Treatment Outcomes and Predictive Factors of the Effectiveness and Adherence of Moodpep: an Online Self-help Intervention for College Students With Depressive Symptoms

NCT ID: NCT07030244

Last Updated: 2025-06-27

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 1050 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2020-06-01
• Study Completion Date: 2024-05-31

Brief Summary

Depressive symptoms are prevalent among college students and often remain untreated. E-health interventions may help overcome treatment barriers by offering accessible and flexible support. This study will evaluate the effects of Moodpep, a guided online intervention for college students with depressive symptoms, and will examine predictors of treatment success and adherence.

Conditions

Internet-based Intervention; Depression; Adherence; Predictors; Students; Effectiveness

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Moodpep

Moodpep is an online self-help intervention to reduce depressive symptoms in college students (Garnefski & Kraaij, 2023). The intervention is based on CBT and consists of four main components in eight modules: behavioral activation, relaxation, changing negative cognitions and goal attainment. Students were advised to work on the intervention for one to two hours each week for about six to eight weeks.

During the intervention, students received coaching via text messages on the platform. Coaches are trained Master's students in clinical psychology and they provided feedback on the assignments that students completed and motivated students to continue the intervention.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Moodpep

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

See arm description

Interventions

Moodpep

See arm description

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. age 16 or older;

2. informed consent was provided;

3. reading Dutch and/or English fluently;

4. having access to a device with internet (e.g., computer, laptop);

5. providing complete data at baseline; and

6. no severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 total score > 20) or risk of suicidal behavior (based on 3 questions).

This last criterion was removed on May 9, 2023. After data collection, for statistical and content-related reasons, PhD students were removed from the analysis, just as students below 18 and above 30 years old, students who indicated their gender was other and students who completed less than 1 module of the intervention. This was done because the focus of the study was on students and not PhD students who are employees in the Netherlands, most students are between 18 and 30 years old, not enough students of another gender participated to include them separately in the analyses, and we were interested in the effects of Moodpep for students who started the intervention.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 16 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

VU University of Amsterdam

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Maastricht University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Utrecht University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Amsterdam

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Erasmus University Rotterdam

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Avans University of applied sciences

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

InHolland University of Applied Sciences

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Universiteit Leiden

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Sanne van Luenen

Principal investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

VU Amsterdam

Amsterdam, , Netherlands

Leiden University

Leiden, , Netherlands

Countries

Netherlands

Other Identifiers

Effects of Moodpep

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id