Clinical trial NCT05284578: The Effects of Expressive Writing and Compassionate Letter Writing on Emotional Distress Intolerance
Official title: The Effects of Expressive Writing and Compassionate Letter Writing on Emotional Distress Intolerance: A Brief Randomized Controlled Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Distress Intolerance
Lead sponsor: University of Waterloo
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2022-03-17
Enrollment: 424
Sex: ALL
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: 1/3 of the study participants (43 from UWaterloo, 98 from Prolific) were placed into the self-compassionate writing intervention group, 1/3 of the study participants (42 from UWaterloo, 100 from Prolific) were placed into the expressive writing intervention group, and 1/3 of the study participants (41 from UWaterloo, 100 from Prolific) were placed into the control group.
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Perceived emotional distress intolerance is a transdiagnostic marker of psychopathology associated with psychological and interpersonal dysfunction, and the development of interventions for perceived emotional distress intolerance is of prime importance. One potential intervention is a behavioural experiment, i.e. a cognitive behaviour therapy technique where clients undergo an exercise designed to test a maladaptive belief, e.g., that negative emotions are unbearable, and adjust their belief to accommodate any disconfirmatory information that arises through the exercise. This study examines the effects of a one-session self-compassion writing behavioural experiment compared to a one-session expressive writing behavioural experiment on low perceived distress tolerance. Participants were recruited from the University of Waterloo and Prolific, and were randomly assigned to the self-compassion condition, expressive writing condition, or a control condition.

Detailed description: The study consisted of two online surveys. During the first survey, participants answered a set of questionnaires. Then, they were prompted to think of an upsetting situation and the associated unpleasant emotions, and they were then randomly assigned to a brief self-compassionate writing, expressive writing, or neutral writing task. They then answered a series of questionnaires immediately after completing the writing task. During the second survey, one week later, participants answered a brief set of questionnaires.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria for University of Waterloo sample:

* Undergraduate students with a SONA account who are high in emotional distress intolerance (i.e. a lower-than-average score on the Distress Tolerance Scale; mean based on SONA student sample)

Inclusion Criteria for Prolific sample:

* Adults with a Prolific account who are high in emotional distress intolerance (i.e. a lower-than-average score on the Distress Tolerance Scale; mean based on Prolific sample)
* First language English speakers

Exclusion Criteria:

* None

Primary outcomes:
measure: Distress Tolerance Scale
timeFrame: Change from baseline to one week post-intervention
measure: Distress Tolerance Scale (short form)
timeFrame: Immediately post-intervention
measure: Endorsement and Discomfort Scale (adapted)
timeFrame: Immediately post-intervention
measure: Endorsement and Discomfort Scale (adapted)
timeFrame: One week post-intervention
measure: Compassionate Engagement and Action Scale
timeFrame: Change from baseline to one week post-intervention
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Soothing affect measures (researcher-generated) - Adapted from the Serenity Subscale of the PANAS-X and the Safe/Warmth Positive Affect Subscale of the Types of Positive Affect Scale (TPAS)
timeFrame: Immediately post-intervention (assessed as a mediator)
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Waterloo
country: Canada
facility: University of Waterloo
state: Ontario
Study officials:
affiliation: Associate professor
name: Allison Kelly, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: