The goal of this clinical trial is to explore the efficacy of a reflective journaling intervention-"Me Through Time"- in decreasing levels of derailment, and its impact on downstream depressive symptoms.
The population will consist of those who: are considered as emergent adults (18-29 years) with at least moderate to severe depressive symptoms (a score of at least 20 on the BDI-II), moderate anxiety symptoms (a score of at least 10 on the GAD-7), and high levels of derailment (a score of at least 37 on the Derailment Scale). Main research questions are as follows: * Does the "Me Through Time" journaling intervention predict decreased derailment and depressive symptoms at post-assessment compared to the severity of pre-assessment derailment and depressive symptoms? * Are post-assessment derailment and depressive symptoms lower for those who engaged in the "Me Through Time" journaling intervention compared to a control journaling intervention? Participants will be asked to complete structured journal entries over the course of 5 sessions over 2 weeks, whereby each session addresses a different critical time period. These include: (1) first semester of college, (2) high school years, (3) middle school years, (4) early childhood, and finally (5) desired future. Participants will also be tasked with completing several assessment scales both before and after completing the "Me Through Time" journaling experience, as well as at the midway point. The investigators will compare an experimental group engaging in the novel, derailment-focused "Me Through Time" journaling intervention with a control group engaging in a neutral, non-identity-based reflective journaling activity spanning the same time period as the "Me Through Time" intervention to see if post-assessment derailment and depressive symptoms are lower for those who engaged in the "Me Through Time" journaling intervention compared to the control journaling intervention. The investigators hypothesize that those in the experimental condition will endorse significantly lower derailment and depressive symptoms at T2 than those in the control condition. Further, the investigators hypothesize significant decreases in T1 to T2 depressive symptoms and derailment for those in the experimental condition, but not in the control condition.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
116
Experimental group aimed at decreasing anxiety symptoms
Control group
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York, United States
Change from Pre-Assessment in Depressive Symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) at Week 2 (Session 6/Post-Assessment)
The Beck Depression Inventory II is a validated, 21-item self-reported instrument assessing the severity of depression symptomatology in adolescents and adults. Items are summed to create a total score, whereby higher scores indicate higher levels of depressive symptoms. Scores range from 0-63, and a total score of 0-13 is considered minimal range, 14-19 is mild, 20-28 is moderate, and 29-63 is severe.
Time frame: Baseline (Pre-Assessment) and Week 2 (Session 6/Post-Assessment)
Change from Pre-Assessment in Levels of Derailment on the Derailment Scale at Session 5
The Derailment Scale is a validated, 10-item self-reported instrument that measures one's level of derailment - that is, one's perceptions of global change in self and direction. Possible scores range from 10-50, whereby higher scores indicate higher levels of derailment.
Time frame: Pre-Assessment (Baseline) and Session 5
Change from Pre-Assessment in Anxiety Symptoms on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder - 7 (GAD-7) at Week 2 (Session 6/Post-Assessment)
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item is a validated, self-reported instrument that is used to assess symptoms of anxiety based on the generalized anxiety disorder diagnostic criteria described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Possible scores range from 0 to 21, whereby higher score indicate higher levels of anxiety symptoms. Specifically, a raw score of 0-4 is considered minimal range, 5-9 is mild, 10-14 is moderate, and 15-21 is severe.
Time frame: Baseline (Pre-Assessment) and Week 2 (Session 6/Post-Assessment)
Change from Pre-Assessment in Levels of Positive and Negative Affect on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) at Week 2 (Session 6/Post-Assessment)
The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule is a validated, self-reported instrument that is used to measure mood and emotion, specifically positive affect and negative affect. It contains 20 items, 10 of which measure positive affect (e.g., excited, inspired) and the other 10 of which measure negative affect (e.g., upset, afraid). One's score on this instrument is separated into Positive Affect and Negative Affect scores, with a higher score indicating more positive or negative affect, respectively. Scores for both Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scores can range from 10-50.
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Time frame: Baseline (Pre-Assessment) and Week 2 (Session 6/Post-Assessment)
Change from Pre-Assessment in Levels of Perceived Stress on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) at Week 2 (Session 6/Post-Assessment)
The Perceived Stress Scale is a validated, 10-item self-reported instrument that measures the perception of stress; that is, it is a measure of the degree to which situations in one's life are appraised as stressful. Possible scores range from 0-40, with higher scores representing higher levels of stress.
Time frame: Baseline (Pre-Assessment) and Week 2 (Session 6/Post-Assessment)
Change from Pre-Assessment in Levels of Optimism Versus Pessimism on the Life Orientation Test - Revised (LOT - Revised) at Week 2 (Session 6/Post-Assessment
The Life Orientation Test - Revised is a validated, 10-item self-reported instrument that is used to measure individual differences in optimism versus pessimism. Negatively worded items (Items 3, 7, and 9) are reverse coded before scoring. Responses to these items are then summed with the participant's responses to Items 1, 4, and 10 to compute an overall optimism score. Items 2, 5, 6, and 8 are fillers and should not be scored. Thus, scores on this instrument range from 0 to 24, whereby lower scores indicate lower optimism (higher pessimism) and higher scores indicate higher optimism (lower pessimism).
Time frame: Baseline (Pre-Assessment) and Week 2 (Session 6/Post-Assessment)