PRAY.COM for Mental Health and Well-Being Among University Students

A Faith-Based Mobile Application for Mental Health and Well-Being Among University Students: A Single-Arm Feasibility and Preliminary Effectiveness Trial

This single-arm feasibility and preliminary effectiveness trial examines PRAY.COM, a faith and prayer mobile application (app), among university students. Enrolled students at Regent University are asked to use the app for at least 10 minutes per day for 8 weeks. Feasibility is assessed by app demand (≥70% weekly use benchmark) and acceptability (≥75% satisfaction benchmark). Preliminary effectiveness is assessed at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks for mental health (depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress), well-being (loneliness, sense of purpose and meaning), and academic outcomes (time management confidence, school-life balance satisfaction, confidence managing academic challenges, feeling overwhelmed by academic responsibilities, classes missed due to mental health, difficulty concentrating, frequency of mental health negatively impacting academic performance, and difficulty completing coursework). Three analysis groups are examined: completers with confirmed objective app engagement (primary), all 8-week completers (secondary), and all enrolled participants using last observation carried forward imputation (tertiary).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Mental Health; Well-Being
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: PRAY.COM Mobile Application

Detailed Description

This study is a single-arm feasibility and preliminary effectiveness trial conducted with currently enrolled students at Regent University. Participants are recruited via a university-wide email listserv and are asked to use the PRAY.COM app, a faith-based mobile application delivering Daily Prayer, Meditative Prayers, Scripture Readings, Bedtime Bible Stories, Podcasts, Sermons, a Bible in a Year program, and Pray AI (an AI-powered faith companion), for at least 10 minutes per day over 8 weeks. No instructions are given regarding which specific features or content to engage with. Upon completing the baseline survey, participants receive a complimentary premium PRAY.COM subscription for the duration of the study.

Feasibility is assessed across demand and acceptability domains. Demand is operationalized as the percentage of participants reporting at least weekly app use with a benchmark of ≥70%. Acceptability is operationalized as the percentage of participants reporting satisfaction (satisfied or very satisfied) with a benchmark of ≥75%. Additional feasibility indicators include perceived appropriateness for students and intent to continue use. Objective app usage data are obtained directly from PRAY.COM to complement self-reported engagement.

Preliminary effectiveness outcomes are assessed using validated measures at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks. Mental health outcomes include depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress (DASS-9; 3 items each, 0-3 scale), and loneliness (UCLA-3; 3 items, 1-3 scale). Well-being outcomes include sense of purpose and meaning (2 items adapted from the Claremont Purpose Scale, 1-5 scale). Academic outcomes include time management confidence, school-life balance satisfaction, confidence managing academic challenges, feeling overwhelmed by academic responsibilities, classes missed due to mental health, difficulty concentrating, frequency of mental health negatively impacting academic performance, and difficulty completing coursework (8 investigator-developed items).

Statistical approach: Pre-post changes are analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests with normality of change scores assessed via Shapiro-Wilk tests. Effect sizes are calculated as Cohen's d (mean change / SD of change scores). Three analysis groups are examined: 1) the primary per-protocol sample of 8-week completers with confirmed objective app engagement (i.e., having at least one recorded app session exceeding one second); 2) a secondary analysis of all 8-week completers regardless of objective engagement status; and 3) a tertiary full-enrollment analysis using last observation carried forward (LOCF) imputation as a conservative lower-bound estimate, with multiple imputation as a sensitivity check. Additional analyses examine dose-response relationships, subgroup differences (age, sex, race/ethnicity, student type), and baseline severity effects.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 450
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Westlake Village, California, United States, 91361
      • PRAY.COM (Online Only)

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Currently enrolled university student with a corresponding institutional email address (@edu)
• 18 years of age or older
• US resident
• Able to read and understand English
• Willing to complete brief surveys including questions related to faith and faith-based practices
• Willing to download a faith and prayer mobile application onto a smartphone or tablet

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not a currently enrolled university student or does not have a corresponding institutional email address
• Less than 18 years of age
• Not a US resident
• Unable to read or understand English
• Not willing to complete surveys related to faith and faith-based practices
• Not willing to download a faith and prayer mobile application

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: PRAY.COM App; Participants were asked to used the PRAY.COM mobile app for at least 10 minutes per day for 8 weeks, with assessments at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks.

