Campus Life Study: Harnessing Generativity Among Young Adults
2020年2月10日 更新者：Marcie D. Haydon, MA, CPhil、University of California, Los Angeles
The Effects of Prosocial Writing on Psychological Well-being: A Randomized Controlled Trial Among Young Adults
Recent research suggests that short, online interventions can enhance well-being, which is beneficial to both physical and mental health outcomes. Further, growing evidence suggests that prosocial behavior-a behavior that can be reliably manipulated through a short online intervention-may have beneficial effects on well-being and physical health. Giving support to others appears to be just as beneficial as receiving support, and asking people to perform kind acts for others over the course of several weeks, for example, has been shown to both increase well-being and reduce the inflammatory potential of immune cells.
The purpose of the current study is to test a novel 3-week, online prosocial writing-based intervention in a sample of young adults. Previous intervention studies have manipulated prosocial behavior by asking participants to perform tangible acts of kindness for others, such as writing a note to a coworker or helping a neighbor. However, providing this type of direct support can be logistically challenging and may contribute to increased feelings of distress in certain contexts. Writing interventions designed to elicit feelings of generativity offer one alternative approach, though they have yet to be tested among young adults.
Participants (n = 200) will be randomized to one of two conditions--peer helping or a facts-only control--and instructed to write about their experiences in their first-year at UCLA (freshman or first-year after transfer). Those in the peer helping will be asked to write for the benefit of a student who is about to begin their first year, whereas those in the facts-only control will not. In total, participants will complete 4 writing assignments, each on a separate day over the course of one week. Valid self-report measures will be assessed at pre-intervention, each writing session, post-intervention, and at the 2-week follow-up. The investigators expect participants in the peer helping condition to experience a greater increase in well-being (primary outcome) across the intervention and the follow-up when compared to the control condition. Secondary outcomes will include depressive symptoms, anxiety, loneliness, physical symptoms, social support, and generativity. As an exploratory aim, will also assess several moderators (i.e., psychological distress, prosocial tendencies, generativity) and mediators (i.e., fulfillment of psychological needs, positive affect) of the intervention effects.
研究概览
研究类型
介入性
注册 (实际的)
165
阶段
- 不适用
联系人和位置
本节提供了进行研究的人员的详细联系信息，以及有关进行该研究的地点的信息。
学习地点
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California
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Los Angeles、California、美国、90095
- University of California, Los Angeles
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参与标准
研究人员寻找符合特定描述的人，称为资格标准。这些标准的一些例子是一个人的一般健康状况或先前的治疗。
资格标准
适合学习的年龄
18年 及以上 (成人、年长者)
接受健康志愿者
不
有资格学习的性别
全部
描述
Inclusion Criteria:
- enrolled in an upper-division psychology course
- 18 years of age or older
- fluent in English
- access to the internet and email
Exclusion Criteria:
- none
学习计划
本节提供研究计划的详细信息，包括研究的设计方式和研究的衡量标准。
研究是如何设计的？
设计细节
- 主要用途：基础科学
- 分配：随机化
- 介入模型：并行分配
- 屏蔽：无（打开标签）
武器和干预
参与者组/臂 |
干预/治疗 |
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实验性的：Peer Helping Condition
Participants in the peer helping condition will be asked to write about their experiences in their first-year at UCLA (freshman or first-year after post-transfer), with an emphasis on using the experience to benefit someone who is about to be a first-year student.
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After completing the baseline questionnaire, participants will be randomized to one of two conditions-a peer helping condition or a facts-only writing control.
Participants will receive general instructions for completing the writing sessions and will be asked to write for at least 5 minutes per session.
Topics covered in each session will vary and are related to common themes relating to life as a first-year university student (e.g., academics, adjusting to university, etc.).
Participants will be instructed not to worry about grammar, spelling, or sentence structure and reminded that their responses will remain anonymous.
Writing sessions (four in total) will be spaced 1 day apart and take place all within the same week.
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有源比较器：Facts-only Control
Participants in the facts-only writing condition will be asked to write facts about their experiences in their first-year at UCLA (freshman or first-year post-transfer).
Unlike the previous conditions, they will not be instructed to write for the benefit of another individual.
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After completing the baseline questionnaire, participants will be randomized to one of two conditions-a peer helping condition or a facts-only writing control.
Participants will receive general instructions for completing the writing sessions and will be asked to write for at least 5 minutes per session.
Topics covered in each session will vary and are related to common themes relating to life as a first-year university student (e.g., academics, adjusting to university, etc.).
Participants will be instructed not to worry about grammar, spelling, or sentence structure and reminded that their responses will remain anonymous.
Writing sessions (four in total) will be spaced 1 day apart and take place all within the same week.
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研究衡量的是什么？
主要结果指标
结果测量 |
措施说明 |
大体时间 |
|---|---|---|
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Change in psychological well-being
大体时间：At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Well-being within the past week will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 2-week follow-up via the 14-item Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF).
The MHC-SF is comprised of three empirically derived subscales: the 3-item Emotional Well-Being Subscale, the 6-item Psychological Well-Being Subscale, and the 5-item Social Well-Being Subscale.
