Work-Related ConditionNCT06383715
Congitive Behavioral Therapy Workshop for Content Moderators
A study testing Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Workshop for Content Moderators in people with Work-Related Condition and Work-Related Stress Disorder, run by Universidad Europea de Valencia at 1 site in Spain.
Trial summary
Professional content moderators play a critical role in preventing Internet users from being exposed to more sensitive content. However, recent literature has shown that this work places content moderators at increased risk for several psychological outcomes, including intrusive thoughts and vicarious stress trauma. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 65 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Work-Related Condition, Work-Related Stress Disorder
- What is being tested?
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Workshop for Content Moderators
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 12 participants
- Where
- 1 siteSpain
- Study dates
- 1 May 2024to 1 Aug 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 18 to 65 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Actively work as a professional content moderator, for at least 6 months.
Who cannot join
- Presence of a psychotic or personality disorder as defined by DSM-5 criteria.
- Receive another psychological treatment during the time of the study.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Acceptability and Feasibility of a Congitive Behavioral Therapy Workshop for Content Moderators: a Pilot Study
Professional content moderators play a critical role in preventing Internet users from being exposed to more sensitive content. However, recent literature has shown that this work places content moderators at increased risk for several psychological outcomes, including intrusive thoughts and vicarious stress trauma. This pilot study will assess the acceptability and feasibility of a brief (4-session) cognitive-behavioral workshop to reduce these risks.
Read the detailed description
The growing amount of user-generated content is forcing companies to hire more and more content moderators (CMs). There is ample empirical evidence that exposure to the trauma of others at work affects well-being and mental health , and research focused on CMs suggests that they experience similar effects as other professionals. This includes an increased risk of developing syndromes such as secondary posttraumatic stress, vicarious trauma, and burnout. Recent literature, although limited, indicates that CMs are already using coping strategies such as creating boundaries between work and personal life, although they expressed a preference for individual therapy with specialized professionals. However, this initial work points to the need for technology companies to develop prevention programs based on preventing exposure to traumatic content (.
Therefore, a CBT workshop consisting of four 90-minute group sessions was designed specifically to prevent work-related consequences in a small sample of content moderators. The workshop will have a cognitive-behavioral orientation, which has been shown to be more effective for posttraumatic symptoms. Psychological distress, PTSD symptoms, job satisfaction, and coping strategies will be measured before and after the intervention to assess the feasibility of the workshop.
- Being tested
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Workshop for Content Moderators
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Workshop for Content ModeratorsBehavioural
This 4-session group workshop is based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It consists of four sessions:
- Presentation. Scientific evidence of psychological consequences on content moderatos. Psicoeducation on the effects of vicarious trauma exposure.
- Presentation of the cognitive model. Identification/operationalization of thoughts. Discussion of possible irrational thoughts.
- Psychoeducation of emotions and their adaptive function. Behavioral strategies of emotions: exposure therapies and behavioral activation.
- The role of social support. Strategies for appropriate work and sleep hygiene. Strategies for maintaining gains. Farewell.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitive Behavioural Workshop | Experimental | The experimental group will attend 4 weekly group sessions of 90 minutes each. The intervention will be delivered by a Ph.D. clinical psychologist with over 15 years of clinical experience. Receives: Behavioral: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Workshop for Content Moderators |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10)
It is a simple measure of psychological distress. The K10 scale involves 10 questions about emotional states each with a five-level response scale. The measure can be used as a brief screen to identify levels of distress. The tool can be given to patients to complete, or alternatively the questions can be read to the patient by the practitioner.
Measured: Week 0, week 4, and week 12
Secondary outcomes (3)
Work Satisfaction Scale, JobStat'73
It is made up of 5 questions related to their satisfaction with the job, possible continuity in it and whether they would recommend it to others.
Measured: Week 0, week 4, and week 12
Coping Mechanisms Scale
It measures how the participant cope with stress, collecting data from 16 strategies.
Measured: Week 0, week 4, and week 12
PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C)
The PCL-C includes 17 items assessing a variety of symp- tomatic responses to stress, and respondents self-reported the extent to which they were bothered by these symptoms, within the past month, on a scale from 1 (Not at all) to 5 (Extremely).
Measured: Week 0, week 4, and week 12
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted25 Apr 2024
- Study start1 May 2024
- Primary completion1 Jun 2024
- Study completion1 Aug 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (5)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Work-Related ConditionStudies 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
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 12 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Universidad Europea de Valencia
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Carlos López-Pinar, Universidad Europea de Valencia
- Investigators
- Carlos López-Pinar, PhD, Principal investigator, Universidad Europea de Valencia
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06383715
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2024-624
- Status last verified
- Dec 2024
- First submitted
- 16 Apr 2024
- Last updated
- 9 Dec 2024
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Léonard, M.-J., Saumier, D., & Brunet, A. (2020). When the lawyer becomes traumatized: A scoping review. SAGE Open, 10(3), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020957032
Lewis C, Roberts NP, Andrew M, Starling E, Bisson JI. Psychological therapies for post-traumatic stress disorder in adults: systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2020 Mar 10;11(1):1729633. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2020.1729633. eCollection 2020.
