Well-being Training for Adolescent Depressive Symptoms
Purpose
This study is being done to see if the Healthy Minds Program app helps adolescents with elevated depressive symptoms. Up to 200 participants will be on study for 20 weeks.
Condition
- Depression
Eligibility
- Eligible Ages
- Between 14 Years and 19 Years
- Eligible Genders
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Criteria
1. Age 14 to 19
2. Currently in high school (i.e., 9th to 12th grade) or if not attending school, would
be in high school if enrolled
3. Proficient in English
4. Able to understand and provide informed consent (greater than or equal to 18 years
old) or assent and parent/guardian consent (if less than 18 years old)
5. If on a psychotropic meditation, has been receiving a stable dose for greater than
or equal to 4 weeks
6. Willing and able to complete all study procedures
Exclusion Criteria:
1. Has received a high school diploma or a high school equivalency diploma (HSED or
GED)
2. Weekly or more frequent meditation practice
3. Prior use of the Healthy Minds Program app
4. Prior use of the water tracking app
5. PROMIS Depression Scale T-score less than 60 or sum of Patient Health
Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) less than 2
6. Endorses current suicidal thoughts on the baseline screen
7. Self-reported history of psychosis or mania
8. Currently receiving, history of receiving, or planning to start any of the following
types of therapy within the next 5 months: Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT),
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and other mindfulness-based therapies (e.g.,
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy)
Study Design
- Phase
- N/A
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel Assignment
- Intervention Model Description
- This is a randomized active-controlled wait-list trial
- Primary Purpose
- Treatment
- Masking
- Double (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Arm Groups
| Arm | Description | Assigned Intervention |
|---|---|---|
|
Experimental Healthy Minds Program (HMP) App |
The HMP is a smartphone meditation-based well-being training. |
|
|
Active Comparator Hydro Coach active control group (HC) |
The water tracking app is a publicly available, user-designed hydration app that prompts users to enter in daily liquid consumption and provides optimized hydration recommendations based on user input. |
|
Recruiting Locations
More Details
- Status
- Recruiting
- Sponsor
- University of Wisconsin, Madison
Detailed Description
Participants will be randomized into one of two groups: Healthy Minds Program intervention group (HMP) or a water tracking active control group. The groups will use different mobile health apps for eight weeks. All participants will complete assessments pre-intervention, after weeks 2, 4, and 6 of the intervention, at week 8 (post-intervention), and at week 20 (follow-up). Participants will complete a short daily diary set of questions on their social interactions that day. Participants will wear a Biostrap band for continuous collection of heart rate, movement, and daily sleep indices, and geolocation data will be extracted from participant phones using the FollowMee app. Participants will receive access to the app they were not assigned to after follow-up. Primary Objective - Assess acceptability and preliminary efficacy of an 8-week mHealth meditation training program on depressive symptoms. Secondary Objectives - Investigate effects of the meditation training program on symptoms of anxiety, behavior (social isolation), psychophysiological processes related to health and disease (e.g., sleep). Test changes in behavior and psychophysiology as mechanisms of improved mental health. Test whether improved mental health is associated with improved academic outcomes.
