The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effects of using a religious mobile app (i.e., Pray.com) in participants who have high levels of stress. The main question it aims to answer is: •What are the effects of using Pray.com on stress in individuals who report high levels of stress? Participants will complete measures at baseline (i.e., Time 1), four-weeks (i.e., Time 2), and eight weeks (i.e., Time 3). Participants will be randomly assigned one of three conditions: (1) autonomous use (directed to use the app daily), (2) meditative prayer condition (directed to use this feature of the app daily), or (3) wait-list control condition.
Participants (N = 300) will be adults recruited through social media and faith-based organizations. Participants will first complete a brief screener to determine eligibility for the study. Eligible participants will be invited to participate in the study. Participants will read an informed consent document that will give information about the study and their rights as participants. Participants will be given the opportunity to contact the research team and ask questions. If they agree to participate, participants will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions. Condition 1 is the control condition (i.e., no intervention condition). In Condition 2, participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to use the app five days per week (i.e., autonomous use condition). In Condition 3, participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to listen to a meditation prayer five days per week (i.e., meditative prayer condition). Participants will receive periodic reminders on their phone if they have not used the app. All participants will fill out a series of online questionnaires monthly for a two-month time-period (i.e., Baseline / Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3). Participants will receive a link from the research team when it is time for them to fill out their questionnaire via a secure online data collection portal. After finishing the study, participants will be debriefed and given the opportunity to ask questions about their participation.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to use the app five days per week.
Participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to listen to a meditation prayer five days per week.
Biola University
La Mirada, California, United States
Perceived Stress Scale
minimum value: 0, maximum value: 4, higher average item scores indicate higher levels of stress (i.e., worse outcome)
Time frame: 2 months
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale
minimum value: 0, maximum value: 3, higher average item scores indicate higher levels of anxiety/depression (i.e., worse outcome)
Time frame: 2 months
Mindful Attention Awareness Scale
minimum value: 1, maximum value: 6, higher average item scores indicate higher levels of mindfulness (i.e., better outcome)
Time frame: 2 months
Copenhagen Burnout Inventory--personal Subscale
minimum value: 0, maximum value: 4, higher average item scores indicate higher levels of burnout (i.e., worse outcome)
Time frame: 2 months
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory
Each component score of the scale ranges from 0 to 3, with 3 indicating the greatest dysfunction or disturbance. The seven component scores are then summed to obtain a total score, which ranges from 0 to 21. Higher scores indicate poorer sleep quality, with a score greater than 5 suggesting significant sleep difficulties
Time frame: 2 months
Religious Commitment Inventory
minimum value: 1, maximum value: 5, higher average item scores indicate higher levels of religious commitment (i.e., better outcome)
Time frame: 2 months
Spiritual Well-Being Scale
minimum value: 1, maximum value: 6, higher average item scores indicate higher levels of spiritual well-being (i.e., better outcome)
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Masking
NONE
Enrollment
312
Time frame: 2 months
Satisfaction With Life Scale
minimum value: 1, maximum value: 7, higher average item scores indicate higher levels of satisfaction with life (i.e., better outcome)
Time frame: 2 months
Productivity
Participants' level of productivity was measured by three items (Vogel et al., 2022): Participants were asked to rate their responses on a scale from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. Participants' mean responses were calculated, with higher scores indicating higher perceived efficiency and productivity
Time frame: 2 months