Center for Psychotraumatology

RESEARCH GRANTS

• Research project ‘Psychosocial stress reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic and research-based coping recommendations’ (2020). Funded by Research Council of Lithuania. Grant number P-COV-20-10, Budget 33,566 EUR.

• Research project ‘Stress and resilience among adolescents and young adults: Cross-cultural study‘ (2020–2022). Bilateral Lithuanian – Japan research project co-funded by Research Council of Lithuania and Japan Research Foundation. Project partner Hiroshima University, Japan. Grant number S-LJB-20-2, Budget of the Lithuanian study part 78,174 EUR.

• PostDoc research project ‘Positive mental health of young people and links with stress’. This research is funded by Vilnius university. PI Inga Truskauskaitė-Kunevičienė, PhD), scientific advisor prof. dr. E.Kazlauskas. Project budget is 45,000 Eur.
• PostDoc research project ‘Effects of Childhood Trauma: Stress and Resilience (STAR-A) (2017–2019). This research is funded by the European Social Fund under the No 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-02-0096 “Development of Competences of Scientists, other Researchers and Students through Practical Research Activities” measure. (PI dr. P. Zelviene, scientific advisor prof. dr. E. Kazlauskas). Project budget 42,502 EUR.
• PhD research project ‘Longitudinal study of stressors and stress-related disorders in adolescence’ (2018–2022). PhD student - I. Daniunaite, expected defense in October 2022. The project is funded with external funding by the Grant from the Research Council of Lithuania. Supervisor prof. dr. E. Kazlauskas.
• Research project ‘Mediating effects of psychosocial factors on stress and trauma-related psychological after-effects in the context of social psychotraumatology’ (2015-2017). Funded by Research Council of Lithuania. Grant number MIP-006/2015 (PI dr. Evaldas Kazlauskas). Budget 87,759 EUR.
• The research project ‘Effectiveness of Brief Eclectic Psychotherapy for PTSD and comparison to internet-based intervention’ (2012–2014). Funded by Research Council of Lithuania. Grant number MIP-011/2012 (PI dr. Evaldas Kazlauskas). Budget 53,200 EUR.
• Research project ‘Psychosocial factors of psychological well-being in the Context of Psychotraumatology’. (2012–2013). Funded by Research Council of Lithuania. Grant number SIN-01/2012 (PI dr. Evaldas Kazlauskas). Budget 40,480 EUR.
• Research project ‘Ambulatory psychological assessment in psychotraumatology’ (2010–2011). Funded by Research Council of Lithuania. Grant number MIP-19/2010 (PI dr. Evaldas Kazlauskas). Budget 47,380 EUR.

ESTSS-COVID

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, people in Europe are exposed to self-isolation, quarantine, job loss, risk of contracting COVID-19, or grief of loved ones. Such a complex array of stressors may lead to psychological difficulties. Europe is concerned about the effects of the pandemic on well-being of the society. 

In June, 2020, European Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS) launched a study to investigate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across eleven European countries (Lithuania, Austria, Croatia, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden). The longitudinal online cohort study aims to explore psychosocial reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic across eleven European countries; examine the relationships between risk and resilience factors, stressors and symptoms of adjustment disorder during the pandemic; and investigate whether these relationships are moderated by coping behaviors.

Center for Psychotraumatology is conducting research in Lithuania. 

More information about the study: www.estss.org.  

Lithuanian website of the study: www.manosavijauta.lt. 

Still Me, Mindfulness-based internet intervention for PTSD (2019-2023)

Still Me is an eight-week mindfulness-based internet intervention for students of Vilnius University who have experienced traumatic events during their lives and therefore have psychological difficulties.

Aim of the study is to assess the efficacy of Still Me intervention on reduction of PTSD and CPTSD symptoms.

Research team: Austėja Dumarkaitė, PhD candidate, Inga Truskauskaitė-Kunevičienė, PhD, Evaldas Kazlauskas, PhD, Prof., Gerhard Andersson, PhD, Prof.

