Improving Happiness in Flanders (HAP-FLA)

Happiness in Flanders: A Randomized, Wait-List Controlled Study

This study aims to assess the effects of two different types of interventions aimed at increasing happiness in the Flemish general population as compared to individuals that receive no intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Happiness in the General Population
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Weekly tips; Behavioral: Daily Tips

Detailed Description

This randomized trial has two aims:

1. First, it investigates the efficacy of two different happiness interventions in increasing feelings of happiness in the Flemish general population using a wait-list controlled design.
2. Second, this study aims to identify predictors of response in both interventions ("what works for whom?")

Methods

Design and procedure

• Participants will be contacted through social media and directed to a website that is specifically designed for this study.
• All participants who register for the study first will electronically sign an informed consent and will be asked to complete a brief battery of questionnaires online (base line measures) before randomization.

• Participants then are assigned randomly using a block-randomized design to one of the three conditions using a computerized algorithm:

  1. a condition in which daily small and concrete happiness tips are sent to participants during one month via email (n=400)
  2. a condition in which weekly more in-depth happiness tips with a (doing and experiencing) task are given during one month via email (n=400)
  3. a wait-list condition (1 month); these participants will be subsequently (after the end of the 4-week intervention) randomized to condition (a) or (b) (n=400) using a block-randomized design.
• All participants will be assessed weekly during the intervention (see below) and followed-up 6 months after the end of the study.

Measures

Participants will complete a detailed demographic questionnaire.

Primary outcome measures:

• Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999)
• Steen Happiness Inventory (SHI; Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005)

Secondary outcome measures

• Positive and Negative Affect Scales (PANAS; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988)
• Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001)
• Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS; Tennant et al., 2007)
• Brief Symptom Inventory (Korte KlachtenLijst; KKL; Lange, & Appelo, 2007)

Predictors of outcome

• Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ; Steger, Frazier, Oishi, & Kaler, 2006)
• Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Afflitti, & Quinlan, 1976)
• Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R, Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000)
• Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness (KIMS; Baer, Smith, & Allen, 2004)
• Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS; Bagby, Parker, & Taylor, 1994)

Data analyses

Repeated measures Anova and multilevel modeling will be used to assess differences between the three conditions in primary and secondary outcomes at the end of the intervention and at follow-up. Regression analyses and growth curve modeling will be used to examine the effects of the predictors on primary and secondary outcomes.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 10863
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Belgium
  • Leuven, Belgium, 3000
    • Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Sufficient fluency in Flemish
• at least 18 years of age

Exclusion Criteria:

• no fluency in Flemish
• living outside of Flanders

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Weekly tips; Daily small and concrete happiness tips	Behavioral: Weekly tips; Participants in this condition receive weekly a more in-depth tip to increase feelings of happiness involving a (doing and experiencing) task
Active Comparator: Daily Tips; Weekly more in-depth happiness tips involving an active (doing and experiencing) task	Behavioral: Daily Tips; Participants in this condition receive daily a set of small tips aimed at increasing happiness
No Intervention: Wait-List Control; No intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Subjective Happiness Scale	4 weeks after start of intervention and 6 months after end of intervention
Steen Happiness Inventory	4 weeks after start of intervention and 6 months after end of intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS)	4 weeks after start of intervention and 6 months after end of intervention
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)	4 weeks after start of intervention and 6 months after end of intervention
Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale	4 weeks after start of intervention and 6 months after end of intervention
Brief Symptom Inventory (KKL, Korte KlachtenLijst)	4 weeks after start of intervention and 6 months after end of intervention

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Meaning in Life Questionnaire	Start of intervention (predictor variable)
Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ)	Start of intervention (predictor variable)
Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R)	Start of intervention (predictor variable)
Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness (KIMS)	Start of intervention (predictor variable)
Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS)	Start of intervention (predictor variable)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Patrick Luyten, PhD, KULeuven, Belgium; Study Director: Mia Leijssen, PhD, KULeuven, Belgium; Study Director: Sara Casalin, PhD, KULeuven, Belgium; Study Director: Jessie Dezutter, PhD, KULeuven, Belgium

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Watson D, Clark LA, Tellegen A. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988 Jun;54(6):1063-70. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.54.6.1063.
• Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001 Sep;16(9):606-13. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x.
• Seligman ME, Steen TA, Park N, Peterson C. Positive psychology progress: empirical validation of interventions. Am Psychol. 2005 Jul-Aug;60(5):410-21. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.60.5.410.
• Tennant R, Hiller L, Fishwick R, Platt S, Joseph S, Weich S, Parkinson J, Secker J, Stewart-Brown S. The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS): development and UK validation. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2007 Nov 27;5:63. doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-5-63.
• Baer RA, Smith GT, Allen KB. Assessment of mindfulness by self-report: the Kentucky inventory of mindfulness skills. Assessment. 2004 Sep;11(3):191-206. doi: 10.1177/1073191104268029.
• Bagby RM, Parker JD, Taylor GJ. The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale--I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. J Psychosom Res. 1994 Jan;38(1):23-32. doi: 10.1016/0022-3999(94)90005-1.
• Fraley RC, Waller NG, Brennan KA. An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000 Feb;78(2):350-65. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.78.2.350.
• Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. S. (1999). A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validation. Social Indicators Research, 46, 137-155.
• Blatt SJ, D'Afflitti JP, Quinlan DM. Experiences of depression in normal young adults. J Abnorm Psychol. 1976 Aug;85(4):383-9. doi: 10.1037//0021-843x.85.4.383. No abstract available.
• Lange, A., & Appelo, M. (2007). Handleiding Korte Klachten Lijst (KKL) [Manual for the Brief Symptom Inventory]. Houten, The Netherlands: Bohn Stafleu Van Loghum.
• Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(1), 80-93. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.53.1.80

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): October 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 13, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 17, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): January 22, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): May 29, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 28, 2015
• Last Verified: January 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: well-being; distress; positive psychology; happiness
• Other Study ID Numbers: HAP-FLA