Investigating Differential Effects of Online Mental Training Interventions on Mental Well-being and Social Cohesion
Condition: Depressive Symptoms; Stress; Empathy; Compassion; Prosocial Behavior; Anxious Symptoms; Loneliness; Resilience; Genetic Markers
MeSH terms: Depression
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and the associated government-imposed isolationary lockdowns, has
      led to a mental health crisis on a global scale. Empirical studies have reported a drastic
      increase in mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, increased loneliness and
      feelings of disconnectedness from others, while resilience levels have been negatively
      affected, indicating an urgent need for intervention. The current study study is embedded in
      a larger study, the CovSocial study (www.covsocial) which focused in its first phase on
      evaluating the longitudinal changes in vulnerability, resilience and social cohesion during
      the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The present second phase of this CovSocial study will seek to
      investigate the efficacy of brief online mindfulness-based and socio-emotional interventions
      in reducing mental health problems, and enhancing psychological resilience, social
      competencies and social cohesion.

      After providing informed consent, participants will be assigned to one of three groups: 1)
      socio-emotional training group (with Affect Dyads as core exercise), 2) mindfulness-based
      mental training group (with attention-based mindfulness practices such as Breathing
      Meditation as core practice), or 3) Retest Control Group (waitlist control).All groups will
      first undergo a pre-intervention testing phase (pre-test) wherein they will provide a
      comprehensive baseline measurement which covers psychometric measures (such as questionnaires
      and behavioral tasks), and biological parameters (saliva samples). During the 10-week
      intervention period, participants will undergo weekly assessments and daily Ecological
      Momentary Assessment pre and post the daily exercise practice, using self-report scales and
      questionnaires delivered through a webapp or mobile app. At the end of the intervention,
      participants will again undergo an assessment of psychometric measures and biological
      parameters, same as at pre-intervention time (post-test). In a second portion, the waitlist
      control group will undergo the socio-emotional intervention and will be tested at post-test
      II again.

      Results will reveal the effectiveness of brief online interventions in enhancing mental
      health and social cohesion outcomes. In addition to examining pre-post intervention-related
      changes, we will also use the data from the phase 1 of the project to evaluate the impact of
      trait markers of and the longitudinal changes in vulnerability, resilience and social
      cohesion on the intervention-related changes in markers of vulnerability, resilience and
      social cohesion. We will also evaluate the predictive impact of genetic markers of
      vulnerability, resilience and social cohesion (assessed in phase 1) on intervention-related
      changes in our variables of interest.

      The present study will serve as a pilot for future application of scalable, low-cost
      interventions at a broader level to reduce stress, improve mental health and build resilience
      in the face of global stressors.
    


Intervention name(s): Socio-emotional mental training; Mindfulness-based mental training
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Core practice: Affect Dyad. In the Affect Dyad (AD), participants perform a 12-minute partner-based exercise which involves contemplating over one difficult situation and one situation which incurred gratitude in the past 24 hours. Both partners take turns speaking about the two situations while the other partner listens in a non-judgmental manner. While the participants elaborate on the situations, they are asked to focus on the bodily experience of the emotions generated during the situation. The goal of the exercise is to enhance coping with difficult emotions, empathic listening, social sharing, acceptance, and gratitude.; Core practice: Breathing Meditation. In this intervention, participants will practice 12-minute basic attention-based mindfulness meditation such as the Breathing Meditation (BM). BM is a 12-minute individual exercise that requires participants to focus their attention on the sensations of breathing. Participants have to sustain their attention to breath for long stretches of time, and have to return their attention to their breath when their mind wanders. The key focus is on training attention and interoceptive body awareness. Other practices participants will be taught is mindfulness on sounds (here the object of attention is not the breath but sounds in the environment).
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention