None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This research aims to evaluate the real-world feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of the Stress Autism Mate app for autistic adults in Australia and New Zealand. Participants will include approximately 45 autistic adults who are experiencing stress, can read and type English, have a smartphone and are residents of Australia/New Zealand. Using a single group repeated measures design, participants will complete a baseline survey, use the Stress Autism Mate app for four weeks, complete a post-trial survey, then complete a follow-up survey four weeks after completing the app trial. Expected outcomes are reduced perceived stress, increased coping self-efficacy and improved subjective wellbeing.
Interventions
The Stress Autism Mate smartphone app is a tool designed to support autistic adults to recognise and manage the stress of daily life. Users receive a prompt to complete a two-minute questionnaire twice a day, with a minimum interval of four hours between each questionnaire. Users will be guided through each engagement with the app via a pre-specified order of questions. The questionnaire asks what activities the user has done in the last four-hour interval, whether they felt energised or had pos
The Stress Autism Mate smartphone app is a tool designed to support autistic adults to recognise and manage the stress of daily life. Users receive a prompt to complete a two-minute questionnaire twice a day, with a minimum interval of four hours between each questionnaire. Users will be guided through each engagement with the app via a pre-specified order of questions. The questionnaire asks what activities the user has done in the last four-hour interval, whether they felt energised or had positive thoughts during this interval and ends with ten multiple-choice questions about stress signals over the past four-hour interval. Items include ‘Did you feel irritable?’ and ‘Were you dreading activities on your schedule?’ Answers are scored and summed to identify the user’s stress level. Stress Autism Mate verifies the results by asking if they match the user’s perception; if there is a discrepancy, this is recorded on the overview page and can be used as a point of dialogue with a therapist or support person. After calculating the user’s stress level, Stress Autism Mate provides stress management tips which have been personally selected or created by the user. Examples include ‘Go for a walk’ or ‘Listen to some music’. At the end of each day and week, a feedback chart provides a visual overview of stress levels and summarises which activities contributed to feeling more stressed or less stressed. The feedback chart provides an accurate record which enables the user to identify activities which are contributing to stress. Participants will download the Stress Autism Mate app onto their smartphone for use in their daily environment. They will use the app twice a day with a minimum of four-hour intervals between uses. Participants are requested to use the app only twice a day during the trial period, but are able to increase usage after the study period has concluded. The approximate duration of engagement with the app at each use is 2-4 minutes. They will continue to use the app twice daily for four weeks until the trial ends. Participants will have the option of contacting researchers during the four-week trial to receive assistance with downloading or using the app as needed, and researchers will also reach out via email to offer assistance. The study will collect usage data from the Stress Autism Mate app and self-report.
Sponsors
Deakin University School of Psychology
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Single group
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Participants must be aged 18 and older, have either a formal diagnosis of autism or self-identify as autistic, and have experienced feelings of stress in the last month. The study will initially seek participants with a formal diagnosis of autism but will expand to include those who self-identify if additional participants are needed. All participants must have the ability to read and type English (participants will self-select), have a smartphone, and be residents of Australia or New Zealand.
Exclusion criteria
Participants will be excluded if they are currently undergoing another intervention for stress.
Outcome results
None listed