Anhedonia, Depression, Mood
Conditions
Brief summary
The current investigation aims to examine whether a brief, two-session, virtual behavioral activation plus savoring intervention will increase daily positive emotion in university students.
Detailed description
Experiences of positive emotions are often unchanged following standard psychotherapy. To address this, the current investigation aims to enhance traditional brief behavioral activation with savoring, an emotion regulation strategy specifically targeting positive emotion, or affect, for university students endorsing low levels of the symptom. Individuals will be randomized to either a two-session behavioral activation plus savoring intervention or two sessions of empathic listening. Daily levels of positive emotions will be assessed throughout the study and for one week prior to and completing the intervention.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALBehavioral Activation plus Savoring
Individuals in this intervention will complete two sessions of behavioral activation, where they will be provided psychoeducation on behavioral models of mood, schedule activities, and discuss barriers to completion. Additionally, they will practice savoring as a cognitive strategy to increase positive emotions with a study therapist.
BEHAVIORALEmpathic Listening
Individuals in the active control condition will complete two sessions of reflecting on tracking their mood and empathic listening with a study therapist.
Sponsors
Southern Methodist University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* University student * Own a smartphone * Positive affect score less than 32 on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Short Form (PANAS-SF)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Positive Emotions: Modified Differential Emotions Scale (mDES; Fredrickson et al., 2003) | Change from first session to post-treatment (14 days) | Positive mood, as measured by the mDES, will be collected two times a day. Participants will be asked to rate their level of positive mood in the moment. Positive mood will be collected on a daily basis throughout the study and change in reported positive emotions will be assessed. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) | Change from baseline to post-treatment (21 days) | Change in reported symptoms of positive and negative affect following the intervention |
| Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) | Change from baseline to post-treatment (21 days) | Change in self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress following the intervention |
Countries
United States
Contacts
Primary ContactDivya Kumar, M.A.
Outcome results
None listed