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Psychological Mobile Interventions to Reduce Distress

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Psychological Distress
Interventions
Behavioral: PsyPills
Behavioral: shamOCAT
Behavioral: Online-Contingent Attention Training, OCAT
Registration Number
NCT05294809
Lead Sponsor
Babes-Bolyai University
Brief Summary

Investigating the effectiveness of two mobile psychological interventions and the mechanisms of change involved in reducing the symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, on an adult population with a mild to moderate level of symptoms (sub-clinical).

Detailed Description

The research design will be a 3-arm controlled clinical trial, with 4 waves of data collection. Once selected using a symptomatic screening questionnaire, participants will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 2 experimental conditions (PsyPills and OCAT) and an active control group (shamOCAT).

Measurements will be collected before allocation (baseline), during the intervention (through a momentary ecological assessment paradigm), at the end (post) and at an interval of one month after the intervention (follow-up). Among the constructs evaluated are symptomatic level, affectivity, cognitive processes, emotional regulation and attentional bias. All measurement steps will be collected online.

The interventions consist of an attentional training (Online-Contingent Attention Training, OCAT) which seeks to facilitate the disengagement from the negative content and the engagement on the positive of some personally relevant information by providing instructions and feedback on performance; and prescribing personalized rational thinking strategies to change the intensity of dysfunctional emotionality (PsyPills). The active control group consists of a "fake" version of OCAT (shamOCAT), by offering the same attentional training, without training and feedback on performance. All interventions are delivered in the form of smartphone applications.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
450
Inclusion Criteria
  • 18-65 years old
  • Have access and able to use a smartphone
Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
PsyPillsPsyPillsThe participants randomized in this condition will receive the mobile health application "PsyPills".
OCAT shamshamOCATThe active control group, which consists of the "fake" version of the OCAT intervention, by offering the same attentional training, without training and feedback on performance.
OCATOnline-Contingent Attention Training, OCATThe participants randomized in this condition will receive the mobile health application "OCAT".
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Depressive, Anxiety, and Stress SymptomsBaseline

DASS-21, with scores from 0 to 63, higher scores meaning worse outcomes

Change from Baseline Depressive, Anxiety, and Stress Symptoms at 5 daysMid of intervention (5 days)

DASS-21, with scores from 0 to 63, higher scores meaning worse outcomes

Change from Baseline Depressive, Anxiety, and Stress Symptoms at 1 monthFollow-up (1 month)

DASS-21, with scores from 0 to 63, higher scores meaning worse outcomes

Change from Baseline Depressive, Anxiety, and Stress Symptoms at 10 daysPost intervention (10 day)

DASS-21, with scores from 0 to 63, higher scores meaning worse outcomes

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Positive ReappraisalBaseline

Positive reappraisal subscale of CERQ-SF, with scores from 2 to 10, higher scores meaning better outcomes

Functional ReappraisalBaseline

Acceptance, Putting into perspective and inversed scores of Catastrophizing subscales of CERQ-SF, with scores from 6 to 30, higher scores meaning better outcomes

Change from Baseline Functional Reappraisal at 5 daysMid of intervention (5 days)

Acceptance, Putting into perspective and inversed scores of Catastrophizing subscales of CERQ-SF, with scores from 6 to 30, higher scores meaning better outcomes

Change from Baseline Functional Reappraisal at 10 daysPost intervention (10 day)

Acceptance, Putting into perspective and inversed scores of Catastrophizing subscales of CERQ-SF, with scores from 6 to 30, higher scores meaning better outcomes

Change from Baseline Functional Reappraisal at 1 monthFollow-up (1 month)

Acceptance, Putting into perspective and inversed scores of Catastrophizing subscales of CERQ-SF, with scores from 6 to 30, higher scores meaning better outcomes

Change from Baseline Rational and Irrational Beliefs at 5 daysMid of intervention (5 days)