Higher scores on each subscale, and the total score overall (range: 0-56), indicate greater well-being.
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At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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次要结果测量
结果测量 |
措施说明 |
大体时间 |
|---|---|---|
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Change in depressive symptoms
大体时间：At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Depressive symptoms over the past week will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 2-week follow-up via the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).
The CES-D is a measure of symptom severity, with higher scores (range: 0-60) indicating greater depressive symptoms.
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At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Change in anxiety and worry
大体时间：At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Symptoms of anxiety over the past week will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 2-week follow-up via the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder- 7 (GAD-7).
Higher scores on the GAD-7 (range: 0-21) indicate greater severity of symptoms.
Three additional items were added by the investigators to assess worry about vocational future: "I worry that I won't finish my degree," "I worry about what I will do after I finish my degree," and "I worry that I am not prepared for what comes after college (e.g., getting a job, graduate school)."
These items are scored on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree), with higher scores indicating greater worry (range: 3-15).
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At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Change in loneliness
大体时间：At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Feelings of loneliness over the past week will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 2-week follow-up via the 8-item UCLA Loneliness Scale- Short Form 8.
A higher overall score (range: 8-32) indicates greater feelings of loneliness.
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At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Change in physical symptoms and health-care center visits
大体时间：At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Frequency of experiencing common physical symptoms (e.g., runny nose) over the past week will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 2-week follow-up via a 13-item adapted version of the Pennebaker Inventory of Limbic Languidness (PILL).
This measure includes 10-items assessing physical symptoms (range: 0-70), such as headache, shortness of breath, and coughing/sore throat, and 3-items assessing overall feelings of sickness ("how many days have you been sick?") and healthcare utilization ("how many visits have you made to the student health center?").
Greater scores indicate more physical symptoms/feelings of illness.
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At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Change in sleep disturbance
大体时间：At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Sleep disturbance over the past week will be measured using the 4-item PROMIS Sleep Disturbance Scale at baseline, post-intervention, and the 2-week follow-up.
Scores range from 4 to 20, with higher scores indicating more disturbance.
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At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Change in social support
大体时间：At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Social support will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 2-week follow-up using the 21-item 2-way Social Support Scale.
This scale measures 4 dimensions of social support: instrumental support received, instrumental support given, emotional support received, and emotional support given.
A higher total score (range: 0-105) indicates more feelings of perceived support.
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At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Change in generativity
大体时间：At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Feelings of generativity will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 2-week follow-up using the 13-item Generativity Scale.
This measure consists of two subscales: generative desire and generative achievement, with higher scores (range: 13-78) indicating greater desire/achievement.
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At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Change in positive and negative affect
大体时间：At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Daily reports of positive and negative affect will be assessed at baseline, post-intervention, the 2-week follow-up, and at each writing session using the 10-item positive affect subscale and 10-item negative affect subscales of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS-X).
Two additional adjectives were also included, happy and calm.
Greater scores indicate higher feelings of positive (range: 10-50) and negative affect (range: 10-50).
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At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Change in fulfillment of psychological needs
大体时间：At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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Fulfillment of psychological needs will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, the 2-week follow-up, and at each writing session using the 9-item Balanced Measure of Psychological Needs.
This item has three subscales: autonomy, connectedness, and relatedness, with higher scores (range: 9-45) indicating greater needs satisfaction.
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At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (2 days after the final writing assignment), and and at the 2-week follow-up
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其他结果措施
结果测量 |
措施说明 |
大体时间 |
|---|---|---|
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Prosocial Tendencies (Moderator)
大体时间：At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins)
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Frequency of engaging in prosocial acts will be measured at baseline using the 20-item Self-Report Altruism Scale.
Higher scores (range: 20-100) indicate more engagement in prosocial acts (e.g., helping a classmate with an assignment).
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At the baseline survey (1 day before the intervention begins)
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合作者和调查者
在这里您可以找到参与这项研究的人员和组织。
研究记录日期
这些日期跟踪向 ClinicalTrials.gov 提交研究记录和摘要结果的进度。研究记录和报告的结果由国家医学图书馆 (NLM) 审查，以确保它们在发布到公共网站之前符合特定的质量控制标准。
研究主要日期
学习开始 (实际的)
2020年1月6日
初级完成 (实际的)
2020年2月10日
研究完成 (实际的)
2020年2月10日
研究注册日期
首次提交
2019年12月13日
首先提交符合 QC 标准的
2019年12月18日
首次发布 (实际的)
2019年12月23日
研究记录更新
最后更新发布 (实际的)
2020年2月12日
上次提交的符合 QC 标准的更新
2020年2月10日
最后验证
2020年2月1日
更多信息
与本研究相关的术语
其他研究编号
- IRB#19-002092
计划个人参与者数据 (IPD)
计划共享个人参与者数据 (IPD)？
不
药物和器械信息、研究文件
研究美国 FDA 监管的药品
不
研究美国 FDA 监管的设备产品
不
此信息直接从 clinicaltrials.gov 网站检索，没有任何更改。如果您有任何更改、删除或更新研究详细信息的请求，请联系 register@clinicaltrials.gov. clinicaltrials.gov 上实施更改，我们的网站上也会自动更新.