Can You Reduce Diabetes Symptomatology by Becoming Your 'Best Possible Self': The Role of Stress and Resilience

NCT ID: NCT03675165

Last Updated: 2021-02-23

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 110 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2018-08-28
• Study Completion Date: 2019-03-20

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to examine how the 'Best Possible Self' (BPS) intervention influences diabetes symptomatology over a four week period by assessing stress and resilience as mediatory effects. Half of the participants will receive the BPS straight away while the other half will be put on a waiting list and will act as the control group.

Detailed Description

The BPS is a "positive" psychology intervention; i.e. it facilitates positive emotion in order to achieve psychological, behavioural, and even physiological changes. The present team's previous research has demonstrated that the BPS is effective at reducing certain diabetes symptoms, though the exact mechanisms by which it does so are unclear. According to the Stress Buffering Model of Physical Activity, psychological stress is the catalyst that triggers behavioural and physiological responses critical to health while positive emotions can improve health by helping people to cope. The Broaden and Build Theory of Positive Emotions, meanwhile, suggests that this is because positive emotions allow people to build resilience.

In this study, the aim is to examine whether stress and resilience in particular mediate the relationship between intervention and diabetes symptoms. Research around stress and resilience has shown these factors to be important not only in the physical health of people with diabetes but for also decreasing illness symptomatology in non-clinical samples more generally.

Conditions

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: DOUBLE

Study Groups

Intervention

Participants receive a tailored version of Laura King's 'Best Possible Self' intervention: a brief, self-administered, psychological intervention. It is fundamentally a writing exercise, whereby recipients are asked to spend 10 minutes writing about their best possible future self and the steps they need to take to become that person. This helps the individual set goals while facilitating positive affect. Our version of the task has people focus on their health-related goals in particular.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Best Possible Self

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

A writing exercise developed in 2001 by Laura King. The frequency of engagement with the exercise is down to the user's discretion though we recommend to them to write things down once every week for the duration of the study.

Waiting List Control

Participants are informed that they are on a waiting list and will receive the intervention at the end of the study.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Best Possible Self

A writing exercise developed in 2001 by Laura King. The frequency of engagement with the exercise is down to the user's discretion though we recommend to them to write things down once every week for the duration of the study.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

Best Possible Selves

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Non-clinical sample
• 18+
• Access to the internet

Exclusion Criteria

• Severe mental illness (such as schizophrenia or bipolar depression)

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Liverpool John Moores University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Ben Gibson

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Kanayo F Umeh

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Liverpool John Moores University

Locations

Liverpool John Moores University

Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom

Countries

United Kingdom

Provided Documents

Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Document Type: Informed Consent Form

View Document

Related Links

https://ljmupsych.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_41SfG1puMuBJHEN

Study link

Other Identifiers

18/NSP/067

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id