Mood
Conditions
Brief summary
The main goal of this study was to compare the effect of a one-session unsupported Internet intervention on participants' clinical symptoms (depressive and anxiety symptoms) and related variables (mood, confidence and motivation).
Detailed description
The main goal of this study was to compare the effect of a one-session unsupported Internet intervention on participants' clinical symptoms (depressive and anxiety symptoms) and related variables (mood, confidence and motivation). Method: A total of 765 adults residing in the United States took part in a randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomly assigned to one of five brief plain text interventions lasting five to ten minutes. The interventions designed to address depressive symptoms were: Thoughts (increasing helpful thoughts), Activities (increasing activity level), Sleep Hygiene, Assertiveness (increasing assertiveness awareness), Own Methods (utilizing methods that were previously successful). They were followed-up one week after consenting.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALThoughts
Thoughts. Increasing helpful thoughts consisted of two psychoeducational segments (i.e., thoughts affect emotions, and how to manage harmful thoughts), and a list of helpful thoughts that participants could choose to use to increase their mood for the next week.
BEHAVIORALActivities.
Increasing activity level included a brief description of how activities affect mood. Participants were then asked to choose the activities they could use to improve their mood from an available list of helpful activities; users were also able to generate their own helpful activities. Participants were also presented with examples of unhelpful activities such as staying in bed and being isolated
BEHAVIORALAssertiveness.
Increasing assertiveness, consisting of tips for communicating assertively, and an example of an assertive statement. Participants were asked to describe a recent conflict and apply the intervention's assertiveness techniques to address the conflict.
BEHAVIORALSleep hygiene
Increasing sleep hygiene included a description on how sleep can affect mood. Participants were also asked to select from a list of helpful sleep hygiene suggestions to be practiced within the next week such as, Don't take naps during the day and Use the bed/bedroom for sleep or sex only.
BEHAVIORALOwn Methods
wherein participants were asked to identify four of their own personal strategies that have helped them improve their mood in the past.
Sponsors
i4Health
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
\- most be U.S. citizens
Exclusion criteria
\- non-U.S. residents
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9; Kroenke & Spitzer, 2002) scores | Baseline - 1 week follow-up | Which is a widely used 10-item measure that screens for a presence of a major depressive episode as well as assesses the severity of depressive symptomatology over a 2-week period. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| mood- Likert-type question | Baseline - 10 minutes after the intervention - 1 week follow-up | How would you describe your mood in the last 2 weeks? and had responses ranging from 0 = Extremely Negative to 9 = Extremely Positive |
| Motivation - Likert-type question | Baseline - 10 minutes after the intervention - 1 week follow-up | How motivated are you to do something to improve your mood? and had responses ranging from 0 = Extremely Negative to 9 = Extremely Positive |
| Confidence - Likert-type question | Baseline - 10 minutes after the intervention - 1 week follow-up | How confident are you that you are able to do something to improve your mood?and had responses ranging from 0 = Extremely Negative to 9 = Extremely Positive |
| usefulness - Likert-type question | Baseline - 10 minutes after the intervention | Before you see the ideas we will be sharing with you, how likely do you think they will be useful? and had responses ranging from 0 = Very Unlikely to 6 = Very Likely. |
| 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire | Baseline - 1 week follow-up | self-report questionnaire for measuring the level of generalized anxiety symptoms over a two-week period |
Outcome results
None listed