Behavioral: PRAY.COM Mobile Application; PRAY.COM is a nondenominational, Bible-based faith and prayer mobile application delivering daily prayers, guided meditations, scripture readings, bedtime stories, podcasts, and worship music. Participants were instructed to use the app for at least 10 minutes per day for 8 weeks but were not given specific instructions regarding which features to engage with.; Other Names: PRAY.COM

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Acceptability (satisfaction)	Percentage of participants reporting satisfied or very satisfied; benchmark ≥75%	Measured at 4 weeks and 8 weeks
Demand	Percentage of participants reporting at least weekly app use; benchmark ≥70%	From enrollment to 4 and 8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Perceived appropriateness	Percentage rating PRAY.COM as very or extremely appropriate for students	4 weeks and 8 weeks
Intent to continue use	Percentage reporting likely or very likely to continue using PRAY.COM after the study	4 weeks and 8 weeks
Depressive symptoms	Measured by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-9). Scores range from 0-9 with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity.	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Anixety	Measured by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-9). Scores range from 0-9 with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity.	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Stress	Measured by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-9). Scores range from 0-9 with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity.	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Loneliness	Measured by the UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-3). Total scores range from 3-9, with higher scores indicating greater loneliness.	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Sense of Purpose and Meaning	Measured by two adapted items from the Claremont Purpose Scale. Scores range from 2-10 with higher scores indicating greater meaning and purppose.	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Time Management Confidence	Investigator-developed item with a 5-point scale (0=not at all confident to 4=extremely confident)	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
School-life balance satisfaction	Investigator-developed item with a 5-point scale (1=very dissatisfied to 5=very satisfied)	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Confidence managing academic challenges	Investigator-developed item with a 5-point scale (0=not at all confident to 4=extremely confident)	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Feeling overwhelmed	Investigator-developed item; 6-point scale (0=never to 5=daily)	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Difficulty concentrating	Investigator-developed item; 5-point scale (0=not difficult at all to 4=extremely difficult)	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Classes missed due to mental health	Investigator-developed item; 5-point scale (0=0 to 4=4 or more)	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Mental health negatively impacted academics	Investigator-developed item; 5-point scale (0=never to 4=always)	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Difficulty completing coursework	Investigator-developed item; 6-point scale (0=never to 4=daily)	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Fit Minded
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jennifer Huberty, PhD, Fit Minded

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Laird B, Hook JN, Van Tongeren DR, Zuniga S, Hall T, Huberty J. The impact of using a faith and prayer mobile application, Pray. com, on mental health and well-being. Spirituality in Clinical Practice. 2025 Dec;12(4):502.
• Laird B, Zuniga S, Hook JN, Van Tongeren DR, Joeman L, Huberty J. Mental Health and Well-Being in Racial or Ethnic Minority Individuals After Using a Faith and Prayer Mobile App (Pray.com): Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy Trial. JMIR Form Res. 2024 Feb 2;8:e52560. doi: 10.2196/52560.
• Laird B, Van Tongeren DR, Hook JN, Do B, Hall T, Huberty J. Exploring User Perceptions of a Mobile App for Religious Practices. J Relig Health. 2024 Jun;63(3):2068-2090. doi: 10.1007/s10943-024-02004-9. Epub 2024 Feb 15.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 3, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 21, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 19, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 19, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): March 24, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 23, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Feasibility; mental health; well-being; mHealth; Mobile health; mobile application; University students; digital mental health intervention; Faith-based intervention; college mental health
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Personal Satisfaction; Psychological Well-Being
• Other Study ID Numbers: 25-206-1708-01; 25-206-1708 (Other Identifier: BRANY IRB)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Individual participant data will not be publicly shared. De-identified data may be made available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No