WRITE: Written Imaginal Thinking Exercise Study (WRITE)

April 27, 2026 updated by: Nora Barnes-Horowitz, University of Colorado, Boulder

Written Imaginal Thinking Exercise (WRITE) Study

The purpose of the study is to investigate and compare the effects of three different versions of a future imaginal writing exercise (worst-case scenario, neutral future scenario, best-case scenario) for individuals with elevated social anxiety symptoms. Participants (N=270) will be recruited through the online platform, Prolific, and will be randomly assigned to one of three writing exercise conditions. Participants will complete three study sessions across approximately three weeks. Study session 1 (T1) will consist of baseline assessments and pre-writing ratings, a future imaginal writing exercise, and then post-writing ratings. Study session 2 (T2) will occur approximately one week later and will consist of mid-study assessments and pre-writing ratings, a second, repeated future imaginal writing exercise, and then post-writing ratings. Finally, study session 3 (T3) will occur approximately one week later (approximately two weeks after T1) and will consist of follow-up assessments and repeated post-writing ratings.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Enrolling by invitation

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.

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 (Estimated)

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.
270

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
    • Colorado
      • Boulder, Colorado, United States, 80309
        • University of Colorado Boulder

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • English fluency
  • Previous high-quality Prolific submission experience
  • Elevated social anxiety symptoms

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Hospitalization for psychiatric reasons within the past year
  • Previous suicide attempt or self-harm
  • Previous treatment for severe head injury or past repeated serious head injury
  • Current psychosis symptoms
  • Elevated trauma symptoms

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

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: Worst-Case Scenario
Behavioral: Worst-Case Scenario Written Exposure Exercise
Written exposure exercise about an imagined future worst-case scenario.
Active Comparator: Neutral Future Scenario
Behavioral: Neutral Future Scenario Written Exercise
Written exercise about an imagined neutral future scenario.
Experimental: Best-Case Scenario
Behavioral: Best-Case Scenario Written Exposure Exercise
Written exposure exercise about an imagined future best-case scenario.

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
Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN)
Time Frame: Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.
Social anxiety symptom severity, range: 0-68 total, higher scores indicate higher social anxiety symptom severity.
Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.

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
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8)
Time Frame: Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.
Depression symptom severity, range: 0-24 total, higher scores indicate higher depression symptom severity.
Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.
Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS)
Time Frame: Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.
General anxiety symptom severity, range: 0-20 total, higher scores indicate higher general anxiety symptom severity.
Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.
Social Approach Motivation
Time Frame: Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.
Self-reported rating of motivation for social approach over the next week. Rating ranges from 0 (not motivated at all) to 100 (extremely motivated).
Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS-10)
Time Frame: Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.
Positive and negative affect, range: 5-25 each (total score), higher scores indicate higher positive and negative affect.
Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.
Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ): Catastrophizing and Positive Reappraisal subscales
Time Frame: Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.
Use of catastrophizing and positive reappraisal cognitive emotion regulation strategies, range: 1-5 each (average score), higher score reflects higher degree of use of strategy.
Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.
Threat-related prediction ratings
Time Frame: Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.
Self-reported ratings of 1) likelihood of feared situation avoidance, 2) likelihood of feared outcome occurrence, 3) predicted intensity of feared outcome occurrence, 4) likelihood of best possible outcome occurrence, and 5) predicted intensity of best possible outcome occurrence. All ratings range from 0 (0% likely/not bad at all/not good at all) to 100 (100% likely/as bad as I can possibly imagine/as good as I can possibly imagine).
Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.
State emotion ratings
Time Frame: Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.
Self-reported state ratings of 1) positive affect, and 2) anxiety. All ratings range from 0 (not positive/anxious at all) to 100 (extremely positive/anxious).
Baseline through study completion, an average of 3 weeks.
Writing exercise experience ratings - writing qualities
Time Frame: After each writing exercise, an average of 2 weeks.
Self-reported ratings of vividness/detail and effort of the writing. All ratings range from 0 (not at all) to 100 (extremely), higher scores reflect greater vividness/detail and effort.
After each writing exercise, an average of 2 weeks.
Writing exercise experience ratings - perceived learning
Time Frame: After each writing exercise, an average of 2 weeks.
Self-reported ratings of perceived learning and perspective shift from the writing exercises. All ratings range from 0 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). Higher scores reflect greater perceived learning and perspective shift.
After each writing exercise, an average of 2 weeks.
Behavioral approach/avoidance
Time Frame: At the final study session, approximately 3 weeks after Baseline.
Single self-reported rating of willingness to engage in a feared situation. Binary yes/no response, where yes indicates willingness to approach and no indicates avoidance.
At the final study session, approximately 3 weeks after Baseline.
Program feedback ratings - overall
Time Frame: At the final study session, approximately 3 weeks after Baseline.
Ratings assessing overall program feedback (range: 0-28, higher scores reflect more positive overall program feedback).
At the final study session, approximately 3 weeks after Baseline.
Program feedback ratings - perceived benefit
Time Frame: At the final study session, approximately 3 weeks after Baseline.
Rating assessing perceived benefit of the writing exercises (range: 0-4, higher scores reflect higher perceived benefit).
At the final study session, approximately 3 weeks after Baseline.
Program feedback ratings - likelihood of future use
Time Frame: At the final study session, approximately 3 weeks after Baseline.
Rating assessing likelihood of future use of writing exercises (range: 0-100, higher scores reflect higher likelihood of future use).
At the final study session, approximately 3 weeks after Baseline.

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.
University of Colorado, Boulder

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.
March 21, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
March 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
March 1, 2027

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).
March 2, 2026

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.
March 5, 2026

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.
March 11, 2026

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.
April 28, 2026

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.
April 27, 2026

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.
April 1, 2026

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.
  • 25-0771

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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