Clinical Trial: Evaluating a Brief Self-Affirmation Intervention to Increase College Students' Intentions to Reduce Internet Use: A Randomized Controlled Trial (Japan)

Tokyo, Jan. 21 -- UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR) received information related to the study (UMIN000060393) titled 'Using a Brief Self-Affirmation Intervention to Increase College Students' Intentions to Reduce Internet Use' on Jan. 20.

Study Type: Interventional

Study Design: Basic Design - Factorial Randomization - Randomized Blinding - Double blind -all involved are blinded Control - Active

Primary Sponsor: Institute - The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Condition: Condition - Smartphone overuse or dependence Classification by malignancy - Others Genomic information - NO

Objective: Narrative objectives1 - This study is the first to evaluate the efficacy of a brief, digital self-affirmation intervention on message acceptance and behavioral intention to reduce Internet use among a large sample of Chinese college students, while exploring the moderating roles of demographics, risk status, and behavioral characteristics. Basic objectives2 - Safety

Intervention: Interventions/Control_1 - Participants initially completed baseline assessments of demographic characteristics, risk perception, and behavioral variables related to Internet addiction. Participants in the SAI group completed the Character Strength Questionnaire, which functioned as a mindset manipulation by directing attention to their personal strengths rather than measuring them. Participants were presented with the following prompt: "Please choose one option in response to each statement, if you are not sure choose the response that most closely reflects your thoughts. All of the questions reflect statements that many people would find desirable, but we want you to answer only in terms of whether the statement describes what you are like. Please be as honest and accurate as possible." They rated the extent to which 32 positive traits or characteristics apply to them (e.g., "I always get things done" and "I value my ability to think critically") on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very much unlike me) to 5 (very much like me). These items were developed to encompass a broad spectrum of values and personal strengths. Immediately post-task, all participants completed a 4-item manipulation check (e.g., "The activity made me think of positive aspects of myself, think of core values of myself, focus on what I am good at, realize what I value") rated on a 5-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating greater self-affirmation. Interventions/Control_2 - Participants initially completed baseline assessments of demographic characteristics, risk perception, and behavioral variables related to Internet addiction. Participants in the control condition completed a closely time- and attention-matched task, rating the same set of items, but about a celebrity. As this study represents the first application of this tool within an Eastern cultural context, the original Western celebrity reference was adapted to a comparable Chinese celebrity (both are athletes), preserving the methodological integrity while ensuring cultural relevance. Immediately post-task, all participants completed a 4-item manipulation check (e.g., "The activity made me think of positive aspects of myself, think of core values of myself, focus on what I am good at, realize what I value") rated on a 5-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating greater self-affirmation.

Eligibility: Age-lower limit - 18 years-old = 18 years; 2. current enrollment as a college student at a public university in Xi'an, Shanxi Province, China; 3. giving consent for participation. Participants were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling. Key exclusion criteria - 1:presence or history of neurologicalor neurodegenerative disorder 2:sensory impairments (e.g., vision or hearing problems) that preclude assessments 3:having a diagnosis of intellectual disability (IQ<70) or a pervasive developmental disorder (e.g., autism spectrum disorder) 4:having a current diagnosis of substance use disorder (excluding Cannabis and Tobacco in the past months). Target Size - 400

Recruitment Status: Recruitment status - Completed Date of protocol fixation - 2023 Year 01 Month 19 Day Date of IRB - 2023 Year 01 Month 19 Day Anticipated trial start date - 2023 Year 02 Month 01 Day Last follow-up date - 2025 Year 12 Month 31 Day

To know more, visit https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000069072

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.