Trial reportScientific reports2025
A randomized crossover trial with experience sampling to test placebo effects on pathological skin-picking.
Trial report in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Transitioning from deceptive to nondeceptive placebo treatment to reduce pathological skin-picking.Discover mental health · 2025Article
- Effects of open-label placebos and self-monitoring in skin-picking disorder: a randomized crossover trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Emotional distress is a typical trigger for pathological skin-picking (PSP). Given that placebo treatments can reduce emotional distress, the present study sought to investigate placebo responsiveness in individuals with PSP. In this randomized crossover trial, 69 participants (90% female, M = 31 years) with self-reported PSP underwent two weeks with daily placebo treatment (pills introduced as 'N-acetylcysteine' to reduce skin-picking) and two weeks without placebo treatment. Participants used a smartphone application to provide daily ratings for their skin-picking symptoms, as well as their stress levels. Questionnaires assessing the severity of skin-picking, stress, and difficulties in emotion regulation were completed before and after the two-week intervals (with and without the placebo). Questionnaire data indicated that placebo treatment reduced skin-picking severity (large effect) as well as perceived stress and difficulties in emotion regulation (medium effects). App-based assessments revealed that the placebo effect was limited to a moderate reduction in the urge to engage in skin-picking behavior, observed only during the second week of treatment, with no significant impact on daily stress levels. Individuals with PSP are responsive to placebo treatment. However, the magnitude of the placebo effect appears to be overestimated when relying on retrospective questionnaire data compared to ecological momentary assessments.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.