Journaling and Addiction Recovery: Piloting "Positive Recovery Journaling"

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Addiction
• Interventions: Behavioral: Positive Peer Journaling (PPJ)

• Registration Number: NCT04458181
• Lead Sponsor: University of Minnesota

Brief Summary

The main objective of this study is to pilot test the Positive Peer Journaling (PPJ) \[later renamed "Positive Recovery Journaling" (PRJ)\] intervention and its feasibility and acceptability. A second objective is to compare individuals assigned to PPJ to individuals in a treatment as usual control group.

Detailed Description

Many spiritual and religious traditions involve the practice of personal inventory and self-examination. These practices involve conducting a review of the day, spirituality, gratitude, and striving for self-knowledge and self-improvement. The 10th step of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) recommends that members conduct such a daily inventory. While this practice may benefit AA members, not everyone seeking addiction recovery joins AA. Even for those who do, it can take time to reach step 10 and begin deriving benefits from it. The study PI, Dr. Amy Krentzman, developed Positive Recovery Journaling (PRJ, formerly "positive peer journaling") as a simple 10-minute daily practice which reviews the past 24 hours on the left side of a journal page and plans the upcoming 24 hours on the right side of a journal page. The prompts for the left and right sides of the PRJ page are based on principles from positive psychology and behavioral activation.

The main objective of this study is to pilot test the PRJ intervention and to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and logistics of treatment delivery.

A second objective is to observe whether PRJ is associated with improvement in satisfaction with life, happiness with recovery, and commitment to sobriety

Basic Information
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Recruitment & Eligibility
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Study & Design
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Trial Locations

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2020-05-21
• Study First Submitted QC: 2020-06-30
• Study Start: 2020-07-07
• Study First Posted: 2020-07-07
• Primary Completion: 2021-11-01
• Study Completion: 2021-11-01
• Results First Submitted: 2022-12-21
• Status Verified: 2024-05
• Results First Submitted QC: 2024-05-29
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-05-29
• Results First Posted: 2024-06-20
• Last Update Posted: 2024-06-20

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 81

Inclusion Criteria

• meet DSM-V criteria for past-year Substance Use Disorder as primary or secondary diagnosis,
• English literacy sufficient to make short written lists needed to complete PPJ and homework assessments,
• minimum 2 weeks sustained abstinence,
• completed first 2 weeks of treatment at Nuway (approximately 2 weeks), an intensive outpatient substance use disorder treatment program and the recruitment site,
• agree to be audio recorded or transcription recorded in group meetings and in individual meetings with research staff,
• currently are clients in the Nuway outpatient program,
• participants must be English speaking and literacy must be strong enough to write short lists and to understand the questions asked in the questionnaires,
• participants must have an electronic device that connects to the internet and internet connection for online delivery of intervention during COVID-19.

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Exclusion Criteria

• presence of a psychotic disorder, psychiatric condition (e.g., suicidal ideation), or cognitive impairment (e.g., severe dementia, traumatic brain injury) limiting ability to give consent and/or participate in the study;
• severe psychiatric illness (current schizophrenia, major depression with suicidal ideation);
• personality disorders that would interfere with satisfactory participation in or completion of the study protocol,
• inability to give informed, voluntary consent to participate,
• lack of sufficient English literacy to participate, defined as inability to make a list of 5 things they did yesterday and inability to understand questionnaire items,
• any impairment, activity, or situation that in the judgement of the research staff would prevent satisfactory participation in or completion of the study protocol.

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Treatment Group	Positive Peer Journaling (PPJ)	Participants in this group will complete the intervention, Positive Peer Journaling (PPJ), while also continuing to attend intensive outpatient treatment for addiction.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Satisfaction With Life at 8 Weeks	8 weeks (the 1-month post-intervention)	Score on the "Satisfaction with Life" scale. This scale has 5 items assessed on a 7 point Likert-type response format. Scores range from 5 to 35 with higher scores representing higher satisfaction with life.
Satisfaction With Life at 4 Weeks	4 weeks (after Phase 2, the independent practice phase)	Score on the "Satisfaction with Life" scale. This scale has 5 items assessed on a 7 point Likert-type response format. Scores range from 5 to 35 with higher scores representing higher satisfaction with life.
Happiness With Recovery at 8 Weeks	8 weeks (the 1-month post intervention)	Score on a single item, "In general, I am happy with my recovery." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0 to 10. Higher scores represent higher happiness with recovery.
Satisfaction With Life at Baseline	Baseline	Score on the "Satisfaction with Life" scale. This scale has 5 items assessed on a 7 point Likert-type response format. Scores range from 5 to 35 with higher scores representing higher satisfaction with life.
Happiness With Recovery at Baseline	Baseline	Score on a single item, "In general, I am happy with my recovery." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0 to 10. Higher scores represent higher happiness with recovery.
Commitment to Sobriety at 8 Weeks	8 weeks (the 1-month post intervention)	Score on a single item, "I am willing to do whatever it takes to recover from my addiction." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0-10. Higher scores represent greater commitment to sobriety.
Satisfaction With Life at 2 Weeks	2 weeks (after Phase 1, the group phase)	Score on the "Satisfaction with Life" scale. This scale has 5 items assessed on a 7 point Likert-type response format. Scores range from 5 to 35 with higher scores representing higher satisfaction with life.
Happiness With Recovery at 4 Weeks	4 weeks (after Phase 2, the independent practice phase)	Score on a single item, "In general, I am happy with my recovery." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0 to 10. Higher scores represent higher happiness with recovery.
Commitment to Sobriety at 4 Weeks	4 weeks (after Phase 2, the independent practice phase)	Score on a single item, "I am willing to do whatever it takes to recover from my addiction." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0-10. Higher scores represent greater commitment to sobriety.
Happiness With Recovery at 2 Weeks	2 weeks (after Phase 1, the group phase)	Score on a single item, "In general, I am happy with my recovery." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0 to 10. Higher scores represent higher happiness with recovery.
Commitment to Sobriety at 2 Weeks	2 weeks (after Phase 1, the group phase)	Score on a single item, "I am willing to do whatever it takes to recover from my addiction." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0-10. Higher scores represent greater commitment to sobriety.
Commitment to Sobriety at Baseline	Baseline	Score on a single item, "I am willing to do whatever it takes to recover from my addiction." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0-10. Higher scores represent greater commitment to sobriety.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

NUWAY; 🇺🇸 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States