sufficient ability to answer questions verbally and in written form
- Ability to give consent by patients and their parents after detailed verbal and written explanation
- Consent of patients and parents must be given in paper form
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Date of inpatient admission more than 3 weeks ago
- Withdrawal of informed consent
- Severe psychiatric, neurological and internal medical comorbidities
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Chess trainingThe chess training, which takes place as a measure for CRT with the children and adolescents, is carried out by the concept of the Munich Chess Academy. The concept applied here, "Chess according to the King's Plan", represents a holistic concept. Especially prepared for children and adolescents, theoretical aspects are illustrated in games and exercises. | Behavioural | Chess training group |
Primary outcome
Change in comorbidities
Time frame: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Youth Self Report (YSR, Achenbach 1991b)
Change in depressive symptoms
Time frame: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II, Beck, Steer, Brown 1996)
Change in anxiety symptoms
Time frame: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Beck Anyxiety Inventory (BAI, deutsche Version Margraf, Ehlers 2007)
Change in Quality of life
Time frame: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
The KIDSCREEN Group Europe. (2006).
Change of the overall functional level
Time frame: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Global assessment of functioning (Diagnostic screening measure according to DSM-IV)
Change in mental flexibility
Time frame: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Dimensional Card Sorting Task (Zelazo et al., 2014
Change in attentional capacity
Time frame: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
d2 Test of Attention (Brickenkamp 2002)
Change in Reaction inhibition
Time frame: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Go-No-Go Task (Sebastian et al., 2013)
Change in Fluid intelligence
Time frame: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Stop Signal Task (Sebastian et al., 2013)
Change in reaction time
Time frame: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training
Simple Reaction Time Task (Woods, Wyma, Yund, Herron, \& Reed, 2015)
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 1 May 2025.
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Recruiting
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Insomnia, Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Chess training in people with Children and Adolescents Inpatient in Psychiatric Hospital, run by Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim at 1 site in Germany.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 1 May 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Germany. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Change in comorbidities (time frame: 2 time points: before and after 6 weeks chess training). The study lists 10 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 1 May 2025.