Harnessing Generativity Among Young Adult Cancer Survivors

NCT ID: NCT04272346

Last Updated: 2021-04-27

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 204 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2020-08-17
• Study Completion Date: 2021-04-07

Brief Summary

Short, online interventions designed to enhance well-being may be particularly amenable for use with adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors (age 15-39 at diagnosis), an understudied group in the cancer community. The benefits of psychological well-being on both physical and mental health outcomes are well-known and, in recent years, researchers and policymakers have begun to view the period of adolescence and young adulthood as a window of opportunity to instantiate lasting habits and behaviors. Growing evidence suggests that prosocial behavior-a behavior that can be reliably manipulated through a short online intervention-may have beneficial effects on well-being and physical health. This has yet to be tested in AYA cancer survivors.

Drawing from the literature on positive psychology and prosocial interventions, the proposed study will test the feasibility and efficacy of an 8-week online peer helping intervention designed to increase well-being among AYA cancer survivors. AYA cancer survivors (n = 176) will be recruited and randomized to one of three conditions: a peer helping condition, a cancer-specific writing plus peer helping condition, or a cancer-specific writing condition (control condition). The second group was added in response to a previous study, which found that writing about one's experience prior to helping other survivors may be more beneficial. Participants will complete a weekly writing activity once per week for 4 weeks, with instructions administered via a weekly email. Participants will also complete online assessments before, during, and after the 4-week intervention period.

Conditions

Cancer; Young Adults

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Peer helping condition

Participants in the peer helping condition will be asked to write about their cancer experience with an emphasis on using the experience to benefit a newly-diagnosed AYA cancer patient.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Writing for others

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Participants will receive general instructions for completing the writing sessions and will be asked to write for at least 20 minutes per session. Topics covered in each session will vary and are related to common cancer-related themes (e.g., receiving a diagnosis, undergoing treatment, etc.). Participants will be instructed not to worry about grammar, spelling, or sentence structure and reminded that their responses will remain anonymous. Writing sessions (four in total) will be spaced 1 week apart, and participants will be instructed to write about their experience for the benefit of a newly-diagnosed cancer patient.

Processing + peer helping condition

Participants in the processing + peer helping condition will be asked to first write about their deepest thoughts and feelings about their cancer experience (3 writings), then share advice to a newly-diagnosed AYA cancer patient (final writing).

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Processing + writing for others

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Participants will receive general instructions for completing the writing sessions and will be asked to write for at least 20 minutes per session. Topics covered in each session will vary and are related to common cancer-related themes (e.g., receiving a diagnosis, undergoing treatment, etc.). Participants will be instructed not to worry about grammar, spelling, or sentence structure and reminded that their responses will remain anonymous. Writing sessions (four in total) will be spaced 1 week apart. For the first three writing sessions, participants will write their deepest thoughts and feelings regarding cancer diagnosis and treatment. In the final writing session, participants will be instructed to write about their experience for the benefit of a newly-diagnosed cancer patient.

Facts-only writing condition

Participants in the facts-only writing condition will be asked to write about their cancer experience. Unlike the previous conditions, they will not be instructed to write for the benefit of a newly-diagnosed AYA cancer patient.

Group Type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Facts-only writing

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Participants will receive general instructions for completing the writing sessions and will be asked to write for at least 20 minutes per session. Topics covered in each session will vary and are related to common cancer-related themes (e.g., receiving a diagnosis, undergoing treatment, etc.). Participants will be instructed not to worry about grammar, spelling, or sentence structure and reminded that their responses will remain anonymous. Writing sessions (four in total) will be spaced 1 week apart. Unlike the previous conditions, participants will not be instructed to write about their experience for the benefit of a newly-diagnosed cancer patient.

Interventions

Writing for others

Participants will receive general instructions for completing the writing sessions and will be asked to write for at least 20 minutes per session. Topics covered in each session will vary and are related to common cancer-related themes (e.g., receiving a diagnosis, undergoing treatment, etc.). Participants will be instructed not to worry about grammar, spelling, or sentence structure and reminded that their responses will remain anonymous. Writing sessions (four in total) will be spaced 1 week apart, and participants will be instructed to write about their experience for the benefit of a newly-diagnosed cancer patient.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Processing + writing for others

Participants will receive general instructions for completing the writing sessions and will be asked to write for at least 20 minutes per session. Topics covered in each session will vary and are related to common cancer-related themes (e.g., receiving a diagnosis, undergoing treatment, etc.). Participants will be instructed not to worry about grammar, spelling, or sentence structure and reminded that their responses will remain anonymous. Writing sessions (four in total) will be spaced 1 week apart. For the first three writing sessions, participants will write their deepest thoughts and feelings regarding cancer diagnosis and treatment. In the final writing session, participants will be instructed to write about their experience for the benefit of a newly-diagnosed cancer patient.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Facts-only writing

Participants will receive general instructions for completing the writing sessions and will be asked to write for at least 20 minutes per session. Topics covered in each session will vary and are related to common cancer-related themes (e.g., receiving a diagnosis, undergoing treatment, etc.). Participants will be instructed not to worry about grammar, spelling, or sentence structure and reminded that their responses will remain anonymous. Writing sessions (four in total) will be spaced 1 week apart. Unlike the previous conditions, participants will not be instructed to write about their experience for the benefit of a newly-diagnosed cancer patient.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• diagnosis of cancer (any type) between the ages of 15 and 39 years
• have completed primary treatment and are in remission (partial or complete)
• between the ages of 18 and 39 years
• fluent in English
• have access to the internet and email.

Exclusion Criteria

-none

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 39 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University of California, Los Angeles

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Marcie D. Haydon, MA, CPhil

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California, United States

Countries

United States

References

Haydon MD, Stanton AL, Hoyt MA, Bower JE. A randomized controlled trial testing the benefits of prosocial writing in young adult survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer. Health Psychol. 2025 Sep;44(9):886-897. doi: 10.1037/hea0001512. Epub 2025 May 5.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 40323828 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

IRB# 19-001945

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id