Writing Activities and Emotions

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The current study aims to test whether an online two-week positive psychological intervention can increase positive affect in college students. Participants will be recruited from the University of Pittsburgh undergraduate subject pool. Students will be ineligible if they are under the age of 18; currently prescribed medications for cardiac arrythmias; have a history of heart surgery, heart attack, or stroke; are currently pregnant; or currently have symptoms consistent with COVID-19. This study includes an active control arm and an intervention arm. Both arms will be required to complete writing activities every other day for two weeks. Participants in the control arm will list their daily activities, while participants in the intervention arm will complete various positive psychology activities. Questionnaires assessing mood, emotional well-being, social functioning and a few health behaviors will be administered pre- and post-intervention. The investigators aim to recruit 250 undergraduate students with the hope that at least 50 participants per group will complete the entire study.

Official Title
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Does an Online Two-week Positive Psychological Intervention Improve Positive Affect in Young Adults?

Conditions
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Healthy

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: positive psychological intervention
* Behavioral: Active control condition


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Must be an undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh that is currently taking Introduction to Psychology. Must be at least 18 years old Not currently prescribed medications for cardiac arrythmias Report no history of heart surgery, heart attack, or stroke Not currently pregnant Must deny having current symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Exclusion Criteria: If the participant does not meet the inclusion criteria.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Basic Science
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: This is a two-arm parallel study, such that participants are assigned to either an active control group or intervention group.
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Active control condition<br>Participants in the active control condition will receive the same number of text message reminders and will complete the same number of writing activities as the intervention group. The writing activity for the active control condition will ask them to list their activities for that day. | Behavioral: Active control condition<br>* Participants will be asked to complete the same writing activity each day, which will ask them to list their daily activities. Participants will be encouraged to process their daily activities superficially by the receiving the following instructions: (1) list each activity in brief, incomplete sentences, (2) document only facts about performing the activities, and (3) to not provide any information about emotional responses to performing the activities. By following these instructions, participants are presumably deriving less meaning from their activities, which may minimize gains in positive affect in the active control condition<br>* Other names: placebo;|
| Experimental: Positive psychological intervention<br>Participants will be asked to complete writing activities every other day. They will choose which activity they would like to complete each day, from a menu of six different activities. Each activity is a different positive psychology exercise. | Behavioral: positive psychological intervention<br>* Participants will be asked to complete writing activities every other day. They will choose which activity they would like to complete each day, from a menu of six different activities. Each activity is a different positive psychology exercise.<br>* Other names: Positive psychology exercises;|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change from baseline in positive affect at 1 week post-intervention | Positive and Negative Affective Schedule (20-item). The possible range for this questionnaire is from 5 - 50. Baseline values will be subtracted from post-intervention values and a higher score on this measure represents a better outcome. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 
| Change from baseline in positive affect at 1 week post-intervention | Positive Emotional Style Questionnaire. The possible range for this questionnaire is from 0 - 36. Baseline values will be subtracted from post-intervention values and a higher score on this measure represents a better outcome. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change from baseline in optimism at 1 week post-intervention | Life Orientation Test-Revised. The possible range for this questionnaire is from 6 - 30. Baseline values will be subtracted from post-intervention values and a higher score on this measure represents a better outcome. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 
| Change from baseline in life satisfaction at 1 week post-intervention | PROMIS - General Life Satisfaction. The possible range for this questionnaire is from 10 - 70. Baseline values will be subtracted from post-intervention values and a higher score on this measure represents a better outcome. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 
| Change from baseline in psychological well-being at 1 week post-intervention | Psychological Well-Being Scale. The possible range for this questionnaire is from 42 - 294. Baseline values will be subtracted from post-intervention values and a higher score on this measure represents a better outcome. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 
| Change from baseline in perceived stress at 1 week post-intervention | Perceived Stress Scale. The possible range for this questionnaire is from 0 - 40. Baseline values will be subtracted from post-intervention values and a higher score on this measure represents a worse outcome. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 
| Change from baseline in perceived social support at 1 week post-intervention | ISEL (12-item). The possible range for this questionnaire is from 12 - 48. Baseline values will be subtracted from post-intervention values and a higher score on this measure represents a better outcome. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 
| Change from baseline in loneliness at 1 week post-intervention | UCLA Loneliness Scale (8-item). The possible range for this questionnaire is from 0 - 24. Baseline values will be subtracted from post-intervention values and a higher score on this measure represents a worse outcome. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 
| Change from baseline in depressive symptoms at 1 week post-intervention | PROMIS - Emotional Distress - Depression - Short Form. The possible range for this questionnaire is from 8 - 40. Baseline values will be subtracted from post-intervention values and a higher score on this measure represents a worse outcome. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 
| Change from baseline in anxiety symptoms at 1 week post-intervention | PROMIS - Emotional Distress - Anxiety - Short Form. The possible range for this questionnaire is from 7 - 35. Baseline values will be subtracted from post-intervention values and a higher score on this measure represents a worse outcome. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 
| Change from baseline in light physical activity (in general) at 1 week post-intervention | 1-items asking participants to report minutes of light physical activity that they perform 'in general.' Baseline values will be subtracted from post-intervention values and a higher number on this measure represents a better outcome. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 
| Change from baseline in moderate physical activity (in general) at 1 week post-intervention | 1-item asking participants to report minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity that they perform 'in general.' Baseline values will be subtracted from post-intervention values and a higher number on this measure represents a better outcome. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 
| Change from baseline in sleep quality (in general) at 1 week post-intervention | 1-item asking participants to report their overall sleep quality in general. Sleep quality was assessed on a Likert scale from Very bad (0) to Very good (5). Higher scores reflect a better outcome. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 
| Change from baseline in sleep quantity (in general) at 1 week post-intervention | 1-items asking participants to report how long they typically sleep each night. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 
| Change from baseline in negative affect at 1 week post-intervention | Positive and Negative Affective Schedule. The possible range for this questionnaire is from 5 - 50. Baseline values will be subtracted from post-intervention values and a higher score on this measure represents a better outcome. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 
| Change from baseline in negative affect at 1 week post-intervention | Negative Emotional Style Questionnaires. The possible range for this questionnaire is from 0 - 36. Baseline values will be subtracted from post-intervention values and a higher score on this measure represents a worse outcome. | Assessed twice, once before the intervention and a second time within one week of completing the intervention. | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Positive Psychological Intervention, Wellbeing, Optimism