Harnessing Generativity Among Young Adult Cancer Survivors

NCT04272346 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: IRB# 19-001945
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 204
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Short, online interventions designed to enhance well-being may be particularly amenable for use with adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors (age 15-39 at diagnosis), an understudied group in the cancer community. The benefits of psychological well-being on both physical and mental health outcomes are well-known and, in recent years, researchers and policymakers have begun to view the period of adolescence and young adulthood as a window of opportunity to instantiate lasting habits and behaviors. Growing evidence suggests that prosocial behavior-a behavior that can be reliably manipulated through a short online intervention-may have beneficial effects on well-being and physical health. This has yet to be tested in AYA cancer survivors. Drawing from the literature on positive psychology and prosocial interventions, the proposed study will test the feasibility and efficacy of an 8-week online peer helping intervention designed to increase well-being among AYA cancer survivors. AYA cancer survivors (n = 176) will be recruited and randomized to one of three conditions: a peer helping condition, a cancer-specific writing plus peer helping condition, or a cancer-specific writing condition (control condition). The second group was added in response to a previous study, which found that writing about one's experience prior to helping other survivors may be more beneficial. Participants will complete a weekly writing activity once per week for 4 weeks, with instructions administered via a weekly email. Participants will also complete online assessments before, during, and after the 4-week intervention period.

Conditions

Cancer; Young Adults

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in psychological well-being

  Well-being within the past month will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 1-month follow-up via the 14-item Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF). The MHC-SF is comprised of three empirically derived subscales: the 3-item Emotional Well-Being Subscale, the 6-item Psychological Well-Being Subscale, and the 5-item Social Well-Being Subscale. Higher scores on each subscale, and the total score overall (range: 0-56), indicate greater well-being.

  At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up

Secondary Outcomes (12)

• Change in depressive symptoms

  At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up

• Change in anxiety

  At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up

• Change in perceived impact of cancer

  At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up

• Change in health-related quality of life

  At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up

• Change in pain intensity and interference

  At the baseline survey (the day the intervention begins), at the post-intervention survey (1 week after the final writing assignment), and at the 1-month follow-up

Other Outcomes (1)

• Prosocial Tendencies (Moderator)

  At the baseline survey (on the day of the first writing activity)

Study Arms (3)

Peer helping condition

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the peer helping condition will be asked to write about their cancer experience with an emphasis on using the experience to benefit a newly-diagnosed AYA cancer patient.

Behavioral: Writing for others

Processing + peer helping condition

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the processing + peer helping condition will be asked to first write about their deepest thoughts and feelings about their cancer experience (3 writings), then share advice to a newly-diagnosed AYA cancer patient (final writing).

Behavioral: Processing + writing for others

Facts-only writing condition

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Participants in the facts-only writing condition will be asked to write about their cancer experience. Unlike the previous conditions, they will not be instructed to write for the benefit of a newly-diagnosed AYA cancer patient.

Behavioral: Facts-only writing

Interventions

Writing for others BEHAVIORAL

Participants will receive general instructions for completing the writing sessions and will be asked to write for at least 20 minutes per session. Topics covered in each session will vary and are related to common cancer-related themes (e.g., receiving a diagnosis, undergoing treatment, etc.). Participants will be instructed not to worry about grammar, spelling, or sentence structure and reminded that their responses will remain anonymous. Writing sessions (four in total) will be spaced 1 week apart, and participants will be instructed to write about their experience for the benefit of a newly-diagnosed cancer patient.

Peer helping condition

Processing + writing for others BEHAVIORAL

Participants will receive general instructions for completing the writing sessions and will be asked to write for at least 20 minutes per session. Topics covered in each session will vary and are related to common cancer-related themes (e.g., receiving a diagnosis, undergoing treatment, etc.). Participants will be instructed not to worry about grammar, spelling, or sentence structure and reminded that their responses will remain anonymous. Writing sessions (four in total) will be spaced 1 week apart. For the first three writing sessions, participants will write their deepest thoughts and feelings regarding cancer diagnosis and treatment. In the final writing session, participants will be instructed to write about their experience for the benefit of a newly-diagnosed cancer patient.

Processing + peer helping condition

Facts-only writing BEHAVIORAL

Participants will receive general instructions for completing the writing sessions and will be asked to write for at least 20 minutes per session. Topics covered in each session will vary and are related to common cancer-related themes (e.g., receiving a diagnosis, undergoing treatment, etc.). Participants will be instructed not to worry about grammar, spelling, or sentence structure and reminded that their responses will remain anonymous. Writing sessions (four in total) will be spaced 1 week apart. Unlike the previous conditions, participants will not be instructed to write about their experience for the benefit of a newly-diagnosed cancer patient.

Facts-only writing condition

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 39 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• diagnosis of cancer (any type) between the ages of 15 and 39 years
• have completed primary treatment and are in remission (partial or complete)
• between the ages of 18 and 39 years
• fluent in English
• have access to the internet and email.

You may not qualify if:

• none

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, Los Angeles: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California, 90095, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Haydon MD, Stanton AL, Hoyt MA, Bower JE. A randomized controlled trial testing the benefits of prosocial writing in young adult survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer. Health Psychol. 2025 Sep;44(9):886-897. doi: 10.1037/hea0001512. Epub 2025 May 5.

  PMID: 40323828 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Neoplasms

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 13, 2020
• First Posted: February 17, 2020
• Study Start: August 17, 2020
• Primary Completion: April 7, 2021
• Study Completion: April 7, 2021
• Last Updated: April 27, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)