HABS-AV, with scores from 24 to 120, with higher scores meaning worse outcomes

Change from Baseline Positive Reappraisal at 5 daysMid of intervention (5 days)

Positive reappraisal subscale of CERQ-SF, with scores from 2 to 10, higher scores meaning better outcomes

Change from Baseline Positive Reappraisal at 10 daysPost intervention (10 days)

Positive reappraisal subscale of CERQ-SF, with scores from 2 to 10, higher scores meaning better outcomes

Change from Baseline Positive Reappraisal at 1 monthFollow-up (1 month)

Positive reappraisal subscale of CERQ-SF, with scores from 2 to 10, higher scores meaning better outcomes

Rational and Irrational BeliefsBaseline

HABS-AV, with scores from 24 to 120, with higher scores meaning worse outcomes

Change from Baseline Rumination at 10 daysPost intervention (10 days)

Focus on thought/rumination subscale of CERQ-SF, with scores from 2 to 10, higher scores meaning worse outcomes

Change from Baseline Rumination at 1 monthFollow-up (1 month)

Focus on thought/rumination subscale of CERQ-SF, with scores from 2 to 10, higher scores meaning worse outcomes

Change from Baseline Rational and Irrational Beliefs at 10 daysPost intervention (10 days)

HABS-AV, with scores from 24 to 120, with higher scores meaning worse outcomes

Change from Baseline Attention Bias at 5 daysMid of intervention (5 days)

Engagement in positive information and inhibition of negative information web measures with an index of attention bias for processing positive vs. negative material computed by dividing the total fixation time on positive words by the total fixation time on emotional (positive and negative) words

Change from Baseline Rational and Irrational Beliefs at 1 monthFollow-up (1 month)

HABS-AV, with scores from 24 to 120, with higher scores meaning worse outcomes

RuminationBaseline

Focus on thought/rumination subscale of CERQ-SF, with scores from 2 to 10, higher scores meaning worse outcomes

Change from Baseline Rumination at 5 daysMid of intervention (5 days)

Focus on thought/rumination subscale of CERQ-SF, with scores from 2 to 10, higher scores meaning worse outcomes

Change from Baseline Functional and Dysfunctional Emotions at 5 daysMid of intervention (5 days)

PAD, functional emotions subscale, with scores from 12 to 60, and dysfunctional emotions subscale, with scores from 14 to 70, with higher scores meaning worse outcomes

Change from Baseline Functional and Dysfunctional Emotions at 10 daysPost intervention (10 days)

PAD, functional emotions subscale, with scores from 12 to 60, and dysfunctional emotions subscale, with scores from 14 to 70, with higher scores meaning worse outcomes

Change from Baseline Functional and Dysfunctional Emotions at 1 monthFollow-up (1 month)

PAD, functional emotions subscale, with scores from 12 to 60, and dysfunctional emotions subscale, with scores from 14 to 70, with higher scores meaning worse outcomes

Attention biasBaseline

Engagement in positive information and inhibition of negative information web measures with an index of attention bias for processing positive vs. negative material computed by dividing the total fixation time on positive words by the total fixation time on emotional (positive and negative) words

Change from Baseline Attention Bias at 10 daysPost intervention (10 days)

Engagement in positive information and inhibition of negative information web measures with an index of attention bias for processing positive vs. negative material computed by dividing the total fixation time on positive words by the total fixation time on emotional (positive and negative) words

Change from Baseline Attention Bias at 1 monthFollow-up (1 month)

Engagement in positive information and inhibition of negative information web measures with an index of attention bias for processing positive vs. negative material computed by dividing the total fixation time on positive words by the total fixation time on emotional (positive and negative) words

Functional and Dysfunctional EmotionsBaseline

PAD, functional emotions subscale, with scores from 12 to 60, and dysfunctional emotions subscale, with scores from 14 to 70, with higher scores meaning worse outcomes

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Babes-Bolyai University

🇷🇴

Cluj-Napoca, Romania

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