The Kiss of Kindness Study II

NCT04013451 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 114103
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 112
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The objective of this study is to assess the impact of engaging in deliberate acts of kindness on resilience (primary outcome); social interaction anxiety and affect (secondary outcomes); and mood (exploratory outcome) of undergraduate and graduate students at Western University (UWO). Recruitment of 200 participants consisting of 150 full-time undergraduate and 50 graduate students, randomized to either the intervention (n=100) or control group (n=100) will be achieved via a mass email to all full-time students at UWO. Both intervention and control groups will receive an email with access to a relaxation and stress management booklet from UWO's Wellness Education Centre (http://studentexperience.uwo.ca/docs/RelaxationAndStressManagement.pdf). In addition, the intervention group will be asked to (1) complete and log/submit a minimum of three deliberate acts of kindness per day for one month, and (2) join the study-dedicated online site to connect with, support, and share experiences and ideas with each other around acts of kindness. Individuals in the intervention group will also receive a list of deliberate acts of kindness ideas, for reference. Baseline, immediate post intervention, and three-months post intervention data will be collected using previously validated questionnaires associated with each outcome of interest, and posted to Qualtrics, an online survey tool. Additionally, immediately following the intervention and 3 months post intervention all participants will complete an open-ended question asking them to describe their overall experience being involved in the study. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis will occur upon the completion of the study.

Conditions

Anxiety; Stress; Mood; Affect

Keywords

kindness; social interaction anxiety; mood; affect; resilience; undergraduate students; graduate students

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Resilience (Brief Resilience Scale)

  The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) includes 6-items; items 1, 3, and 5 are positively worded and items 2, 4, and 6 are negatively worded. Participants will be asked the extent to which they agree or disagree with the statements using a 5-point scale; 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, and 5 = strongly agree. The BRS is scored by reverse coding items 2, 4, and 6, such that 5 = strongly disagree, 4 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 2 = agree, and 1 = strongly agree. The mean of the six items is then determined to score the scale.

  Change from baseline resilience at immediate post-intervention and 3-month post-intervention

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Social interaction anxiety (Social Interaction Anxiety Scale-Straightforward)

  Change from baseline social interaction anxiety at immediate post-intervention and 3-month post-intervention

• Affect (International Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Short Form)

  Change from baseline affect at immediate post-intervention and 3-month post-intervention

Other Outcomes (1)

• Mood (Brief Mood Introspection Scale)

  Change from baseline mood at immediate post-intervention and 3-month post-intervention

Study Arms (2)

Intervention Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants allocated to the intervention group will participate in the intervention (acts of kindness).

Behavioral: Acts of kindness

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants allocated to the control group will not participate in the intervention and will act as the comparison condition.

Interventions

Acts of kindness BEHAVIORAL

Both intervention and control groups will receive an email with access to a relaxation and stress management booklet from Western University's (UWO) Wellness Education Centre (http://studentexperience.uwo.ca/docs/RelaxationAndStressManagement.pdf). In addition, the intervention group will be asked to (1) complete and log/submit a minimum of three deliberate acts of kindness per day for one month, and (2) join the study-dedicated online site to connect with, support, and share experiences and ideas with each other around acts of kindness.

Intervention Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• full-time undergraduate or graduate students at Western University (UWO) and/or the affiliate schools (Kings, Brescia, Huron)
• English-speaking

You may not qualify if:

• non-English-speaking (i.e. unable to understand and complete surveys/questionnaires)
• part-time students

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Western University, Canada: lead

Study Sites (1)

Western University

London, Ontario, N6A 3K7, Canada

Location

Related Publications (16)

• Patel V, Flisher AJ, Hetrick S, McGorry P. Mental health of young people: a global public-health challenge. Lancet. 2007 Apr 14;369(9569):1302-1313. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60368-7.

  PMID: 17434406 BACKGROUND

• Dachew BA, Azale Bisetegn T, Berhe Gebremariam R. Prevalence of mental distress and associated factors among undergraduate students of University of Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia: a cross-sectional institutional based study. PLoS One. 2015 Mar 20;10(3):e0119464. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0119464. eCollection 2015.

  PMID: 25794278 BACKGROUND

• Adlaf EM, Gliksman L, Demers A, Newton-Taylor B. The prevalence of elevated psychological distress among Canadian undergraduates: findings from the 1998 Canadian Campus Survey. J Am Coll Health. 2001 Sep;50(2):67-72. doi: 10.1080/07448480109596009.

  PMID: 11590985 BACKGROUND

• Association, American College Health, E. (2016). ACHA - National College Health Assessment II: Ontario Canada Reference Group Executive Summary Spring 2016. American College Health Association, 1-18.

  BACKGROUND

• Evans TM, Bira L, Gastelum JB, Weiss LT, Vanderford NL. Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education. Nat Biotechnol. 2018 Mar 6;36(3):282-284. doi: 10.1038/nbt.4089. No abstract available.

  PMID: 29509732 BACKGROUND

• Paviglianiti, N. C., & Irwin, J. D. (2017). Students ' Experiences of a Voluntary Random Acts of Kindness Health Promotion Project, 1(August), 1-23

  BACKGROUND

• Lyubomirsky, S., & Della Porta, M. D. (2010). Boosting happiness, buttressing resilience. Handbook of adult resilience, 450-464.

  BACKGROUND

• Rossouw, P. J., & Rossouw, J. G. (2016). The predictive 6-factor resilience scale: Neurobiological fundamentals and organizational application. International Journal of Neuropsychotherapy, 4(1), 31-45.

  BACKGROUND

• Lyubomksky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 111-131. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.111

  BACKGROUND

• Cutler J, Campbell-Meiklejohn D. A comparative fMRI meta-analysis of altruistic and strategic decisions to give. Neuroimage. 2019 Jan 1;184:227-241. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.09.009. Epub 2018 Sep 7.

  PMID: 30195947 BACKGROUND

• Thorne, S., Kirkham, S. R., & O'Flynn-Magee, K. (2004). The analytic challenge in interpretive description. International journal of qualitative methods, 3(1), 1-11.

  BACKGROUND

• The Unviersity of Western Ontario (N.D.). Relaxation and Stress Management. http://studentexperience.uwo.ca/docs /RelaxationAndStress Management.pdf

  BACKGROUND

• Trew, J. L., & Alden, L. E. (2015). Kindness reduces avoidance goals in socially anxious individuals. Motivation and emotion, 39(6), 892-907.

  BACKGROUND

• Smith BW, Dalen J, Wiggins K, Tooley E, Christopher P, Bernard J. The brief resilience scale: assessing the ability to bounce back. Int J Behav Med. 2008;15(3):194-200. doi: 10.1080/10705500802222972.

  PMID: 18696313 BACKGROUND

• Mayer JD, Gaschke YN. The experience and meta-experience of mood. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988 Jul;55(1):102-11. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.55.1.102.

  PMID: 3418484 BACKGROUND

• Patton, M. Q. (2002). Two decades of developments in qualitative inquiry: A personal, experiential perspective. Qualitative social work, 1(3), 261-283.

  BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anxiety Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Jennifer D Irwin, PhD

  Western University, Canada

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

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: Full-time Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 28, 2019
• First Posted: July 9, 2019
• Study Start: September 27, 2019
• Primary Completion: February 18, 2020
• Study Completion: March 23, 2020
• Last Updated: April 29, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL
• Time Frame: The intervention will take place during the month of November 2019 and the trial protocol will be submitted for publication; manuscript preparation will occur starting April 2020.

Locations

CA (1)