Improving Happiness in Flanders

NCT ID: NCT02041741

Last Updated: 2015-05-29

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

10863 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2014-01-31

Study Completion Date

2014-10-31

Brief Summary

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This study aims to assess the effects of two different types of interventions aimed at increasing happiness in the Flemish general population as compared to individuals that receive no intervention.

Detailed Description

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This randomized trial has two aims:

1. First, it investigates the efficacy of two different happiness interventions in increasing feelings of happiness in the Flemish general population using a wait-list controlled design.
2. Second, this study aims to identify predictors of response in both interventions ("what works for whom?")

Methods

Design and procedure

* Participants will be contacted through social media and directed to a website that is specifically designed for this study.
* All participants who register for the study first will electronically sign an informed consent and will be asked to complete a brief battery of questionnaires online (base line measures) before randomization.
* Participants then are assigned randomly using a block-randomized design to one of the three conditions using a computerized algorithm:

1. a condition in which daily small and concrete happiness tips are sent to participants during one month via email (n=400)
2. a condition in which weekly more in-depth happiness tips with a (doing and experiencing) task are given during one month via email (n=400)
3. a wait-list condition (1 month); these participants will be subsequently (after the end of the 4-week intervention) randomized to condition (a) or (b) (n=400) using a block-randomized design.
* All participants will be assessed weekly during the intervention (see below) and followed-up 6 months after the end of the study.

Measures

Participants will complete a detailed demographic questionnaire.

Primary outcome measures:

* Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS; Lyubomirsky \& Lepper, 1999)
* Steen Happiness Inventory (SHI; Seligman, Steen, Park, \& Peterson, 2005)

Secondary outcome measures

* Positive and Negative Affect Scales (PANAS; Watson, Clark, \& Tellegen, 1988)
* Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; Kroenke, Spitzer, \& Williams, 2001)
* Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS; Tennant et al., 2007)
* Brief Symptom Inventory (Korte KlachtenLijst; KKL; Lange, \& Appelo, 2007)

Predictors of outcome

* Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ; Steger, Frazier, Oishi, \& Kaler, 2006)
* Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Afflitti, \& Quinlan, 1976)
* Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R, Fraley, Waller, \& Brennan, 2000)
* Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness (KIMS; Baer, Smith, \& Allen, 2004)
* Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS; Bagby, Parker, \& Taylor, 1994)

Data analyses

Repeated measures Anova and multilevel modeling will be used to assess differences between the three conditions in primary and secondary outcomes at the end of the intervention and at follow-up. Regression analyses and growth curve modeling will be used to examine the effects of the predictors on primary and secondary outcomes.

Conditions

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Happiness in the General Population

Keywords

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happiness well-being distress positive psychology

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Investigators

Study Groups

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Weekly tips

Daily small and concrete happiness tips

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Weekly tips

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants in this condition receive weekly a more in-depth tip to increase feelings of happiness involving a (doing and experiencing) task

Daily Tips

Weekly more in-depth happiness tips involving an active (doing and experiencing) task

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Daily Tips

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants in this condition receive daily a set of small tips aimed at increasing happiness

Wait-List Control

No intervention

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Weekly tips

Participants in this condition receive weekly a more in-depth tip to increase feelings of happiness involving a (doing and experiencing) task

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Daily Tips

Participants in this condition receive daily a set of small tips aimed at increasing happiness

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Sufficient fluency in Flemish
* at least 18 years of age

Exclusion Criteria

* no fluency in Flemish
* living outside of Flanders
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Patrick Luyten, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

KULeuven, Belgium

Mia Leijssen, PhD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

KULeuven, Belgium

Sara Casalin, PhD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

KULeuven, Belgium

Jessie Dezutter, PhD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

KULeuven, Belgium

Locations

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Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences

Leuven, , Belgium

Site Status

Countries

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Belgium

References

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Seligman ME, Steen TA, Park N, Peterson C. Positive psychology progress: empirical validation of interventions. Am Psychol. 2005 Jul-Aug;60(5):410-21. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.60.5.410.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16045394 (View on PubMed)

Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. S. (1999). A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validation. Social Indicators Research, 46, 137-155.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Watson D, Clark LA, Tellegen A. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988 Jun;54(6):1063-70. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.54.6.1063.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 3397865 (View on PubMed)

Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001 Sep;16(9):606-13. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11556941 (View on PubMed)

Blatt SJ, D'Afflitti JP, Quinlan DM. Experiences of depression in normal young adults. J Abnorm Psychol. 1976 Aug;85(4):383-9. doi: 10.1037//0021-843x.85.4.383. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 956505 (View on PubMed)

Fraley RC, Waller NG, Brennan KA. An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000 Feb;78(2):350-65. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.78.2.350.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10707340 (View on PubMed)

Bagby RM, Parker JD, Taylor GJ. The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale--I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. J Psychosom Res. 1994 Jan;38(1):23-32. doi: 10.1016/0022-3999(94)90005-1.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 8126686 (View on PubMed)

Tennant R, Hiller L, Fishwick R, Platt S, Joseph S, Weich S, Parkinson J, Secker J, Stewart-Brown S. The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS): development and UK validation. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2007 Nov 27;5:63. doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-5-63.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 18042300 (View on PubMed)

Lange, A., & Appelo, M. (2007). Handleiding Korte Klachten Lijst (KKL) [Manual for the Brief Symptom Inventory]. Houten, The Netherlands: Bohn Stafleu Van Loghum.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(1), 80-93. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.53.1.80

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Baer RA, Smith GT, Allen KB. Assessment of mindfulness by self-report: the Kentucky inventory of mindfulness skills. Assessment. 2004 Sep;11(3):191-206. doi: 10.1177/1073191104268029.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15358875 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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HAP-FLA

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id