The study is being conducted in collaboration with the Internet, health and clinical psychology research group at Linköping University, Sweden.

More information about the program in Lithuanian: www.stillme.lt.

LINGI, Internet intervention for informal caregivers (2019-2023)

LINGI is an eight-week cognitive behavior therapy-based internet intervention for informal caregivers who experience difficulties in taking care of their relatives.

Aim of the study is to assess the efficacy of LINGI internet intervention for caregiver burden.

Research team: Evaldas Kazlauskas, PhD, Prof., Gerhard Andersson, PhD, Prof., Robbert Sanderman, PhD, Prof., Inga Truskauskaitė-Kunevičienė, PhD, Austėja Dumarkaitė, PhD candidate, Ieva Biliūnaitė, PhD candidate.

The study is being conducted in collaboration with the Internet, health and clinical psychology research group from Linköping University, Sweden.

More information about the program in Lithuanian: www.slaugauartima.lt. 

We are also conducting a survey to find out about difficulties that informal caregivers experience in their daily life.

More information about the survey in Lithuanian: www.slaugantiems.lt.

HACHI, PTSD Assessment in Young Children (2020-2022)

The aim of the research “Happy Childhood: recognition of stress in structured play (HACHI)” is to adapt the Odense Child Trauma Screening (OCTS) instrument, which is designed to evaluate the adverse experiences and their psychological effects for small children (4-8 years old), in Lithuania. There is a great need for the verified methods to evaluate trauma experiences and psychological health of pre-school and primary school children in Lithuania. The adaptation of OCTS will broaden the possibilities of Lithuanian researchers and clinicians. 

The participants of the research: children (4-8 years old) and their parents. 

The research is being implemented by the research team of the Center for Psychotraumatology: prof. Evaldas Kazlauskas, Ph.D. candidate Ieva Daniūnaitė, Ph.D. candidate Monika Kvedaraitė. The research is implemented in cooperation with prof. Ask Elklit and Sille Schandorph Løkkegaard, Ph.D. (University of Southern Denmark, National Center of Psychotraumatology, Denmark). 

BOOM-LT, Bochum Optimism Study in Lithuania (2019-2021)

BOOM-LT is student stress and mental health study aimed at revealing:
- the difficulties that young adults face during their study years;
- the factors that are important for stress management and promotion of mental health in emerging adulthood.

The BOOM study was initiated by researchers from Germany and is being carried out in different countries worldwide from 2011. BOOM-LT is the first large-scale youth mental health study in Lithuania, implemented in collaboration with the research team from the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at Ruhr-Bochum University, Germany.

The longitudinal BOOM-LT study is being implemented by the research team from the Center for Psychotraumatology led by Inga Truskauskaitė-Kunevičienė, Ph.D. Other team members: Ph.D. candidate Austėja Dumarkaitė, master student Gabija Petrauskaitė, and bachelor students Rūta Ostreikaitė-Jurevičė and Greta Raklevičiūtė.

STAR-A, Stress and Resilience in Adolescence (2019-2022), STAR-A-JP in Japan (2020-2022)

The aim of the study is to explore the psychological well-being of adolescents and to analyze the effects of adverse experiences for psychological health, stress reactions, and resilience in adolescence. The participants of the study are 12-16 years old adolescents. 

This longitudinal study is implemented in cooperation with international partners: Norwegian centre for violence and traumatic stress studies, Hiroshima University Psychology Department. 

The longitudinal STAR-A study is being implemented by the research team from the Center for Psychotraumatology. The main researchers are prof. Evaldas Kazlauskas, Paulina Želvienė, Ph.D., Ph.D. candidate Ieva Daniūnaitė, Lina Gervinskaitė-Paulaitienė, Ph.D., Inga Truskauskaitė-Kunevičienė, Ph.D. (from 2020). 

T-REC, Complex PTSD Assessment and Risk Factors (2020-2024)

Over the past few decades psychotraumatology research has revealed that when people experience recurrent or extremely severe trauma (e.g., prolonged sexual abuse), psychological stress responses are more complex. The results of these studies led to the proposed diagnosis of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), which was first included in the 11th edition of the World Health Organization (WHO) International Classification of Diseases (ICD11) in 2019. 

The aim of this study is to validate a complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) diagnostic interview and to evaluate CPTSD risk factors. It is planned to interview 300 adults during the study. The project is carried out with the permission of the Vilnius University Ethics Committee of Psychological Research.

The study is led by prof. Evaldas Kazlauskas, dr. Odeta Geležėlytė and PhD student Monika Kvedaraitė. The study is being carried out in collaboration with researchers at Cardiff University (UK).

Posttraumatic Stress and Quality of Life after Heart Surgery (2018-2023)

Information under preparation.

ANDI-ON, Posttraumatic Stress and Cancer (2019-2021)

Prostate cancer is one of the dominant forms of cancer in the world. However, cancer screening programs are a rather controversial issue because they involve screening healthy people. Oftentimes, the health benefits of screening are being called into question or cause particularly strong stress. Therefore, preventive screening should assess possible the expected health benefits, various side effects, and perform other studies demonstrating the effectiveness of the screening method in smaller groups prior to initiating population-wide randomization programs.

This study aims to evaluate the physical and psychological health of people participating in an early cancer diagnosis program. The study will contribute to a better understanding of the difficulties faced by individuals participating in an early cancer diagnosis program, which would increase the effectiveness of these programs. The project is carried out with the permission of the Vilnius Regional Ethics Committee for Biomedical Research.

The study is being conducted in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (PhD student dr. A. Patašius, dr. G. Smailytė), prof. E.Kazlauskas, PhD student M. Kvedaraitė, PTC student-assistant researcher M.Rudytė.

POLSTRESS, PTSD and Resilience in Police (2019-2022)

The stress experienced by police officers is significantly different from that experienced by other professions in that they face death or situations where there is a real threat to life. It is widely acknowledged that working in the police is one of the most dangerous professions, and police officers are particularly often exposed to dangerous stressors. High stress can have a negative impact on officials' performance, motivation to perform their duties, and well-being and health.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the stress and psychological well-being, as well as the coping mechanisms of police officers. The study sample will consist of 500 participants divided into two groups: 1) future police officers (students) and 2) experienced police officers. The project is carried out with the permission of the Vilnius University Ethics Committee of Psychological Research.

The study is led by doc. dr. N.Grigutytė, prof. E.Kazlauskas, PhD student M.Kvedaraitė. The study is being conducted in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam, Nationaal Psychotrauma Centre, The Netherlands

MEDSTRESS, Occupational Stress and Coping of Healthcare Staff

Severe and chronic stressors experienced by healthcare workers are associated with an increased risk of mental difficulties, including depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances and fatigue, broken relationships, alcohol and drug addiction, marital dysfunction, early retirement, and suicide. Stress and tension experienced at work can have a negative impact on the psychological well-being, physical health, and performance of physicians. Long-term problems at work may encourage the use of non-adaptive or harmful stress-coping strategies (such as alcohol or medication). Moreover, traumatic stressors can lead to post-traumatic stress and other adjustment disorders.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the psychological well-being, proneness to depression, anxiety, stress, as well as coping mechanisms of medical staff and to perform a comparative study of the differences in the psychological well-being of medical staff in Lithuania and the United Kingdom. It is planned, that the study sample will consist of 300 medical staff. The project is carried out with the permission of the Vilnius University Ethics Committee of Psychological Research.

The study is led by prof. Evaldas Kazlauskas, doc. dr. Ieva Norkienė and PhD student Monika Kvedaraitė. The study is being carried out in collaboration with Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos and Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospital (UK).

PAST PROJECTS

BADI Brief Adjustment Disorder Intervention

Registration to BADI is suspended. We would like to thank everyone who used BADI and participated in BADI trials. Our research showed that BADI can effectively help to cope with stress. Please see our published papers for more information. For our latest research on internet interventions please see our website.

Please contact Center for Psychotraumatology at Vilnius University for further inquiries: