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Enhancing Self-Esteem in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomised Controlled Trial of the Lexical Association Technique

Sponsor: University Hospital, Grenoble • ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT07064291

Registry updated: 2026-10-02

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Description

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether the Lexical Association Technique (LAT) can improve well-being in people recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), either relapsing-remitting (RRMS) or secondary progressive (SPMS). The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does the LAT increase well-being more than a placebo technique ? * Does this technique help reduce psychological distress and improve quality of life ? Participants will: * Be randomly assigned to either the LAT group or the active control group * Complete short visualization exercises at home using a personal computer * Fill out questionnaires about self-esteem, stress, anxiety, depression, quality of life, and adjustment to illness * Take part in the study over several weeks, with assessments before, after, and 14 days after the intervention Researchers will compare results between the two groups (LAT group vs. Control group) to test the immediate and lasting effects of the LAT.

Interventions

The Lexical Association Technique (LAT) (Other)
The Lexical Association Technique (LAT) was developed by Niveau, New, and Beaudoin in 2021 (Niveau et al., 2022). It is grounded in principles of memory functioning described in the cognitive psychology literature, particularly the theoretical framework of the Self-Memory System proposed by Conway (2000, 2005). The technique aims to enhance self-esteem by strengthening associative links between the self and positively valenced concepts stored in memory. To achieve this, it relies on the repeated mental visualization of positive autobiographical episodes paired with positive self-referential linguistic statements. The effectiveness of this technique in increasing self-esteem has been demonstrated and replicated across three studies, conducted with distinct samples: two involving healthy participants and one involving a clinical sample of individuals with a chronic illness (Niveau et al., 2022, 2023).
Placebo of the Lexical Association Technique (Other)
The active control condition is based on the same procedural structure as the Lexical Association Technique (LAT), but without the core therapeutic component - the self-referential content. Participants in the control group are exposed to a series of positive statements, similar in form and valence to those used in the LAT, but referring to others (e.g., generic social roles or entities such as teachers, pharmacists, or animals) rather than the self. Like in the LAT condition, participants are asked to generate mental imagery based on each statement, visualizing a corresponding positive episodic event. This ensures that the control task involves the same cognitive mechanisms (episodic memory retrieval, positive visualization, and sustained attention), while excluding the specific associative link to the self that constitutes the active ingredient of the intervention. This control condition was designed to match the LAT in terms of structure, cognitive demand, and duration, and has be

Eligibility criteria

INCLUSION CRITERIA * Native French speaker * Access to a computer and internet connection at home * Diagnosis of multiple sclerosis according to the revised criteria of Thompson et al. (2018), either relapsing-remitting or secondary progressive form, between 1 and 5 years since disease onset (RRMS or SPMS entry phase) * Currently receiving first- or second-line oral treatment (e.g., Teriflunomide, Dimethylfumarate, Fingolimod, Cladribine) * Adult participants (age ≥ 18) NON-INCLUSION CRITERIA * Participant currently excluded from another study * Individuals covered by Articles L1121-5 to L1121-8 of the French Public Health Code (CSP), i.e., legally protected persons: pregnant women, women in labor, breastfeeding mothers, individuals deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decision, individuals under psychiatric care under Articles L.3212-1 and L.3213-1 not falling under Article L.1121-8, individuals admitted to healthcare or social institutions for reasons other than research, minors, individuals under legal protection or unable to provide informed consent * Staff members with a hierarchical link to the principal investigator SECONDARY EXCLUSION CRITERIA * Participants not presenting with low self-esteem, i.e., score \>26 on the Self-Esteem Scale (EES; Vallières \& Vallerand, 1990) * Major life event significantly affecting well-being in the two weeks prior to study inclusion (e.g., bereavement, separation, childbirth, etc.) * Initiation of psychological, psychiatric, or pharmacological treatment (anxiolytics, antidepressants) within one month prior to study start

Conditions

Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life (QOL)

Locations

CHU Grenoble Alpes — Grenoble, France

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Official Source

Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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