Mood Management Effects of Brief Unsupported Internet Interventions

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The main goal of this study was to compare the effect of a one-session unsupported Internet intervention on participants' clinical symptoms (depressive and anxiety symptoms) and related variables (mood, confidence and motivation).

Detailed Description
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The main goal of this study was to compare the effect of a one-session unsupported Internet intervention on participants' clinical symptoms (depressive and anxiety symptoms) and related variables (mood, confidence and motivation). Method: A total of 765 adults residing in the United States took part in a randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomly assigned to one of five brief plain text interventions lasting five to ten minutes. The interventions designed to address depressive symptoms were: Thoughts (increasing helpful thoughts), Activities (increasing activity level), Sleep Hygiene, Assertiveness (increasing assertiveness awareness), Own Methods (utilizing methods that were previously successful). They were followed-up one week after consenting.

Official Title
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Mood Management Effects of Brief Unsupported Internet Interventions

Conditions
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Mood

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Thoughts
* Behavioral: Activities.
* Behavioral: Assertiveness.
* Behavioral: Sleep hygiene
* Behavioral: Own Methods


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: - most be U.S. citizens Exclusion Criteria: - non-U.S. residents

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: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Thoughts.<br>Increasing helpful thoughts consisted of two psychoeducational segments (i.e., thoughts affect emotions, and how to manage harmful thoughts), and a list of helpful thoughts that participants could choose to use to increase their mood for the next week | Behavioral: Thoughts<br>* Thoughts. Increasing helpful thoughts consisted of two psychoeducational segments (i.e., thoughts affect emotions, and how to manage harmful thoughts), and a list of helpful thoughts that participants could choose to use to increase their mood for the next week.<br>|
| Experimental: Activities.<br>Increasing activity level included a brief description of how activities affect mood. Participants were then asked to choose the activities they could use to improve their mood from an available list of helpful activities; users were also able to generate their own helpful activities. Participants were also presented with examples of unhelpful activities such as staying in bed and being isolated. | Behavioral: Activities.<br>* Increasing activity level included a brief description of how activities affect mood. Participants were then asked to choose the activities they could use to improve their mood from an available list of helpful activities; users were also able to generate their own helpful activities. Participants were also presented with examples of unhelpful activities such as staying in bed and being isolated<br>|
| Experimental: Assertiveness<br>Increasing assertiveness, consisting of tips for communicating assertively, and an example of an assertive statement. Participants were asked to describe a recent conflict and apply the intervention's assertiveness techniques to address the conflict | Behavioral: Assertiveness.<br>* Increasing assertiveness, consisting of tips for communicating assertively, and an example of an assertive statement. Participants were asked to describe a recent conflict and apply the intervention's assertiveness techniques to address the conflict.<br>|
| Experimental: Sleep hygiene<br>Increasing sleep hygiene included a description on how sleep can affect mood. Participants were also asked to select from a list of helpful sleep hygiene suggestions to be practiced within the next week such as, Don't take naps during the day and Use the bed/bedroom for sleep or sex only. | Behavioral: Sleep hygiene<br>* Increasing sleep hygiene included a description on how sleep can affect mood. Participants were also asked to select from a list of helpful sleep hygiene suggestions to be practiced within the next week such as, Don't take naps during the day and Use the bed/bedroom for sleep or sex only.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Own Methods<br>wherein participants were asked to identify four of their own personal strategies that have helped them improve their mood in the past. | Behavioral: Own Methods<br>* wherein participants were asked to identify four of their own personal strategies that have helped them improve their mood in the past.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9; Kroenke & Spitzer, 2002) scores | Which is a widely used 10-item measure that screens for a presence of a major depressive episode as well as assesses the severity of depressive symptomatology over a 2-week period. | Baseline - 1 week follow-up | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| mood- Likert-type question | How would you describe your mood in the last 2 weeks? and had responses ranging from 0 = Extremely Negative to 9 = Extremely Positive | Baseline - 10 minutes after the intervention - 1 week follow-up | 
| Motivation - Likert-type question | How motivated are you to do something to improve your mood? and had responses ranging from 0 = Extremely Negative to 9 = Extremely Positive | Baseline - 10 minutes after the intervention - 1 week follow-up | 
| Confidence - Likert-type question | How confident are you that you are able to do something to improve your mood?and had responses ranging from 0 = Extremely Negative to 9 = Extremely Positive | Baseline - 10 minutes after the intervention - 1 week follow-up | 
| usefulness - Likert-type question | Before you see the ideas we will be sharing with you, how likely do you think they will be useful? and had responses ranging from 0 = Very Unlikely to 6 = Very Likely. | Baseline - 10 minutes after the intervention | 
| 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire | self-report questionnaire for measuring the level of generalized anxiety symptoms over a two-week period | Baseline - 1 week follow-up |