Clinical trial NCT06098352: The Impact of a Continuous Performance Task on the Stress Response
Official title: The Impact of a Continuous Performance Task on the Stress Response
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Stress
Keywords: stress
anxiety
blood pressure
skin conductance level
heart rate variability
attention
Lead sponsor: University of Redlands
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2023-10-24
Enrollment: 20
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Intervention model description: All participants will be measured at baseline and then during an attention task.
Primary purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE

Brief summary: The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the impact of taking a continuous performance attention test on the physiological stress response in college students. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Does taking an attention test cause participants to have increases in heart rate, blood pressure, and sweat?
* Does taking an attention test cause participants to have a decrease in heart rate variability?
* Are there relationships between participants' levels of anxiety, perceived stress, and mindfulness to their physiological changes?

Participants will

* Answer questionnaires about anxiety, stress, and mindfulness
* Have baseline measurements taken for blood pressure, sweat, and heart rate variability
* Take the PEBL Continuous Performance Task (a 14 minute attention test) while having the measurements listed above taken again

Detailed description: The PEBL Continuous Performance Task is an example of a mental stressor which requires vigilance and effort. We hypothesize that a sympathetic nervous system response will be evident in comparing physiological parameters during the attention task versus the preceding resting baseline period. Exploratory analyses will assess relationships between psychological measures of anxiety, stress, and mindfulness with this physiological response and the number of errors on the attention test.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* English language proficiency
* First year, first semester student enrolled in Students Together Empowering Peers course at the University of Redlands

Exclusion Criteria:

* severe mental health issues
* currently taking anti-anxiety medication

Primary outcomes:
measure: Blood pressure
timeFrame: Measured once after an 8 minute resting baseline, then 2 minutes into the attention task, and 10 minutes into the attention task. Data collection was then complete.
measure: Skin conductance level
timeFrame: Measured continuously during an 8 minute resting baseline, then continuously for the 14 minute attention task. Data collection was then complete.
measure: Heart rate variability
timeFrame: Measured continuously during an 8 minute resting baseline, then continuously for the 14 minute attention task. Data collection was then complete.
Secondary outcomes:
measure: State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)
timeFrame: Questionnaire completed on day of enrollment (<30 minutes)
measure: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)
timeFrame: Questionnaire completed on day of enrollment (<30 minutes)
measure: Mindful Awareness and Attention Scale (MAAS)
timeFrame: Questionnaire completed on day of enrollment (<30 minutes)
measure: PEBL Continuous Performance Task Foil Accuracy Rate
timeFrame: 14 minute attention task on the day of the experiment
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Redlands
country: United States
facility: University of Redlands
state: California
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Redlands
name: Lisa E Olson, Ph.D.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Brown KW, Ryan RM. The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2003 Apr;84(4):822-48. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822.
citation: Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav. 1983 Dec;24(4):385-96. No abstract available.
citation: Spielberger, C.D., R.L. Gorsuch, and R.E. Lushene, Manual for the state-trait anxiety inventory. 1970: Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA.
citation: The PEBL Project. (2019). PEBL. Retrieved from https://pebl.sourceforge.net