Clincosm LogoSign in Get a demo

Brief Trainings to Buffer Against Acute Stress Effects

Sponsor
University of Wisconsin, Madison (Other)
Overall Status
Completed
CT.gov ID
NCT02214264
Collaborator
(none)
172
Enrollment
1
Location
4
Arms
7
Actual Duration (Months)
24.7
Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of several brief trainings based on contemplative practices and positive psychology to buffer against the negative effects that acute stress has on behavior and cognitive abilities. The investigators hypothesize that training will buffer against negative effects of acute stress.

Condition or Disease Intervention/Treatment Phase
  • Behavioral: Loving-Kindness meditation training
  • Behavioral: Breath Awareness meditation training
  • Behavioral: Gratitude
  • Behavioral: Control
 N/A

Detailed Description

Participants will be taught a stress reducing training (breath awareness, loving kindness practice, gratitude exercise) and will practice using this technique for 10-15 minutes. Following this, all participants will undergo the Cold Pressor Task (CPT) for up to 3 minutes.

Before and after these tasks, participant data related to attention, working memory, self regulation, affect, and prosociality will be collected.

Study Design

Study Type:
Interventional
Actual Enrollment :
172 participants
Allocation:
Randomized
Intervention Model:
Parallel Assignment
Masking:
None (Open Label)
Primary Purpose:
Basic Science
Official Title:
Brief Trainings to Buffer Against Acute Stress Effects
Actual Study Start Date :
Oct 1, 2014
Actual Primary Completion Date :
May 1, 2015
Actual Study Completion Date :
May 1, 2015

Arms and Interventions

Arm Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: Loving-Kindness training

Participants receive Loving-Kindness meditation training for approximately 12 minutes.

Behavioral: Loving-Kindness meditation training
Participants undergo training for approximately 12 minutes. Training involves guided reflections and intentions related to feeling loving-kindness towards the self and others.
Experimental: Breath Awareness training

Participants receive Breath Awareness meditation training for approximately 12 minutes.

Behavioral: Breath Awareness meditation training
Participants undergo training for approximately 12 minutes. Training involves guided awareness focused on sensations of breathing.
Experimental: Gratitude training

Participants will receive Gratitude training for approximately 12 minutes.

Behavioral: Gratitude
Participants undergo training for approximately 12 minutes. Training involves reflections of gratitude for people, events, and things in one's life.
Other: Control

Participants write and then think about the physical space in which they live (i.e., their home) for approximately 12 minutes.

Behavioral: Control
Participants will write and then think about the physical space in which they live (i.e., their home) for approximately 12 minutes.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

  1. Change from baseline performance on Operational Span task [Baseline and 10 minutes following post stress induction]

  2. Change from baseline in time spent on hand grip self regulation task [Baseline and 30 minutes post stress induction]

  3. Change from baseline on likeability ratings of neutral stimuli [Baseline and 1 minute post stress induction]

  4. Number of trials completed in optional Generosity task [40 minutes post stress induction]

  5. Positive and Negative Affect Schedule ratings at baseline [Baseline]

  6. Positive and Negative Affect Schedule ratings after pre-test measures [2 minutes before training]

  7. Positive and Negative Affect Schedule ratings after training [1 minute after training]

  8. Positive and Negative Affect Schedule ratings after stress induction [1 minute after stress induction]

  9. Positive and Negative Affect Schedule ratings after post-test [1 minute after post-test measures]

  10. Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test at baseline [Baseline]

  11. Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test after pre-test measures [2 minutes before training]

  12. Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test after training [1 minute after training]

  13. Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test after stress induction [1 minute after stress induction]

  14. Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test after post-test [1 minute after post-test]

Secondary Outcome Measures

  1. Participant interest in participating in future training [40 minutes post stress induction]

    Interest will be rated using a visual analog scale.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:
18 Years and Older
Sexes Eligible for Study:
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Yes
Inclusion Criteria:
  • undergraduate psychology recruitment pool
Exclusion Criteria:
  • non-native English speakers, pregnant women

Contacts and Locations

Locations

Site City State Country Postal Code
1 University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison Wisconsin United States 53705

Sponsors and Collaborators

  • University of Wisconsin, Madison

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Stacey Schaefer, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

None provided.
Responsible Party:
University of Wisconsin, Madison
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT02214264
Other Study ID Numbers:
  • 2014-0572
  • MLK2014
First Posted:
Aug 12, 2014
Last Update Posted:
May 23, 2019
Last Verified:
May 1, 2019

Study Results

No Results Posted as of May 23, 2019