protocolSection identificationModule nctId: NCT06276725, orgStudyIdInfo id: 23-606, briefTitle: Writing Wrongs: Expressive Writing for Microaggressions, acronym: WW, statusModule overallStatus: RECRUITING, startDateStruct date: 2024-03-18, primaryCompletionDateStruct date: 2024-12-01, completionDateStruct date: 2025-04-01, studyFirstPostDateStruct date: 2024-02-26, lastUpdatePostDateStruct date: 2024-03-25, sponsorCollaboratorsModule leadSponsor name: Auburn University, class: OTHER, collaborators name: Medical University of South Carolina, descriptionModule briefSummary: Racial and ethnic based stressors, such as microaggressions, are pervasive, distressing, and result in lasting negative repercussions for minoritized students at predominantly white institutions (PWIs). These racial and ethnic based stressors are experienced in addition to the universally experienced stressors of higher education. Negative repercussions of microaggressions include increased drop out or transfer rates, distress, fatigue resulting in decreased academic performance, and depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Expressive writing (EW) may be a scalable intervention for addressing the negative repercussions resulting from microaggressions experienced by minoritized students at PWIs. Previous research suggests that EW for stressful life events results in benefits such as reduced depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms, improved coping strategies, and reduced activity restriction. Despite such benefits, EW was not designed to specifically address microaggressions in a minoritized student population. Informed by the ADAPT-ITT model, our research group conducted a pilot study with similar procedures. This pilot study demonstrated the acceptability of an adapted version of the EW intervention titled Writing Wrongs (WW), as well as recommended future modifications for WW. In the current study we aim to conduct a randomized-controlled trial to establish the efficacy of WW in alleviating clinical symptoms. We hypothesize that WW will improve symptoms of racial and discriminatory trauma and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress over time and compared to an assessment-only condition. We will conduct exploratory analyses to examine short-term changes in affect within and across sessions and across conditions. We will recruit minoritized students enrolled at a PWI. Participants will complete a pre-intervention assessment prior to being randomized into the two conditions. Participants in the intervention condition will engage in three sessions of WW and complete measures of clinical symptoms across multiple time points (i.e., pre-intervention, immediately after the final writing session, one week after the final session). Participants in the assessment-only condition will be administered the same measures at the same timepoints and given access to the WW after completing the study. If found to be efficacious, WW has the potential to be widely disseminated to minoritized college students who experience microaggressions., conditionsModule conditions: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, conditions: Discriminatory Stress, conditions: Microaggression, designModule studyType: INTERVENTIONAL, phases: NA, designInfo allocation: RANDOMIZED, interventionModel: PARALLEL, interventionModelDescription: After consenting to participate in the study, participants will be randomized in a 1:1 manner into either the Writing Wrongs Intervention or the Assessment Control condition. All participants will complete a total of five online study sessions including a pre-intervention assessment, three intervention or assessment only sessions, and a one-week follow-up assessment ., primaryPurpose: TREATMENT, maskingInfo masking: NONE, enrollmentInfo count: 70, type: ESTIMATED, armsInterventionsModule interventions name: Writing Wrongs, outcomesModule primaryOutcomes measure: Racial and Discriminatory Trauma, primaryOutcomes measure: Daily Racial and Discrimination Trauma, secondaryOutcomes measure: Depression, secondaryOutcomes measure: Anxiety, secondaryOutcomes measure: Stress, secondaryOutcomes measure: Posttraumatic Stress, secondaryOutcomes measure: Daily Depression, secondaryOutcomes measure: Daily Anxiety, secondaryOutcomes measure: Daily Posttraumatic Stress, otherOutcomes measure: Negative Affect, otherOutcomes measure: Positive Affect, otherOutcomes measure: Acceptability of Writing Wrongs, eligibilityModule sex: ALL, minimumAge: 18 Years, stdAges: ADULT, stdAges: OLDER_ADULT, contactsLocationsModule locations facility: Auburn University, status: RECRUITING, city: Auburn, state: Alabama, zip: 368849, country: United States, contacts name: Cassidy M Brydon, MS, role: CONTACT, phone: 954-591-5261, email: cmb0106@auburn.edu, contacts name: Tracy K Witte, PhD, role: CONTACT, phone: 334-844-6465, email: tracy.witte@auburn.edu, geoPoint lat: 32.60986, lon: -85.48078, hasResults: False