International Students Intervention

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The proposed project aims to provide international students on F-1, J-1, or M-1 visas at Purdue additional culturally-relevant support by implementing and testing a psychosocial intervention. The intervention was designed based on the results of a recently published research study (Bhojwani et al., 2020) about international student concerns and needs in the time of COVID-19. This intervention is designed to test the effectiveness of a strengths-based intervention that targets the particular needs of international students during COVID. The intervention was designed based on evidence-based Cognitive-Behavioral and Systemic Therapy (Jafar et. al, 2016; Saravanan et. al., 2017) approaches to addressing stress and anxiety in a culturally-relevant manner and to decrease social isolation.

Official Title
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A Psychosocial Intervention to Protect Purdue International Students

Conditions
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Social Isolation

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Synchronous Intervention
* Behavioral: Asynchronous Intervention


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: International students who report being on J-1, F-1, or M-1 visas Currently enrolled in classes at Purdue at either the undergraduate or graduate level either remotely or in-person 18 years or older Exclusion Criteria: • active suicidality and/or homicidality

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: Supportive Care
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Asynchronous Group<br>The asynchronous intervention will provide access to information and resources for mental health support via Brightspace. The intervention will be six weeks long and each week will have a topic. The weekly topics include (1) identifying feelings; (2) biology of emotions; (3) mindfulness; (4) recognizing and responding to stress; (5) mental health stigma; and (6) self-care/self-advocacy. Each week, you will be required to complete four types of activities: education, reflective exercises, an activity, and a short assessment. All of these resources will be provided on Brightspace to be completed on your own time but the activities must be completed during the week they are assigned. You will not have to interact with other international students if you are in the asynchronous intervention group. | Behavioral: Asynchronous Intervention<br>* The asynchronous intervention will provide access to information and resources for mental health support via Brightspace. The intervention will be six weeks long and each week will have a topic. The weekly topics include: (1) identifying feelings; (2) biology of emotions; (3) mindfulness; (4) recognizing and responding to stress; (5) mental health stigma; and (6) self-care/self-advocacy. Each week, you will be required to complete four types of activities: education, reflective exercises, an activity, and a short assessment. All of these resources will be provided on Brightspace to be completed on your own time but the activities must be completed during the week they are assigned. You will not have to interact with other international students if you are in the asynchronous intervention group.<br>|
| Experimental: Synchronous Group<br>If you are assigned to the synchronous intervention group, you will be required to complete the asynchronous interventions on Brightspace AND attend a weekly one-hour support group. These support groups will meet virtually using a restricted WebEx channel and will be recorded. In this support group, students will discuss the weekly activities and build connections and support with each other. This group will be led by advanced doctoral students in counseling psychology and overseen by a counseling psychology faculty member, who is also a licensed psychologist. | Behavioral: Synchronous Intervention<br>* Weekly one-hour support groups. These support groups will meet virtually using a restricted WebEx channel and will be recorded. In this support group, students will discuss the weekly activities and build connection and support with each other. This group will be led by advanced doctoral students in counseling psychology and overseen by a counseling psychology faculty member, who is also a licensed psychologist.<br>Behavioral: Asynchronous Intervention<br>* The asynchronous intervention will provide access to information and resources for mental health support via Brightspace. The intervention will be six weeks long and each week will have a topic. The weekly topics include: (1) identifying feelings; (2) biology of emotions; (3) mindfulness; (4) recognizing and responding to stress; (5) mental health stigma; and (6) self-care/self-advocacy. Each week, you will be required to complete four types of activities: education, reflective exercises, an activity, and a short assessment. All of these resources will be provided on Brightspace to be completed on your own time but the activities must be completed during the week they are assigned. You will not have to interact with other international students if you are in the asynchronous intervention group.<br>|
| No Intervention: Waitlist<br>If you are assigned to the wait-list group, you will not have access to the asynchronous or synchronous interventions during the course of this study. After this study is completed, you will have access to the asynchronous intervention on Brightspace. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change from Baseline of CCAPS-34 scores to Post-intervention | CCAPS-34 assesses seven domains of psychological symptoms salient to college students, average scores will be used [range 0-4], with higher scores indicating worse outcome | 6 weeks | 
| Change from Baseline of DASC-21 scores to Post-intervention | DASC-21 assesses depression and anxiety symptoms, average scores will be used [range 0-3], with higher scores indicating worse outcome | 6 weeks | 
| Change from Baseline of CCAPS-34 scores to 10 weeks | CCAPS-34 assesses seven domains of psychological symptoms salient to college students, average scores will be used [range 0-4], with higher scores indicating worse outcome | 10 weeks | 
| Change from Baseline of DASC-21 scores to 10-weeks | DASC-21 assesses depression and anxiety symptoms, average scores will be used [range 0-3], with higher scores indicating worse outcome | 10 weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Social Connectedness Scale (SCS) | SCS assesses indivividuals' social connectedness, range from 1 to 6, reverse coded with higher scores indicating better outcome | through the study completion, an average of 10 weeks | 
| Campus Climate | Adapted from Glass, C. R. (2012). with 6 items to measure students' connection with the university specifically, range 0 to 4, with higher scores indicating better campus climate | through the study completion, an average of 10 weeks | 
| Group Session Rating Scale (GSRS) | GSRS is only administered for the intervention synchronous group, range from 1 to 10, with higher scores indicating better group cohesion | weekly for 6 weeks | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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international students, virtual intervention