What SSI Duration is Most Effective? An Online Experiment With American Adults
- Conditions
- Depression
- Interventions
- Behavioral: Action Brings Change Project (15-minute adult version)Behavioral: Action Brings Change Project (2-minute adult version)Behavioral: Action Brings Change Project (6-minute adult version)Behavioral: Action Brings Change Project (10-minute adult version)
- Registration Number
- NCT06313736
- Lead Sponsor
- Northwestern University
- Brief Summary
In a previous study (https://osf.io/qdznc), the research team found that an 8-minute version of a single-session intervention for loneliness was more effective than a 23-minute version of it. The present work aims to further explore the relationship between intervention duration and effectiveness.
In this online trial, participants will be randomized to a 15-minute single-session depression intervention called the Action Brings Change (ABC) Program, a 10-minute version of it, a 6-minute version of it, or a 2-minute version of it. The main analysis will evaluate how change in depressive symptoms over eight weeks differs across conditions.
- Detailed Description
Not available
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 1100
Participants must be:
- Located in the United States
- At least 18 years old
- Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) score of at least 10 (moderate or more severe) at screener.
- Able to read and speak fluent English
- Able to access to the internet via a computer, tablet or smartphone for the next eight weeks
- Participants who have completed the first session of the study before or completed another study testing a depression intervention from our laboratory via the same participant recruitment platform in the past two months.
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description 15-minute single-session depression intervention Action Brings Change Project (15-minute adult version) This is the adult version of the Action Brings Change (ABC) Project. 2-minute single-session depression intervention Action Brings Change Project (2-minute adult version) This includes a shortened version of the ABC Project. 6-minute single-session depression intervention Action Brings Change Project (6-minute adult version) This includes a shortened version of the ABC Project. 10-minute single-session depression intervention Action Brings Change Project (10-minute adult version) This includes a shortened version of the ABC Project.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Change in Patient Health Questionnaire-8 at 8 weeks (PHQ-8; Kroenke et al., 2009) Baseline to 8 weeks post-intervention Patient Health Questionnaire-8 is a well-validated and self-administered measure to assess depression symptom severity in the general population. Participants are asked to rate how often they are bothered by 8 items (e.g., Poor appetite or overeating) on a scale of 0 (Not at all) to 3 (Nearly every day). Total score can range from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating higher symptom severity.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Change in Beck Hopelessness Scale at 8 weeks (BHS-4; Perczel Forintos et al., 2013) Baseline to 8 weeks post-intervention Beck Hopelessness Scale-4 is the 4-item version of the 20-item Beck Hopelessness scale (Beck et al. 1974). Participants will be asked to rate 4 items assessing different aspects of hopelessness (e.g., My future seems dark to me) on a scale of 0 (Absolutely disagree) to 3 (Absolutely agree). Total score can range between 0 to 12 with higher scores indicating higher hopelessness.
Change in UCLA Loneliness Scale 3-item version at 8-week follow-up (ULS-3; Hughes et al., 2004) Baseline to 8 weeks post-intervention The ULS-3 is the 3-item version of the 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale. The measure includes questions such as "how often do you feel left out" with responses ranging from 1 (hardly ever) to 3 (often), producing a total score between 3 and 9. Researchers have labeled people who score 3-5 as "not lonely" and those who score 6-9 as "lonely."
Presence of an "Aha! moment" at post-intervention Immediately post-intervention The survey will ask participants if they experienced an "Aha! moment" during the SSI.
Change in Frequency of actions and thoughts scale at post-test at 8 weeks post-intervention (FATS; Terides et al., 2016) Baseline to 8 weeks post-intervention A 12-item measure of adaptive thoughts and behaviors, improvement in which might be a target of cognitive behavioral therapy. Range 0-48 with higher scores indicating greater frequency of adaptive thoughts and behaviors.
Significance of the "Aha! moment" at 8 weeks post-intervention 8 weeks post-intervention Among participants who report an Aha! Moment, the survey will ask how significant they felt that Aha! was (on a scale from 1 \[not at all significant\] - 5 \[extremely significant\]).
Intervention satisfaction star rating at 8 week follow-up 8 weeks post-intervention The survey will evaluate participants' satisfaction with the intervention they completed using a star rating from 1 to 5 stars, with 1 star indicating very low satisfaction and 5 stars indicating very high satisfaction.
Presence of an "Aha! moment" at 8 weeks post-intervention 8 weeks post-intervention The survey will ask participants if they experienced an "Aha! moment" during the SSI.
Significance of the "Aha! moment" at immediately post-intervention Immediately post-intervention Among participants who report an Aha! Moment, the survey will ask how significant they felt that Aha! was (on a scale from 1 \[not at all significant\] - 5 \[extremely significant\]).
Expected improvement at post-intervention (from the Credibility / Expectancy Questionnaire; Devilly, 2004) Immediately post-intervention This will be computed as the sum of two items: "At this point, how successful do you think this treatment will be in reducing your feelings of depression?" and "Over the next few weeks, how much improvement in your feelings of depression do you think will occur?"). Each item will be rated from 1-9 and will be summed together to create a total score of 2-18 with higher scores indicating greater expected improvement.
Self-reported improvement at 8-weeks post-intervention (adapted from the Credibility/ Expectancy Questionnaire; Devilly, 2004) 8 weeks post-intervention This will be computed as the sum of two items: "At this point, how successful do you think this treatment was in reducing your feelings of depression?" and "Over the past eight weeks, how much improvement in your feelings of depression do you think occurred?"). Each item will be rated from 1-9 and will be summed together to create a total score of 2-18 with higher scores indicating greater improvement.
Intervention satisfaction star rating at post-intervention Immediately post-intervention The survey will evaluate participants' satisfaction with the intervention they completed using a star rating from 1 to 5 stars, with 1 star indicating very low satisfaction and 5 stars indicating very high satisfaction.
Change in Beck Hopelessness Scale - 4-item at post-intervention Baseline to immediately post-intervention Beck Hopelessness Scale-4 is the 4-item version of the 20-item Beck Hopelessness scale (Beck et al. 1974). Participants will be asked to rate 4 items assessing different aspects of hopelessness (e.g., My future seems dark to me) on a scale of 0 (Absolutely disagree) to 3 (Absolutely agree). Total score can range between 0 to 12 with higher scores indicating higher hopelessness.
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
Northwestern University Medical Social Sciences
🇺🇸Chicago, Illinois, United States