Depression
Conditions
Keywords
Single-session intervention, Length, Duration, Effectiveness, Active elements
Brief summary
In a previous study (https://osf.io/qdznc), the research team found that an 8-minute version of a single-session intervention for loneliness was more effective than a 23-minute version of it. The present work aims to further explore the relationship between intervention duration and effectiveness. In this online trial, participants will be randomized to a 15-minute single-session depression intervention called the Action Brings Change (ABC) Program, a 10-minute version of it, a 6-minute version of it, or a 2-minute version of it. The main analysis will evaluate how change in depressive symptoms over eight weeks differs across conditions.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALAction Brings Change Project (15-minute adult version)
The ABC Project is a self-guided online single-session intervention based on principles of behavioral activation. In a slightly different form intended for adolescents, it has demonstrated efficacy in several studies. Its adult version has also shown some efficacy.
BEHAVIORALAction Brings Change Project (10-minute adult version)
This is a 10-minute shortened version of the 15-minute adult version of the ABC Project. The research team created it and pilot-tested it.
BEHAVIORALAction Brings Change Project (6-minute adult version)
This is a 6-minute shortened version of the 15-minute adult version of the ABC Project. The research team created it and pilot-tested it.
BEHAVIORALAction Brings Change Project (2-minute adult version)
This is a 2-minute shortened version of the 15-minute adult version of the ABC Project. The research team created it and pilot-tested it.
Sponsors
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Northwestern University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)
Masking description
Participants will be aware that they will be assigned to an intervention designed to help them with depressive symptoms. They will know that the study compares multiple interventions but will not know to which arm they have been assigned. Additionally, the measures will be self-administered, so there is no scope for evaluator bias. There will be no interaction between participants and investigators.
Intervention model description
Participants will be assigned to one of four different conditions.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Participants must be: * Located in the United States * At least 18 years old * Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) score of at least 10 (moderate or more severe) at screener. * Able to read and speak fluent English * Able to access to the internet via a computer, tablet or smartphone for the next eight weeks
Exclusion criteria
* Participants who have completed the first session of the study before or completed another study testing a depression intervention from our laboratory via the same participant recruitment platform in the past two months.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Patient Health Questionnaire-8 at 8 weeks (PHQ-8; Kroenke et al., 2009) | Baseline to 8 weeks post-intervention | Patient Health Questionnaire-8 is a well-validated and self-administered measure to assess depression symptom severity in the general population. Participants are asked to rate how often they are bothered by 8 items (e.g., Poor appetite or overeating) on a scale of 0 (Not at all) to 3 (Nearly every day). Total score can range from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating higher symptom severity. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Beck Hopelessness Scale - 4-item at post-intervention | Baseline to immediately post-intervention | Beck Hopelessness Scale-4 is the 4-item version of the 20-item Beck Hopelessness scale (Beck et al. 1974). Participants will be asked to rate 4 items assessing different aspects of hopelessness (e.g., My future seems dark to me) on a scale of 0 (Absolutely disagree) to 3 (Absolutely agree). Total score can range between 0 to 12 with higher scores indicating higher hopelessness. |
| Change in UCLA Loneliness Scale 3-item version at 8-week follow-up (ULS-3; Hughes et al., 2004) | Baseline to 8 weeks post-intervention | The ULS-3 is the 3-item version of the 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale. The measure includes questions such as how often do you feel left out with responses ranging from 1 (hardly ever) to 3 (often), producing a total score between 3 and 9. Researchers have labeled people who score 3-5 as not lonely and those who score 6-9 as lonely. |
| Presence of an Aha! moment at post-intervention | Immediately post-intervention | The survey will ask participants if they experienced an Aha! moment during the SSI. |
| Presence of an Aha! moment at 8 weeks post-intervention | 8 weeks post-intervention | The survey will ask participants if they experienced an Aha! moment during the SSI. |
| Significance of the Aha! moment at immediately post-intervention | Immediately post-intervention | Among participants who report an Aha! Moment, the survey will ask how significant they felt that Aha! was (on a scale from 1 \[not at all significant\] - 5 \[extremely significant\]). |
| Change in Beck Hopelessness Scale at 8 weeks (BHS-4; Perczel Forintos et al., 2013) | Baseline to 8 weeks post-intervention | Beck Hopelessness Scale-4 is the 4-item version of the 20-item Beck Hopelessness scale (Beck et al. 1974). Participants will be asked to rate 4 items assessing different aspects of hopelessness (e.g., My future seems dark to me) on a scale of 0 (Absolutely disagree) to 3 (Absolutely agree). Total score can range between 0 to 12 with higher scores indicating higher hopelessness. |
| Change in Frequency of actions and thoughts scale at post-test at 8 weeks post-intervention (FATS; Terides et al., 2016) | Baseline to 8 weeks post-intervention | A 12-item measure of adaptive thoughts and behaviors, improvement in which might be a target of cognitive behavioral therapy. Range 0-48 with higher scores indicating greater frequency of adaptive thoughts and behaviors. |
| Expected improvement at post-intervention (from the Credibility / Expectancy Questionnaire; Devilly, 2004) | Immediately post-intervention | This will be computed as the sum of two items: At this point, how successful do you think this treatment will be in reducing your feelings of depression? and Over the next few weeks, how much improvement in your feelings of depression do you think will occur?). Each item will be rated from 1-9 and will be summed together to create a total score of 2-18 with higher scores indicating greater expected improvement. |
| Self-reported improvement at 8-weeks post-intervention (adapted from the Credibility/ Expectancy Questionnaire; Devilly, 2004) | 8 weeks post-intervention | This will be computed as the sum of two items: At this point, how successful do you think this treatment was in reducing your feelings of depression? and Over the past eight weeks, how much improvement in your feelings of depression do you think occurred?). Each item will be rated from 1-9 and will be summed together to create a total score of 2-18 with higher scores indicating greater improvement. |
| Intervention satisfaction star rating at post-intervention | Immediately post-intervention | The survey will evaluate participants' satisfaction with the intervention they completed using a star rating from 1 to 5 stars, with 1 star indicating very low satisfaction and 5 stars indicating very high satisfaction. |
| Intervention satisfaction star rating at 8 week follow-up | 8 weeks post-intervention | The survey will evaluate participants' satisfaction with the intervention they completed using a star rating from 1 to 5 stars, with 1 star indicating very low satisfaction and 5 stars indicating very high satisfaction. |
| Significance of the Aha! moment at 8 weeks post-intervention | 8 weeks post-intervention | Among participants who report an Aha! Moment, the survey will ask how significant they felt that Aha! was (on a scale from 1 \[not at all significant\] - 5 \[extremely significant\]). |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed