A Single-session Growth Mindset Intervention for Children and Young People With Mental Health Difficulties

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

SUSPENDED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

150 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2020-11-10

Study Completion Date

2022-12-01

Brief Summary

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The present study aims to evaluate whether an online, self-administered, single session intervention (SSI) increases children and adolescents' perceptions of control over external threats and their emotional experience and reduces self-reported symptoms of anxiety and low mood. Children and adolescents, identified by their parents as having difficulties with low mood or anxiety, will be randomised to receive either the growth mindset of personality intervention or an active comparison condition. Whether parental low mood and anxiety has a moderating impact on outcomes will also be investigated.

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Detailed Description

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Despite considerable evidence for the efficacy of psychological interventions for anxiety and depression in children and young people (CYP) (James et al. 2015; Goodyer, 2017) a significant proportion of CYP fail to access such treatments (Children's Commissioner for England 2016). Reasons for this implementation gap are many but include lack of accessibility to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) which are operating with long waiting times, high symptom thresholds and constraints in terms of what they are able to offer (Murphy and Fonagy, 2013). In order to reduce the need to access gap, particularly for young people experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression but whom may not reach service thresholds, there is a need for the development of novel interventions which are cost-effective and can be disseminated at scale (Milat, King, Bauman, \& Redman, 2012; Kazdin 2019). Single session interventions (SSI), particularly those which can be completed without therapist guidance, offer a scalable solution and have been found to be effective for a range of psychological difficulties in CYP (Schleider \& Weisz 2017). One such SSI targets the implicit beliefs CYP hold about the malleability of their personality (known as their 'mindset') and has been found to reduce adolescent depressive symptoms and parent-reported anxiety over a 9-month period, relative to an active control condition (Schleider and Weisz, 2018). Investigation into trajectories of change found that changes in anxiety and depression were predicted by immediately post intervention changes in perceived primary and secondary control, indicating a potential underlying mechanism. Replication of these findings, along with exploration of predictors of treatment response and diverse opportunities for implementation is required and is the aim of the present study.

This study will test whether an online, self-administered, growth mindset SSI increases perceived primary and secondary control and reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents aged between 8 and 16, relative to an active "supportive therapy control" condition. Outcome measures will be completed immediately post intervention. A secondary aim for the study will be to investigate the role of parental symptoms of anxiety or low mood as a potential moderator of treatment outcome. In order to achieve these aims, CYP and their parents or caregivers will be recruited through online advertisements, charities and schools.

Conditions

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Anxiety Anxiety Disorders Depression Low Mood

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Participants will be randomly allocated to either the growth mindset intervention or the supportive therapy control condition.

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

TRIPLE

Participants Investigators Outcome Assessors

Participants will not be informed about the contents of the two different programmes and therefore will be blind to group allocation. Randomisation, questionnaire and intervention delivery will be fully automated through the Qualtrics platform and therefore researchers will also be blind to group allocation.

Study Groups

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Growth Mindset Intervention

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Growth Mindset Online Single-Session Intervention

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

During the self-administered single session intervention participants are provided with basic information about the brain and are introduced to the concept of neuroplasticity. The concept of neuroplasticity is applied to personal traits, such as shyness, anxiety and sadness, and young people are taught that these traits are the result of thoughts and feelings in our brain and are amenable to change. Participants are presented with scientific information and research evidence to support the idea that people have the potential to change and are given vignettes from older children detailing how they have used a growth mindset to overcome difficulties. The intervention takes approximately 20-30 minutes to complete.

Supportive Therapy Intervention

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Supportive Therapy Online Single-Session Intervention (Control)

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The single session supportive therapy intervention was designed to be structurally comparable to the growth mindset intervention, including the same number of reading and writing activities. Participants were provided with information about emotions and the benefits of expressing emotions. Vignettes from older children described times they had shared their emotions with friends and family members.

Interventions

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Growth Mindset Online Single-Session Intervention

During the self-administered single session intervention participants are provided with basic information about the brain and are introduced to the concept of neuroplasticity. The concept of neuroplasticity is applied to personal traits, such as shyness, anxiety and sadness, and young people are taught that these traits are the result of thoughts and feelings in our brain and are amenable to change. Participants are presented with scientific information and research evidence to support the idea that people have the potential to change and are given vignettes from older children detailing how they have used a growth mindset to overcome difficulties. The intervention takes approximately 20-30 minutes to complete.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Supportive Therapy Online Single-Session Intervention (Control)

The single session supportive therapy intervention was designed to be structurally comparable to the growth mindset intervention, including the same number of reading and writing activities. Participants were provided with information about emotions and the benefits of expressing emotions. Vignettes from older children described times they had shared their emotions with friends and family members.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Young person aged between the ages of 8 and 16 years-old
* Young person has difficulties with low mood or anxiety as identified by a parent or caregiver
* Young person has a parent or caregiver willing to take part in the research
* Both the young person and parent must be able to read and understand English to a level enabling them to access the assessment and intervention