Calm College: A Brief Mobile App Meditation Intervention Among Stressed College Students

NCT ID: NCT03891810

Last Updated: 2019-05-01

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

88 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2017-09-01

Study Completion Date

2018-05-01

Brief Summary

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This research investigated the effects of a mindfulness meditation mobile application (i.e., Calm College) on reducing stress in undergraduate college students with moderate, high, or extreme levels of stress as compared to a delayed intervention group.

Detailed Description

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a mindfulness meditation mobile application (i.e., Calm College) on reducing stress in ASU undergraduate students with moderate, high, or extreme levels of stress as compared to a delayed response group.

The study design is a randomized control trial with baseline, post-intervention (8 wks from baseline), and follow-up (12 wks from baseline) assessments. College students will be randomized to either a Calm College Intervention group or a delayed response group. Participants will be randomized after the completion of baseline and informed consent.

Aim 1: Investigate the effects of an 8-wk mobile meditation application (i.e., Calm) to reduce self-reported stress in ASU undergraduate students with moderate, high or extreme levels of stress as compared to a wait-list control group.

Aim 2: Explore the relationship between stress and reported health risk behaviors (i.e., inadequate sleep, physical inactivity, dietary behaviors, and alcohol consumption) in college students who use a mobile meditation application (i.e, Calm).

Recruitment: Participants will be recruited during September 2017. Interested participants will be directed to a Qualtrics link to complete an online eligibility screener. The screener will take approximately 10 minutes to complete (See Eligibility Survey). The survey will be free, voluntary, and available online. Participants will be allowed to skip questions in the survey.

Eligibility: Once eligibility is determined, participants will be sent an informed consent and baseline questionnaire via a Qualtrics link. This measure should take approximately 20 minutes to complete (See Informed Consent and Baseline Questionnaire). Once Informed Consent is signed and the Baseline Questionnaire is complete, participants will be randomized via an online randomizer (i.e., randomizer.com) to either a delayed response group or Calm College group. Ineligible participants will be sent an email notifying their status and given information on how to download Calm College (See Participant Scripts).

Enrollment: The Research Team will email the intervention participants that will include instructions to download Calm College (Participant Scripts). The control participants will be emailed and asked to not participate in any mindfulness based activities for 12-wks (See Participant Scrips). The intervention will run for 8-wks with a 4-wk follow-up period. Intervention participants will complete "7 days of Calm" during Week 1. For the remaining weeks (Week 2- Week 8) intervention participants will then be asked to meditate during the weekday from a 10-minute meditation of their choice. Throughout the intervention, the Calm College group will be sent reminder texts/emails via Google Voice to participate in the meditation sessions if participants are not meditating for more than 30 minutes a week (see Participant Scripts).

Tracking: Participation in the Calm College meditations will be tracked (meditation name, time of day, and time spent in meditation) by the Calm team.

Post-intervention: Post-intervention questionnaire will be emailed to intervention and control participants via a link from Qualtrics (See Post-intervention questionnaire delayed response, post-intervention questionnaire intervention). Intervention participants will have access to Calm College, but will not be asked to meditate.

Follow-up: Follow-up questionnaire will be emailed to intervention and control participants via a link from Qualtrics (See Follow-up questionnaire). Once follow-up measures have been completed, the control group will be emailed instructions on how to download Calm College.

Conditions

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Stress

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

The study design was a randomized control trial with baseline, post-intervention (8 wks from baseline), and follow-up (12 wks from baseline) assessments. College students were randomized to either a Calm College Intervention group or a delayed response group. Participants were randomized after the completion of baseline and informed consent.
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Calm

The intervention ran for 8-wks with a 4-wk follow-up period. Intervention participants completed "7 days of Calm" during Week 1. For the remaining weeks (Week 2- Week 8) intervention participants were asked to meditate during the weekday from a 10-minute meditation of their choice. Throughout the intervention, the Calm College group were sent reminder texts/emails via Google Voice to participate in the meditation sessions if participants are not meditating for more than 30 minutes a week (see Participant Scripts).

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Calm

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The intervention ran for 8-wks with a 4-wk follow-up period. Intervention participants completed "7 days of Calm" during Week 1. For the remaining weeks (Week 2- Week 8) intervention participants were asked to meditate during the weekday from a 10-minute meditation of their choice. Throughout the intervention, the Calm College group were sent reminder texts/emails via Google Voice to participate in the meditation sessions if participants are not meditating for more than 30 minutes a week (see Participant Scripts).

Control

This group was a wait list control group who received the treatment following the intervention period.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Calm

The intervention ran for 8-wks with a 4-wk follow-up period. Intervention participants completed "7 days of Calm" during Week 1. For the remaining weeks (Week 2- Week 8) intervention participants were asked to meditate during the weekday from a 10-minute meditation of their choice. Throughout the intervention, the Calm College group were sent reminder texts/emails via Google Voice to participate in the meditation sessions if participants are not meditating for more than 30 minutes a week (see Participant Scripts).

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Current full-time undergraduate student at Arizona State University
* 18 years of age
* Able to read/understand English
* Own a smartphone
* A score of 14 or higher on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
* Willingness to be randomized
* Willingness to download the Calm application

Exclusion Criteria

* Participated in any mindfulness based practice within the last 6 months
* Currently utilize Calm or any other mindfulness based mobile application
* low levels of stress (i.e., less than a score of 14 assessed with the Perceived Stress Scale)
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Arizona State University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Jennifer Huberty

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

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Arizona State University

Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Baum A. Stress, intrusive imagery, and chronic distress. Health Psychol. 1990;9(6):653-75. doi: 10.1037//0278-6133.9.6.653.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 2286178 (View on PubMed)

Edenfield TM, Saeed SA. An update on mindfulness meditation as a self-help treatment for anxiety and depression. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2012;5:131-41. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S34937. Epub 2012 Nov 23.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23175619 (View on PubMed)

Leppink EW, Odlaug BL, Lust K, Christenson G, Grant JE. The Young and the Stressed: Stress, Impulse Control, and Health in College Students. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2016 Dec;204(12):931-938. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000000586.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27575792 (View on PubMed)

McIndoo CC, File AA, Preddy T, Clark CG, Hopko DR. Mindfulness-based therapy and behavioral activation: A randomized controlled trial with depressed college students. Behav Res Ther. 2016 Feb;77:118-28. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2015.12.012. Epub 2015 Dec 23.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 26745622 (View on PubMed)

Caldwell K, Harrison M, Adams M, Quin RH, Greeson J. Developing mindfulness in college students through movement-based courses: effects on self-regulatory self-efficacy, mood, stress, and sleep quality. J Am Coll Health. 2010 Mar-Apr;58(5):433-42. doi: 10.1080/07448480903540481.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20304755 (View on PubMed)

Huberty J, Green J, Glissmann C, Larkey L, Puzia M, Lee C. Efficacy of the Mindfulness Meditation Mobile App "Calm" to Reduce Stress Among College Students: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019 Jun 25;7(6):e14273. doi: 10.2196/14273.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 31237569 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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STUDY00006896

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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