Measuring and Enhancing Creativity and Brain Flexibility in Adolescents With Depression

May 18, 2026 updated by: University of Minnesota
This research is designed to find out if engaging in creative activities will help adolescents with depression have more flexible thinking, start to see and appreciate their own talents, and develop a more positive view of themselves and their future.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

160

Phase

  • 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
    • Minnesota
      • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55455
        • University of Minnesota

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • age 12-17 years
  • Phase 1: no clinical diagnosis required.
  • Phase 2: presence of at least "mild" depression symptoms as measured by a score of at least 12 on the parent-report Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) (completed in the screening form).
  • Phase 2, Summer 2025 East African cohort: The adolescent identifies as East African.
  • Phase 2, Summer 2025 Native American cohort: The adolescent identifies as Native American.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • any MRI contraindications (e.g., claustrophobia, braces, pregnancy); Note: MRI exclusion is removed for Summer 2023 and 2025 cohorts since the neuroimaging has been removed from the protocol for those cohorts
  • neurodevelopmental disorder such as intellectual disability or moderate / severe autism, as indicated by parent report;
  • significant medical conditions that would interfere with participating in study activities;
  • currently active suicidal ideation, and unable to agree to an appropriate safety plan
  • history of significant neurological conditions that might confound MRI analyses (e.g., current and severe epilepsy, brain tumor). Note: this exclusion is removed for Summer 2023 and 2025 cohorts since they will not have MRI.

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
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Creativity Camp

All participants who enrolled in the study were assigned to the Creativity Camp.

In Summer 2022, participants were 1:1 randomized to "early" (2 weeks before camp, before camp, after camp) or "late" assessments (before camp, after camp, and 2 weeks after camp). This allowed for an approximation of a waitlist-control design, where we compared the changes during the "waitlist" (the two weeks before camp for the "early" group) to the changes during camp for the "active" group (changes from pre to post intervention for the "late" group) and also allowed us to explore short-term durability of effects in the "late" group.

In 2023 and 2025, since MRI was no longer required, clinical data were collected at all 4 time points: 2 weeks before, before camp, after camp, and 2 weeks after camp. This allows for analysis of the data using a "waitlist control" approach while not changing the experience at the level of the participant.
Other: Creativity Camp
An 8-day creativity camp that includes a variety of different kinds of creative arts activities.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Child Depression Inventory 2 (CDI-2).
Time Frame: Week 2
The CDI (2) is a self-report questionnaire completed by child and parent separately. The Child CDI 2 is a 28-item measure of depression symptoms for youth ages 7-17. For each item, participants selected one of three choices that describe the severity of their symptoms over the past 2 weeks. Responses are: 0 (no symptoms), 1 (mild or probable symptoms), or 2 (definite symptoms). The 17-item Parent CDI 2, has four choices per item, ranging from 0 (not at all) to 3 (much or most of the time). For both child and parent reports, higher scores mean more severe depression.
Week 2

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)
Time Frame: Month 3
The SCARED is a 41-item inventory of anxiety symptoms rated on a 3-point Likert-type scale. Higher scores mean higher severity of anxiety.
Month 3
The Zest for Life Scale (ZLS)
Time Frame: Week 1
This 12-item questionnaire assesses engagement, enthusiasm, and positive outlook on life in the last week. Each of the 12 items is rated on a 9-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 8 (very strongly). The minimum possible score is 0, and the maximum is 96. Higher scores on the scale indicate a greater zest for life.
Week 1
The Flourishing Scale
Time Frame: Week 2
In this 8-item questionnaire, participants rate on a 1-7 scale their agreement with statements regarding perceptions of their life's meaning and purpose, view of self and how they fit into the world. Maximum score is 56. Higher scores mean higher levels of well-being.
Week 2
The Satisfaction with Life Scale
Time Frame: Week 2
The Satisfaction with Life Scale assesses overall life satisfaction, with 5 questions on a 1-7 scale. Maximum score is 35. Higher scores mean higher life satisfaction.
Week 2

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Minnesota

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)

June 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 31, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

August 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 18, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 18, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 26, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 26, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 18, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PSYCH-2021-30129

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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