PubMed 32284821Seigfried-Spellar, K. C. (2018) Assessing the Psychological Well-being and Coping Mechanisms of Law Enforcement Investigators vs. Digital Forensic Examiners of Child Pornography Investigations. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 33, 215-226. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-017-9248-7
Steiger, M., Bharucha, T. J., Venkatagiri, S., Riedl, M. J., & Lease, M. (2021). The psychological well-being of content moderators: The emotional labor of commercial moderation and avenues for improving support. In CHI '21: Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-14). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445092
Spence, R., Bifulco, A., Bradbury, P., Martellozzo, E., & DeMarco, J. (2023a). The psychological impacts of content moderation on content moderators: A qualitative study. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 17(4), Article X. https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2023-X-X
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 9 Dec 2024. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Acceptability and Feasibility of a Congitive Behavioral Therapy Workshop for Content Moderators: a Pilot Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06383715
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 2024-624
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 12 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Universidad Europea de ValenciaUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 May 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Jun 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 1 Aug 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 25 Apr 2024 (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.
Professional content moderators play a critical role in preventing Internet users from being exposed to more sensitive content. However, recent literature has shown that this work places content moderators at increased risk for several psychological outcomes, including intrusive thoughts and vicarious stress trauma. This pilot study will assess the acceptability and feasibility of a brief (4-session) cognitive-behavioral workshop to reduce these risks.
Detailed description
The growing amount of user-generated content is forcing companies to hire more and more content moderators (CMs). There is ample empirical evidence that exposure to the trauma of others at work affects well-being and mental health , and research focused on CMs suggests that they experience similar effects as other professionals. This includes an increased risk of developing syndromes such as secondary posttraumatic stress, vicarious trauma, and burnout. Recent literature, although limited, indicates that CMs are already using coping strategies such as creating boundaries between work and personal life, although they expressed a preference for individual therapy with specialized professionals. However, this initial work points to the need for technology companies to develop prevention programs based on preventing exposure to traumatic content (.
Therefore, a CBT workshop consisting of four 90-minute group sessions was designed specifically to prevent work-related consequences in a small sample of content moderators. The workshop will have a cognitive-behavioral orientation, which has been shown to be more effective for posttraumatic symptoms. Psychological distress, PTSD symptoms, job satisfaction, and coping strategies will be measured before and after the intervention to assess the feasibility of the workshop.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitive Behavioural Workshop | Experimental | Behavioral: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Workshop for Content ModeratorsThe experimental group will attend 4 weekly group sessions of 90 minutes each. The intervention will be delivered by a Ph.D. clinical psychologist with over 15 years of clinical experience. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Actively work as a professional content moderator, for at least 6 months.
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Presence of a psychotic or personality disorder as defined by DSM-5 criteria.
- Receive another psychological treatment during the time of the study.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Workshop for Content ModeratorsThis 4-session group workshop is based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It consists of four sessions: 1. Presentation. Scientific evidence of psychological consequences on content moderatos. Psicoeducation on the effects of vicarious trauma exposure. 2. Presentation of the cognitive model. Identification/operationalization of thoughts. Discussion of possible irrational thoughts. 3. Psychoeducation of emotions and their adaptive function. Behavioral strategies of emotions: exposure therapies and behavioral activation. 4. The role of social support. Strategies for appropriate work and sleep hygiene. Strategies for maintaining gains. Farewell. | Behavioural | Cognitive Behavioural Workshop |
Primary outcome
The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10)
Time frame: Week 0, week 4, and week 12
It is a simple measure of psychological distress. The K10 scale involves 10 questions about emotional states each with a five-level response scale. The measure can be used as a brief screen to identify levels of distress. The tool can be given to patients to complete, or alternatively the questions can be read to the patient by the practitioner.
3 secondary outcomes
Work Satisfaction Scale, JobStat'73
Time frame: Week 0, week 4, and week 12
Coping Mechanisms Scale
Time frame: Week 0, week 4, and week 12
PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C)
Time frame: Week 0, week 4, and week 12
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 9 Dec 2024.
- BackgroundLéonard, M.-J., Saumier, D., & Brunet, A. (2020). When the lawyer becomes traumatized: A scoping review. SAGE Open, 10(3), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020957032
- Background: PubMed 32284821Lewis C, Roberts NP, Andrew M, Starling E, Bisson JI. Psychological therapies for post-traumatic stress disorder in adults: systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2020 Mar 10;11(1):1729633. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2020.1729633. eCollection 2020.
- BackgroundSeigfried-Spellar, K. C. (2018) Assessing the Psychological Well-being and Coping Mechanisms of Law Enforcement Investigators vs. Digital Forensic Examiners of Child Pornography Investigations. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 33, 215-226. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-017-9248-7
- BackgroundSteiger, M., Bharucha, T. J., Venkatagiri, S., Riedl, M. J., & Lease, M. (2021). The psychological well-being of content moderators: The emotional labor of commercial moderation and avenues for improving support. In CHI '21: Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-14). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445092
- BackgroundSpence, R., Bifulco, A., Bradbury, P., Martellozzo, E., & DeMarco, J. (2023a). The psychological impacts of content moderation on content moderators: A qualitative study. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 17(4), Article X. https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2023-X-X
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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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.
Carlos López-Pinar, PhD principal investigator
Universidad Europea de Valencia
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Workshop for Content Moderators in people with Work-Related Condition and Work-Related Stress Disorder, run by Universidad Europea de Valencia at 1 site in Spain.
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 1 inclusion and 2 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 9 Dec 2024. 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 Spain. 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?
The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) (time frame: Week 0, week 4, and week 12). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06383715, which also lists 5 linked publications.
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 9 Dec 2024.