Harnessing Generativity Among Young Adult Cancer Survivors

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Cancer; Young Adults
• Interventions: Behavioral: Writing for others; Behavioral: Processing + writing for others; Behavioral: Facts-only writing

• Registration Number: NCT04272346
• Lead Sponsor: University of California, Los Angeles

Brief Summary

Short, online interventions designed to enhance well-being may be particularly amenable for use with adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors (age 15-39 at diagnosis), an understudied group in the cancer community. The benefits of psychological well-being on both physical and mental health outcomes are well-known and, in recent years, researchers and policymakers have begun to view the period of adolescence and young adulthood as a window of opportunity to instantiate lasting habits and behaviors. Growing evidence suggests that prosocial behavior-a behavior that can be reliably manipulated through a short online intervention-may have beneficial effects on well-being and physical health. This has yet to be tested in AYA cancer survivors.

Drawing from the literature on positive psychology and prosocial interventions, the proposed study will test the feasibility and efficacy of an 8-week online peer helping intervention designed to increase well-being among AYA cancer survivors. AYA cancer survivors (n = 176) will be recruited and randomized to one of three conditions: a peer helping condition, a cancer-specific writing plus peer helping condition, or a cancer-specific writing condition (control condition). The second group was added in response to a previous study, which found that writing about one's experience prior to helping other survivors may be more beneficial. Participants will complete a weekly writing activity once per week for 4 weeks, with instructions administered via a weekly email. Participants will also complete online assessments before, during, and after the 4-week intervention period.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2020-02-13
• Study First Submitted QC: 2020-02-13
• Study First Posted: 2020-02-17
• Study Start: 2020-08-17
• Status Verified: 2021-04
• Primary Completion: 2021-04-07
• Study Completion: 2021-04-07
• Last Update Submitted: 2021-04-26
• Last Update Posted: 2021-04-27

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 204

Inclusion Criteria

• diagnosis of cancer (any type) between the ages of 15 and 39 years
• have completed primary treatment and are in remission (partial or complete)
• between the ages of 18 and 39 years
• fluent in English
• have access to the internet and email.

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Exclusion Criteria

-none

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Peer helping condition	Writing for others	Participants in the peer helping condition will be asked to write about their cancer experience with an emphasis on using the experience to benefit a newly-diagnosed AYA cancer patient.
Processing + peer helping condition	Processing + writing for others	Participants in the processing + peer helping condition will be asked to first write about their deepest thoughts and feelings about their cancer experience (3 writings), then share advice to a newly-diagnosed AYA cancer patient (final writing).
Facts-only writing condition	Facts-only writing	Participants in the facts-only writing condition will be asked to write about their cancer experience. Unlike the previous conditions, they will not be instructed to write for the benefit of a newly-diagnosed AYA cancer patient.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in psychological well-being	At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up	Well-being within the past month will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 1-month follow-up via the 14-item Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF). The MHC-SF is comprised of three empirically derived subscales: the 3-item Emotional Well-Being Subscale, the 6-item Psychological Well-Being Subscale, and the 5-item Social Well-Being Subscale. Higher scores on each subscale, and the total score overall (range: 0-56), indicate greater well-being.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in positive and negative affect	At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at each writing session, at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up	Reports of positive and negative affect will be assessed at baseline, post-intervention, the 1-month follow-up, and at each writing session using the 10-item positive affect subscale and 10-item negative affect subscales of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS-X). Two additional adjectives were also included, happy and calm. Greater scores indicate higher feelings of positive (range: 10-50) and negative affect (range: 10-50).
Change in perceived impact of cancer	At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up	Perceived impact of cancer will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 1-month follow-up via the Impact of Cancer Scale, Version 2. The following subscales will be administered: positive self-evaluation (4 items; range: 4-20), worry (7 items; range: 7-35), body change concerns (3 items; range: 3-15), physical appearance concerns (3 items; range: 3-15), and altruism/empathy (4 items; range: 4-20. Higher scores on each subscale indicate greater perceived severity of impact.
Change in cognitive functioning	At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up	Cognitive functioning over the past week will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 1-month follow-up using the 4-item PROMIS Cognitive Functioning Questionnaire (range: 4-20). Higher scores indicate greater cognitive functioning.
Change in fatigue	At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up	Fatigue over the past week will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 1-month follow-up using the 4-item PROMIS Fatigue Questionnaire (range: 4-20). Higher scores indicate greater fatigue.
Change in depressive symptoms	At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up	Depressive symptoms over the past week will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 1-month follow-up via the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The CES-D is a measure of symptom severity, with higher scores (range: 0-60) indicating greater depressive symptoms.
Change in anxiety	At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up	Symptoms of anxiety over the past 2 weeks will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 1-month follow-up via the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder- 7 (GAD-7). Higher scores on the GAD-7 (range: 0-21) indicate greater severity of symptoms.
Change in pain intensity and interference	At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up	Pain intensity over the past week will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 1-month follow-up using the 1-item PROMIS pain intensity questionnaire (range: 1-5). Pain interference over the past week will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 1-month follow-up using the 4-item PROMIS pain interference questionnaire (range: 4-20). Higher scores indicate greater pain intensity and interference.
Change in health-related quality of life	At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up	Health-related quality of life over the past week will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 1-month follow-up via 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12). Higher scores on the SF-12 (range: 0-100) indicate greater quality of life.
Change in social support	At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up	Social support will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 1-month follow-up using the 21-item 2-way Social Support Scale. This scale measures 4 dimensions of social support: instrumental support received, instrumental support given, emotional support received, and emotional support given. A higher total score (range: 0-105) indicates more feelings of perceived support.
Change in generativity	At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up	Feelings of generativity will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 1-month follow-up using the 13-item Generativity Scale. This measure consists of two subscales: generative desire and generative achievement, with higher scores (range: 13-78) indicating greater desire/achievement.
Change in fulfillment of psychological needs	At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at each writing session, at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up	Fulfillment of psychological needs will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, the 1-month follow-up, and at each writing session using the 9-item Balanced Measure of Psychological Needs. This item has three subscales: autonomy, connectedness, and relatedness, with higher scores (range: 9-45) indicating greater needs satisfaction.
Change in sleep quality and disturbance	At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up	Sleep quality and disturbance over the past week will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 1-month follow-up using the 4-item PROMIS Sleep Disturbance Questionnaire (range: 4-20). Higher scores indicate greater sleep disturbance.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of California, Los Angeles; 🇺🇸 Los Angeles, California, United States