Mental Health
Conditions
Keywords
MHQ, Mental Health Assessment, Device-free summer camp, Mental Wellbeing, Wellbeing, Summer Camp, Smartphones
Brief summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to understand if attendance of a device-free summer camp, representing a shift from a digital environment to one that is device free and involves in person social interaction, can change mental health status and brain physiology in teens age 12-17. The main question it aims to answer is: * How much is aggregate mental health and its various dimensions and components changed at the end of the camp attendance relative to the start of camp. * How much is brain physiology, as measured by EEG change, changed at the end of camp relative to the start of camp. Participants are recruited from among teens signed up to attend 2 or 3.5 week sessions a summer camp in Maine.
Detailed description
The goal of this clinical trial is to understand if attendance of a device-free summer camp, representing a shift from a digital environment to one that is device free and involves in person social interaction, can change mental health status and brain physiology in teens age 12-17. The main question it aims to answer is: * How much is aggregate mental health and its various dimensions and components changed at the end of the camp attendance relative to the start of camp. * How much is brain physiology, as measured by EEG change, changed at the end of camp relative to the start of camp. Participants are recruited from among teens signed up to attend 2 or 3.5 week sessions a summer camp in Maine. Participants were asked to complete the MHQ, a comprehensive mental health assessment spanning 47 emotional, social and cognitive aspects and on the first day of camp and then again on the day before departure. In addition participants were asked questions on their school and camp experiences at the start and end of camp respectively. Participants were also invited to participate in a socio-emotional task and/or have EEG measurements read on the first day of camp and the day before departure form camp. The socio-emotional task involved speaking or performing in front of a group of 4 or 5 people and rating one's own feelings performing this task as well as rating the perceived feelings of other group members when they were performing the task.
Interventions
OTHERAttendance of device-free summer camp
Attendance of a residential device-free summer camp in Maine for 2-3.5 weeks.
Sponsors
Sapien Labs
University of California, San Diego
Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Pre- post- study of a natural intervention (summer camp)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
12 Years to 17 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Attendance of Maine Teen Camp sessions during summer months of 2024 and 2025.
Exclusion criteria
* None
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change from Baseline in Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) at End of Camp | Baseline (Day 1) to end of camp attendance (up to 3.5 weeks). | The Mental Health Quotient or MHQ is an aggregate score of mental health computed from the 47 items of the MHQ assessment. The score ranges from -100 to +200, where higher scores indicate better mental health outcomes. Negative scores indicate significant symptoms that impact function (Distressed/Struggling range), while positive scores reflect the wide range of normal function (Enduring to Thriving). Change is calculated by subtracting the baseline score from the end of camp score. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change from Baseline in Ratings of 47 MHQ Items After Camp Attendance | Baseline (Day 1) to end of camp attendance (up to 3.5 weeks). | Difference in the ratings of each of the 47 items in the MHQ assessment spanning emotional, social, cognitive and physical capacities and problems. Participants rate each item on a 9-point life impact scale. |
| Change from Baseline in Resting-State Electroencephalography (EEG) measures | Baseline (Day 1 of camp) and Post-Intervention (Final day of camp - 2.5-3 weeks later) | The outcome measure evaluates changes in EEG spectral metrics such as spectral slope, spectral bands and time domain metrics such as complexity/entropy measures such as Detrending Fluctuation Analysis (DFA), Lempel-Ziv Complexity and Sample Entropy measured during 3 minutes of EEG with eyes closed at the start and end of the camp session. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORTara Thiagarajan, PhD
Sapien Labs
Outcome results
None listed