The Effects of Prosocial Writing on Psychological Well-being: A Randomized Controlled Trial Among Young Adults
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 已完成
- 入组人数
- 165
- 试验地点
- 2
- 主要终点
- Change in psychological well-being
研究概览
简要总结
Recent research suggests that short, online interventions can enhance well-being, which is beneficial to both physical and mental health outcomes. Further, 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. Giving support to others appears to be just as beneficial as receiving support, and asking people to perform kind acts for others over the course of several weeks, for example, has been shown to both increase well-being and reduce the inflammatory potential of immune cells.
The purpose of the current study is to test a novel 3-week, online prosocial writing-based intervention in a sample of young adults. Previous intervention studies have manipulated prosocial behavior by asking participants to perform tangible acts of kindness for others, such as writing a note to a coworker or helping a neighbor. However, providing this type of direct support can be logistically challenging and may contribute to increased feelings of distress in certain contexts. Writing interventions designed to elicit feelings of generativity offer one alternative approach, though they have yet to be tested among young adults.
Participants (n = 200) will be randomized to one of two conditions--peer helping or a facts-only control--and instructed to write about their experiences in their first-year at UCLA (freshman or first-year after transfer). Those in the peer helping will be asked to write for the benefit of a student who is about to begin their first year, whereas those in the facts-only control will not. In total, participants will complete 4 writing assignments, each on a separate day over the course of one week. Valid self-report measures will be assessed at pre-intervention, each writing session, post-intervention, and at the 2-week follow-up. The investigators expect participants in the peer helping condition to experience a greater increase in well-being (primary outcome) across the intervention and the follow-up when compared to the control condition. Secondary outcomes will include depressive symptoms, anxiety, loneliness, physical symptoms, social support, and generativity. As an exploratory aim, will also assess several moderators (i.e., psychological distress, prosocial tendencies, generativity) and mediators (i.e., fulfillment of psychological needs, positive affect) of the intervention effects.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Basic Science
- 盲法
- None
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Years 至 —（Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 否
入选标准
- •enrolled in an upper-division psychology course
- •18 years of age or older
- •fluent in English
- •access to the internet and email
排除标准
- 未提供
结局指标
主要结局
Change in psychological well-being
时间窗: At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
Well-being within the past week will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 2-week 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.
次要结局
- Change in anxiety and worry(At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up)
- Change in loneliness(At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up)
- Change in physical symptoms and health-care center visits(At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up)
- Change in sleep disturbance(At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up)
- Change in social support(At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up)
- Change in depressive symptoms(At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up)
- Change in generativity(At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up)
- Change in positive and negative affect(At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up)
- Change in fulfillment of psychological needs(At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up)
研究者
Marcie D. Haydon, MA, CPhil
Principal Investigator
University of California, Los Angeles