The Effectiveness of the Mobile-based Youth COMPASS Program to Promote Adolescent Well-being and Life-control

Conditions

Well-being

Keywords

Adolescents, Web- and mobile-based intervention, Acceptance and Commitment therapy, Psychological well-being, Career preparation, Lifecontrol, Successful educational transitions, Learning difficulties, Psychological flexibility and mindfulness skills

Brief summary

The aim of this randomized control trial is to examine effectiveness of individually tailored web- and mobile-based Acceptance- and Commitment Therapy interventions to promote adolescents' well-being and life-control and subsequently support their successful transition from basic education to upper secondary education. Our additional aim is to examine to what extent the effectiveness of the intervention varies according to intervention intensity and according to risk for school failure. The five-week structured intervention is delivered using the novel web-and mobile-based program Youth COMPASS following the principles of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The Internet context is assumed to be particularly motivating for youth who enjoy spending time online using different social media. Internet-based interventions have several advantages; they can include more information and treatment components than traditionally delivered treatments and that intervention programs are accessible at any time and at any place. Another unique aspect of the Youth COMPASS is the fact that it is individually-tailored. Each participant have an individually assigned online coach who provides support and encouragement, reminds about Youth COMPASS, sends individualized feedback, and recommends different exercises. The study hypothetizes that the Youth COMPASS is more effective than school counseling as usual. More specifically, the Youth COMPASS is expected to be more effective when it is combined with face-to-face support than when support and feedback are provided only via the Internet. Also, the Youth COMPASS with no face-to-face support (online only) is expected to be more effective than receiving only regular school counseling. Finally, the Youth COMPASS is expected to be more effective for students at risk for school failure than for students without risk for school failure, especially when at risk-adolescents receive more intensive support (i.e., both online and face-to-face support).

Detailed description

The aim of this randomized control trial is to examine effectiveness of individually tailored web- and mobile-based Acceptance- and Commitment Therapy interventions to promote adolescents' well-being and life-control and subsequently support their successful transition from basic education to upper secondary education. Our additional aim is to examine to what extent the effectiveness of the intervention varies according to intervention intensity and according to risk for school failure. The five-week structured intervention is delivered using the novel web-and mobile-based program Youth COMPASS following the principles of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The Internet context is assumed to be particularly motivating for youth who enjoy spending time online using different social media. Internet-based interventions have several advantages; they can include more information and treatment components than traditionally delivered treatments and that intervention programs are accessible at any time and at any place. Another unique aspect of the Youth COMPASS is the fact that it is individually-tailored. Each participant have an individually assigned online coach who provides support and encouragement, reminds about Youth COMPASS, sends individualized feedback, and recommends different exercises. The study hypothetizes that the Youth COMPASS is more effective than school counseling as usual. More specifically, the Youth COMPASS is expected to be more effective when it is combined with face-to-face support than when support and feedback are provided only via the Internet. Also, the Youth COMPASS with no face-to-face support (online only) is expected to be more effective than receiving only regular school counseling. Finally, the Youth COMPASS is expected to be more effective for students at risk for school failure than for students without risk for school failure, especially when at risk-adolescents receive more intensive support (i.e., both online and face-to-face support). The participants of the effectiveness study of the Youth COMPASS are selected from the participants of the broader longitudinal STAIRWAY (TIKAPUU in Finnish) - From Primary School to Secondary School study, which follows a community sample of Finnish adolescents (n\ 850) across critical educational transitions. The overall aim of the STAIRWAY project is to broaden our understanding of the individual- and environment-related factors that promote learning, well-being and successful educational transitions.

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Interventions

BEHAVIORALExperimental: face-to-face and online support group:

5-week intervention according to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy principles with the web-and mobile-based Youth COMPASS program, face-to-face support (2 meetings) and weekly online mobile support and feedback from the individually assigned coach (one third of the participants is randomly assigned to this group)

BEHAVIORALExperimental: only online support group:

5-week intervention according to ACT principles with the web-and mobile-based Youth COMPASS program, no face-to-face support, weekly mobile online support and feedback from the individually assigned coach (one third of the participants is randomly assigned to this group)

BEHAVIORALControl

Control group, no intervention, school counseling as usual. (one third of the participants is randomly assigned to this group)

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Intervention model description

Treatment, Parallel assessment, Randomized, Efficacy study

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

14 Years to 16 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Adolescents (n = 120) who have risk for school failure (learning difficulties or low grade point average without learning difficulties) * Randomly chosen adolescents (n=120) from the same classrooms who have no risk for school failure

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Difficulties and Strenghts questionnaire (SDQ, Goodman et al. 1997) measuring emotional symptoms, hyperactivity, conduct problems and prosociality	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Stress (Elo et al., 2003)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Depressive symptoms (Salokangas et al., 1995)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Self-esteem (Rosenberg, 1965),	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Life satisfaction (Diener et al., 1985)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Educational expectations	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Career choice preparedness (Koivisto et al., 2011)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Well-being in school (World Health Organization)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Truancy	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Psychological flexibility (Greco et al., 2008)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Mindfulness skills (Ciarrochi et al., 2011)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Identity formation (DIDS; Luyckx et al., 2008; see also Marttinen et al., 2016)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention	In addition to self-reports, also school register information is collected regarding academic performance, school absences and progress in studies.
School grades	Four years from the baseline.	In addition to self-reports, also school register information is collected.
Initiation of upper secondary education	Four years from the baseline.	In addition to self-reports, also school register information is collected.
Progress in upper secondary studies	Four years from the baseline.	In addition to self-reports, also school register information is collected.
Changes in study field in upper secondary education	Four years from the baseline.	In addition to self-reports, also school register information is collected.
Staying in vs. dropping out of education	Four years from the baseline.	In addition to self-reports, also school register information is collected.
Graduation time	Four years from the baseline.	In addition to self-reports, also school register information is collected.

Other

Measure	Time frame	Description
Student-Teacher relationship (Pianta, 2001)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Child-Parent relationship (Pianta, 1992)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Recovery from school work (see also Winwood et al., 2005)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Health behaviors (World Health Organization)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Dating	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Having hobbies	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Academic buoyancy (Martin & Marsh, 2008)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Loneliness (World Health Organization)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Substance use (Rimpelä et al., 2003)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Achievement strategies (Nurmi et al., 1995)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Temperament (Rothbart & Ellis, 2001)	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.
Best Friend-Student (Bukowski et al., 1994) relationship	Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.	Study has five timepoints when same questionnaires are administered to assess possible changes in the outcome measures.

Countries

Finland

Outcome results

None listed