Brief App-based Mood Monitoring and Mindfulness Intervention for First-year College Students
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- Lawrence University
- Enrollment
- 130
- Locations
- 2
- Primary Endpoint
- Depressive Symptoms
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The investigators examined whether brief, app-based interventions were helpful in alleviating mental health symptoms during the transition to college. In particular, the investigators were interested in whether a brief mobile-app mindfulness intervention combined with mood monitoring was more effective in alleviating first-year students' psychological distress than mood monitoring alone.
Detailed Description
The transition to college is associated with worsening mental health symptoms. This study tested whether a brief mobile-app mindfulness intervention combined with mood monitoring was more effective in alleviating first-year students' psychological distress than mood monitoring alone. Participants were 130 first-year students. The investigators randomly assigned 88 students to a mindfulness-plus-mood-monitoring or a mood-monitoring-only group and asked them to use an app 3 times a day for 3 weeks. They, along with an assessment-only control group (n=42), completed self-report questionnaires at baseline, post-intervention, and 6 and 12 weeks later.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Treatment
- Masking
- Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to — (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •enrolled first-year student at university
Exclusion Criteria
- •serious suicidal concerns
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Depressive Symptoms
Time Frame: immediately after the intervention
Beck Depression Inventory; higher scores indicate greater depression
Anxiety Symptoms
Time Frame: immediately after the intervention
Beck Anxiety Inventory; higher scores indicate greater anxiety
Urges to Self-injure
Time Frame: immediately after the intervention
Alexian Brothers Urges to Self-Injure scale; higher scores indicate greater urges
Rumination
Time Frame: immediately after the intervention
Ruminative Response Scale; higher scores indicate higher rumination
Worry
Time Frame: immediately after the intervention
Penn State Worry Questionnaire; higher scores indicate greater worry
Secondary Outcomes
- Anxiety Symptoms(12 weeks following the intervention)
- Rumination(12 weeks following the intervention)
- Worry(12 weeks following the intervention)
- Depressive Symptoms(12 weeks following the intervention)
- Urges to self-injure(12 weeks following the intervention)