Pilot Study of a Brief, Scaleable Intervention for COVID-19 Mental Health Sequelae in College Students

The major aim of this pilot study is to evaluate a brief coping skills intervention for college students, based on an evidence-based treatment and delivered remotely via 14 short daily videos. Participants will be 150 Rutgers undergraduates who are enrolled in Fall 2020. Participants in the experimental group (n=100) will receive 4 daily smartphone surveys assessing stress, affect, and other related factors for two weeks before, during, and after the 2-week coping skills intervention. Participants in the control group (n=50) will receive assessments over the same time period with no skills intervention. Both groups will be assessed weekly throughout the Fall semester to monitor the transition to the new semester and longer-term impact of the intervention. The control condition participants will have access to the skills videos at the end of the study.