Clinical trial NCT03274934: The Effectiveness of the Mobile-based Youth COMPASS Program to Promote Adolescent Well-being and Life-control
Official title: The Effectiveness of the Novel Web- and Mobile-based Acceptance- and Commitment Therapy Program Youth COMPASS to Promote Adolescent Well-being and Life-control
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Well-being
Keywords: Adolescents
Web- and mobile-based intervention
Acceptance and Commitment therapy
Psychological well-being
Career preparation
Lifecontrol
Successful educational transitions
Learning difficulties
Psychological flexibility and mindfulness skills
Lead sponsor: University of Jyvaskyla
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Central Finland Regional Fund
First posted: 2017-09-07
Enrollment: 249
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 14
Maximum age (years): 16
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Treatment, Parallel assessment, Randomized, Efficacy study
Primary purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE

Brief summary: The aim of this randomized control trial is to examine effectiveness of individually tailored web- and mobile-based Acceptance- and Commitment Therapy interventions to promote adolescents' well-being and life-control and subsequently support their successful transition from basic education to upper secondary education. Our additional aim is to examine to what extent the effectiveness of the intervention varies according to intervention intensity and according to risk for school failure. The five-week structured intervention is delivered using the novel web-and mobile-based program Youth COMPASS following the principles of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The Internet context is assumed to be particularly motivating for youth who enjoy spending time online using different social media. Internet-based interventions have several advantages; they can include more information and treatment components than traditionally delivered treatments and that intervention programs are accessible at any time and at any place. Another unique aspect of the Youth COMPASS is the fact that it is individually-tailored. Each participant have an individually assigned online coach who provides support and encouragement, reminds about Youth COMPASS, sends individualized feedback, and recommends different exercises. The study hypothetizes that the Youth COMPASS is more effective than school counseling as usual. More specifically, the Youth COMPASS is expected to be more effective when it is combined with face-to-face support than when support and feedback are provided only via the Internet. Also, the Youth COMPASS with no face-to-face support (online only) is expected to be more effective than receiving only regular school counseling. Finally, the Youth COMPASS is expected to be more effective for students at risk for school failure than for students without risk for school failure, especially when at risk-adolescents receive more intensive support (i.e., both online and face-to-face support).

Detailed description: The aim of this randomized control trial is to examine effectiveness of individually tailored web- and mobile-based Acceptance- and Commitment Therapy interventions to promote adolescents' well-being and life-control and subsequently support their successful transition from basic education to upper secondary education. Our additional aim is to examine to what extent the effectiveness of the intervention varies according to intervention intensity and according to risk for school failure. The five-week structured intervention is delivered using the novel web-and mobile-based program Youth COMPASS following the principles of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The Internet context is assumed to be particularly motivating for youth who enjoy spending time online using different social media. Internet-based interventions have several advantages; they can include more information and treatment components than traditionally delivered treatments and that intervention programs are accessible at any time and at any place. Another unique aspect of the Youth COMPASS is the fact that it is individually-tailored. Each participant have an individually assigned online coach who provides support and encouragement, reminds about Youth COMPASS, sends individualized feedback, and recommends different exercises. The study hypothetizes that the Youth COMPASS is more effective than school counseling as usual. More specifically, the Youth COMPASS is expected to be more effective when it is combined with face-to-face support than when support and feedback are provided only via the Internet. Also, the Youth COMPASS with no face-to-face support (online only) is expected to be more effective than receiving only regular school counseling. Finally, the Youth COMPASS is expected to be more effective for students at risk for school failure than for students without risk for school failure, especially when at risk-adolescents receive more intensive support (i.e., both online and face-to-face support). The participants of the effectiveness study of the Youth COMPASS are selected from the participants of the broader longitudinal STAIRWAY (TIKAPUU in Finnish) - From Primary School to Secondary School study, which follows a community sample of Finnish adolescents (n\~850) across critical educational transitions. The overall aim of the STAIRWAY project is to broaden our understanding of the individual- and environment-related factors that promote learning, well-being and successful educational transitions.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Adolescents (n = 120) who have risk for school failure (learning difficulties or low grade point average without learning difficulties)
* Randomly chosen adolescents (n=120) from the same classrooms who have no risk for school failure

Primary outcomes:
measure: Life satisfaction (Diener et al., 1985)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Self-esteem (Rosenberg, 1965),
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Depressive symptoms (Salokangas et al., 1995)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Stress (Elo et al., 2003)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Difficulties and Strenghts questionnaire (SDQ, Goodman et al. 1997) measuring emotional symptoms, hyperactivity, conduct problems and prosociality
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Well-being in school (World Health Organization)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Career choice preparedness (Koivisto et al., 2011)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Educational expectations
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Psychological flexibility (Greco et al., 2008)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Mindfulness skills (Ciarrochi et al., 2011)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Identity formation (DIDS; Luyckx et al., 2008; see also Marttinen et al., 2016)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention
measure: Truancy
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: School grades
timeFrame: Four years from the baseline.
measure: Initiation of upper secondary education
timeFrame: Four years from the baseline.
measure: Progress in upper secondary studies
timeFrame: Four years from the baseline.
measure: Changes in study field in upper secondary education
timeFrame: Four years from the baseline.
measure: Staying in vs. dropping out of education
timeFrame: Four years from the baseline.
measure: Graduation time
timeFrame: Four years from the baseline.
Other outcomes:
measure: Achievement strategies (Nurmi et al., 1995)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Academic buoyancy (Martin & Marsh, 2008)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Recovery from school work (see also Winwood et al., 2005)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Child-Parent relationship (Pianta, 1992)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Student-Teacher relationship (Pianta, 2001)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Best Friend-Student (Bukowski et al., 1994) relationship
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Temperament (Rothbart & Ellis, 2001)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Substance use (Rimpelä et al., 2003)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Loneliness (World Health Organization)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Health behaviors (World Health Organization)
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Dating
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
measure: Having hobbies
timeFrame: Change from baseline at 2, 6, 12 and 18 months after the intervention.
Locations:
city: Jyväskylä
country: Finland
facility: Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä
Study officials:
affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
name: Noona Kiuru, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: