General Population (no Specific Condition or Disease), Intervention (Training) Condition, Mental Health, Positive Emotions, Randomized Controlled Study
Conditions
Keywords
positive emotions, online intervention, positive psychology, randomized controlled study, intervention, general population
Brief summary
Based on the results of the previously published paper Positive Emotions Training (PoET) as an online intervention to improve mental health: a feasibility study (Niemann et al., 2023) the goal of this study was to examine the effects of the Positive Emotions Training on mental health in a randomized-controlled study. Furthermore, possible predictors for the efficacy of PoET are to be explored. Hypotheses: 1. It was hypothesized that participants receiving PoET would show a significant increase in positive mental health factors at the second assessment point (T2) at end of the second training day. 2. Furthermore, participants receiving PoET are to be expected to show a significant decrease in depression, anxiety and stress symptoms at T2. 3. It was hypothesized that the changes in mental health factors remain stable up to the last assessment point (T3) three month after the training. 4. Lastly, it was hypothesized that there would be no significant changes in the positive or negative mental health factors in the control group at T2 and T3. 5. The possible predictors of the training's efficacy were not hypothesized, but examined in exploratory investigations. Methods: The final sample was n = 207 with n = 90 in the PoET group and n = 117 in the control. The control group did not receive any intervention in the experimental period, but was offered to participate in a later PoET. The allocation was randomized. Participants in the PoET group completed two online training sessions (3 hours each) via Zoom. Group size was about 25-30 people. The sessions included the following positive psychology constructs: happiness, humour, optimism, loving kindness and gratitude on the first day, and hope, self-efficacy, meaningfulness, forgiveness and resilience on the second day. All participants completed a questionnaire at the beginning of the first training session, at the end of the second one as well as three months after the second session. Participants were given an exercise booklet for all exercises (during the training sessions and at home). The one-week break between the two sessions was advertised as a 7-day-challenge to improve the motivation in participants to exercise at home. Data was collected pseudonymised via qualtrics. Data analyses were conducted with RStudio. For the possible effects of PoET on mental health two-factorial repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted. For the exploration of possible predictors for the efficacy of the training, a hierarchical regression was conducted.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALPoET
Participants in the PoET group completed two online training sessions (3 hours each) via Zoom. Group size was about 25-30 people. The sessions included the following positive psychology constructs: happiness, humour, optimism, loving kindness and gratitude on the first day, and hope, self-efficacy, meaningfulness, forgiveness and resilience on the second day.
Sponsors
Ruhr University of Bochum
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* legal age (18), ability to use Zoom and all associated technology
Exclusion criteria
* none
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Positive Mental Health Scale (PMH) | before 1st and after 2nd training session, three months after 2nd training session | 9 items, 4-point-scale from 0 (I do not agree ) to 3 (I agree), assessing emotional and psychological aspects of wellbeing, higher scores reflect better positive mental health |
| Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21) | before 1st and after 2nd training session, three months after 2nd training session | 21 items, 4-point-scale from 0 (did not apply to me at all) to 3 (applied to me very much or most of the time), assessing negative emotional states, higher scores reflect more symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) | before 1st and after 2nd training session, three months after 2nd training session | 6 items, 5-point-scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), assessing participants' ability to recover from stress despite significant adversity, higher scores reflect higher resilience |
| Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) | before 1st and after 2nd training session, three months after 2nd training session | 20 items, 4-point-scale from 1 (almost never) to 4 (usually), assessing the perceived stress in different areas of life, higher scores indicate more stress |
| Life Orientation Test revised (LOT-r) | before 1st and after 2nd training session, three months after 2nd training session | 10 items, 5-point-scale from 0 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree), assessing dispositional optimism, higher scores reflect higher dispositional optimism |
| Implementation of at-home exercices | after 2nd training session and three months after 2nd training session | self-generated, two questions regarding the frequency and the kind of exercise participants did at home |
| Socio-demographic data | before 1st training session | age, gender, marital status, education, employment |
| Satisfaction in different areas of life | before 1st and after 2nd training session, three months after 2nd training session | self-generated, five items, 4-point-scale from 1 (not satisfied) to 4 (satisfied), assessing participants satisfaction in five different areas of life, higher scores reflecting higher satisfaction |
| Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) | before 1st and after 2nd training session, three months after 2nd training session | 5 items, 7-point-scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), assessing global subjective happiness, higher scores indicate a happier person |
Countries
Germany
Outcome results
None listed