Expressive Writing for COVID-19 Resilience for Parents

November 16, 2021 updated by: Duke University
The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of a 4-week, virtually-delivered expressive writing intervention on resilience in a cohort of parents and caregivers currently navigating the COVID-19 pandemic during spring & summer of 2020.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

In 2016, the research team piloted a 6-week intervention on expressive writing for resilience in a population of trauma survivors. Participants self-identified as having had a recent trauma or significant life upheaval, such as a divorce, major illness, job loss, or the death of a loved one. At 6 weeks, the investigators found that participants experienced significantly improved levels of resilience and lower levels of stress, rumination, and depression. These results added to a growing body of research indicating the potential for expressive writing to be a powerful healing modality for both psychological and physical well-being.

The current COVID-19 pandemic presents the potential for trauma or significant life upheaval for nearly all members of the community and the world at large. Parents of children who are at home face unique challenges during this time. Social distancing guidelines, shelter in place protocols, school and business closures, travel restrictions, high levels of job loss, loss of childcare, and the looming threat of illness have disrupted daily routines, family life, and significantly altered life plans for many. Parents and caregivers who have unexpectedly lost childcare, are having to adjust to home schooling arrangements, and/or are having to end to heightened emotional needs in their children may experience this time as particularly difficult.

Resilience is the capacity for individuals to adapt and recover in the face of trauma, adversity, or significant sources of stress. The current collective reality magnifies the need for accessible, low-cost, effective interventions to help people cultivate resilience and other dimensions of psychological well-being.

In this study, the investigators seek to further the work the research team began in 2016 with a 4-week, virtually-delivered expressive writing intervention designed to support parents in cultivating personal resilience and emotional wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
11

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • North Carolina
      • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27705
        • Duke Integrative Medicine

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

In order to have up to 40 evaluable subjects, we plan to consent up to 45 individuals. Potential subjects will be considered eligible if they are parents or primary caregivers of children aged 0-18 who have been home with them during the COVID-19 experience. Other eligibility criteria include:

  • Able to speak, read, write, and understand English
  • Cognitively able to provide consent
  • Ability to participate in a 4-week intervention delivered via Zoom and email

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Expressive writing

The 4-week study intervention will invite participants through a progression of expressive writing exercises designed to support emotional expression and enhance personal resilience. Weekly instruction writing sessions will be conducted via Zoom. The sessions will not be recorded, but participants who cannot attend the sessions live (or prefer not to, for any reason) will receive each week's instructions and prompts via email.

The progression of writing exercises flows as follows:

  • Week 1: Writing to expressive difficult emotions
  • Week 2: Writing to cultivate compassion & forgiveness
  • Week 3: Writing to nurture positive emotions
  • Week 4: Writing to invite insight, perspective, & growth
Behavioral: Expressive writing

The 4-week study intervention will invite participants through a progression of expressive writing exercises designed to support emotional expression and enhance personal resilience. Weekly instruction writing sessions will be conducted via Zoom. The sessions will not be recorded, but participants who cannot attend the sessions live (or prefer not to, for any reason) will receive each week's instructions and prompts via email.

The progression of writing exercises flows as follows:

  • Week 1: Writing to expressive difficult emotions
  • Week 2: Writing to cultivate compassion & forgiveness
  • Week 3: Writing to nurture positive emotions
  • Week 4: Writing to invite insight, perspective, & growth

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Resilience
Time Frame: 3 months
Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC)
3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Perceived stress
Time Frame: 3 months
Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10)
3 months
Depression symptoms
Time Frame: 3 months
Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised (CESDR)
3 months
Parental stress
Time Frame: 3 months
Internal, non-validated questionnaire re. experience of parental stress
3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Duke University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 27, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 2, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 2, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 12, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 14, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 19, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
November 24, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 16, 2021

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
November 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Pro00105586

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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