The Effect of Religious Practices on Mental and Spiritual Health

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effects of using a religious mobile app (i.e., Pray.com) in participants who have high levels of stress. The main question it aims to answer is: •What are the effects of using Pray.com on stress in individuals who report high levels of stress? Participants will complete measures at baseline (i.e., Time 1), four-weeks (i.e., Time 2), and eight weeks (i.e., Time 3). Participants will be randomly assigned one of three conditions: (1) autonomous use (directed to use the app daily), (2) meditative prayer condition (directed to use this feature of the app daily), or (3) wait-list control condition.

Detailed Description
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Participants (N = 300) will be adults recruited through social media and faith-based organizations. Participants will first complete a brief screener to determine eligibility for the study. Eligible participants will be invited to participate in the study. Participants will read an informed consent document that will give information about the study and their rights as participants. Participants will be given the opportunity to contact the research team and ask questions. If they agree to participate, participants will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions. Condition 1 is the control condition (i.e., no intervention condition). In Condition 2, participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to use the app five days per week (i.e., autonomous use condition). In Condition 3, participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to listen to a meditation prayer five days per week (i.e., meditative prayer condition). Participants will receive periodic reminders on their phone if they have not used the app. All participants will fill out a series of online questionnaires monthly for a two-month time-period (i.e., Baseline / Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3). Participants will receive a link from the research team when it is time for them to fill out their questionnaire via a secure online data collection portal. After finishing the study, participants will be debriefed and given the opportunity to ask questions about their participation.

Official Title
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The Effect of Religious Practices on Mental and Spiritual Health

Conditions
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Stress

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: pray.com app (autonomous use)
* Behavioral: pray.com app (meditative prayer condition)


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: over the age of 18 own a smart phone and be willing to download a mobile app willing to engage in a Christian practice on a mobile app score of 14 or greater on the Perceived Stress Scale (indicating at least a moderate level of stress) Exclusion Criteria: n/a

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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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions. Condition 1 is the control condition (i.e., no intervention condition). In Condition 2, participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to use the app five days per week (i.e., autonomous use condition). In Condition 3, participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to listen to a meditation prayer five days per week (i.e., meditative prayer condition).
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| No Intervention: no intervention condition<br>no intervention | |
| Experimental: autonomous use condition<br>Participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to use the app five days per week. | Behavioral: pray.com app (autonomous use)<br>* Participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to use the app five days per week.<br>|
| Experimental: meditative prayer condition<br>Participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to listen to a meditation prayer five days per week. | Behavioral: pray.com app (meditative prayer condition)<br>* Participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to listen to a meditation prayer five days per week.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Perceived Stress Scale | minimum value: 0, maximum value: 40, higher scores indicate higher levels of stress (i.e., worse outcome) | 2 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale | minimum value: 0, maximum value: 42, higher scores indicate higher levels of anxiety/depression (i.e., worse outcome) | 2 months | 
| Mindful Attention Awareness Scale | minimum value: 15, maximum value: 90, higher scores indicate higher levels of mindfulness (i.e., better outcome) | 2 months | 
| Copenhagen Burnout Inventory--personal subscale | minimum value: 6, maximum value: 30, higher scores indicate higher levels of burnout (i.e., worse outcome) | 2 months | 
| Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory | minimum value: 13, maximum value: 52, higher scores indicate higher levels of sleep problems (i.e., worse outcome) | 2 months | 
| Religious Commitment Inventory | minimum value: 10, maximum value: 50, higher scores indicate higher levels of religious commitment (i.e., better outcome) | 2 months | 
| Spiritual Well-Being Scale | minimum value: 20, maximum value: 120, higher scores indicate higher levels of spiritual well-being (i.e., better outcome) | 2 months | 
| Satisfaction with Life Scale | minimum value: 5, maximum value: 35, higher scores indicate higher levels of satisfaction with life (i.e., better outcome) | 2 months | 
| Daily Goal Progress Scale | minimum value: 3, maximum value: 15, higher scores indicate higher levels of daily goal progress (i.e., better outcome) | 2 months |