NCT02782611

Brief Summary

Over the past several decades, a new science of subjective well-being has produced insights into the factors that make people happy-from cultivating strong relationships to pursuing the right goals. Drawing on these empirical findings, the investigators created a comprehensive 12-week intervention program, ENHANCE: Enduring Happiness and Continued Self-Enhancement. The investigators multimodal program is designed to teach people essential skills in order to produce sustainable changes in behavior and, as a result, long-lasting increases in happiness. To test the effectiveness of ENHANCE, the investigators designed a six-month randomized clinical trial. Participants will be assigned to an active treatment group or a waiting group control. They will complete baseline assessments, and follow-up assessment at three and six months after the start of the intervention. These assessments will contain measures of subjective well-being and objective measures of health, as well as a variety of psychological mediators (e.g., psychological needs) and moderators (e.g. personality). The investigators will thus be able to explore not only whether ENHANCE works to improve well-being, but also why and how ENHANCE works.

Trial Health

90
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
154

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Apr 2016

Geographic Reach
2 countries

2 active sites

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

April 1, 2016

Completed
6 days until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

April 7, 2016

Completed
2 months until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

May 25, 2016

Completed
1 year until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

June 1, 2017

Completed
29 days until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

June 30, 2017

Completed
Last Updated

April 13, 2018

Status Verified

April 1, 2018

Enrollment Period

1.2 years

First QC Date

April 7, 2016

Last Update Submit

April 11, 2018

Conditions

Keywords

HappinessSubjective Well-BeingPsychological FlourishingWell-BeingHealthBehavioral ChangeLife SatisfactionAffectEmotionGoalsMeaning in Life

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

  • Change from Baseline Satisfaction With Life

    Satisfaction With Life Scale

    Baseline, 3, 6 months

  • Change from Baseline in Positive Affect

    Scale of Positive and Negative Experience: SPANE

    Baseline, 3, 6 months

  • Change from Baseline in Negative Affect

    Scale of Positive and Negative Experience: SPANE

    Baseline, 3, 6 months

  • Change from Baseline in Meaning in Life

    Meaning in Life Questionnaire

    Baseline, 3, 6 months

  • Change from Baseline in Thriving

    Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving

    Baseline, 3, 6 months

Secondary Outcomes (13)

  • Change from Baseline Positive and Negative Memories Generated by Participants

    Baseline, 3, 6 months

  • Change from Baseline Peer Reports of Positive Behaviors

    Baseline, 3, 6 months

  • Change from Baseline Peer Reports of Satisfaction With Life

    Baseline, 3, 6 months

  • Change from Baseline Peer Reports of Positive Affect

    Baseline, 3, 6 months

  • Change from Baseline Peer Reports of Negative Affect

    Baseline, 3, 6 months

  • +8 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (2)

Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL

ENHANCE (Enduring Happiness and Continued Self-Enhancement) is a 12-week program that includes an introductory session, 10 weekly sessions focusing on different happiness principles, and a final session focusing on integrating aspects of the program and continuing to practice these principles moving forward. Through completing this program, participants will gain an education on a wide-range of happiness principles and an arsenal of strategies for developing happiness boosting habits and skills.

Behavioral: ENHANCE: Enduring Happiness and Continued Self-Enhancement

Waiting Group Control

NO INTERVENTION

The waiting group control will complete the same assessments as the experimental group but without receiving the intervention.

Interventions

ENHANCE is a skill-based intervention to teach people a wide variety of strategies that have been shown to boost happiness. Each session of ENHANCE follows a similar format targeted to address three central goals. First, in each session, participants will complete an active learning module designed to educate participants about one of the ten overarching topics featured in this program (e.g., goals, close relationships). Next, participants will engage in activities that put these principles into practice. Finally, this program is designed to encourage a skill-building mindset by helping participants develop habits to integrate these principles into maintained activity in their daily lives moving forward.

Treatment

Eligibility Criteria

Age25 Years - 75 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Participants ages 25 to 75

You may not qualify if:

  • Major Depression

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (2)

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, Virginia, 22904-4400, United States

Location

University of British Columbia

Kelowna, British Columbia, V1V1V7, Canada

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Kushlev K, Heintzelman SJ, Lutes LD, Wirtz D, Kanippayoor JM, Leitner D, Diener E. Does Happiness Improve Health? Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial. Psychol Sci. 2020 Jul;31(7):807-821. doi: 10.1177/0956797620919673. Epub 2020 Jun 24.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Personal Satisfaction

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Postdoctoral Research Associate

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

April 7, 2016

First Posted

May 25, 2016

Study Start

April 1, 2016

Primary Completion

June 1, 2017

Study Completion

June 30, 2017

Last Updated

April 13, 2018

Record last verified: 2018-04

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

Locations