Youth Compass Plus
YouthCompass+
The Effectiveness of the Youth Compass Plus: The Novel Five-week Web- and Mobile-based Acceptance- and Commitment Therapy Program to Promote Adolescent Psychological Flexibility and Well-being
1 other identifier
interventional
348
1 country
1
Brief Summary
The aim of this randomized control trial is to examine the effectiveness of a novel web- and mobile-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy program (Youth Compass plus) to promote adolescents' psychological flexibility and well-being and subsequently support their successful transition from basic education to upper secondary education. Our aim is also to compare the efficacy of Youth Compass plus using either an eCoach providing automated personal support to the user or an eCoach and a Human Coach providing personal support to the user. Additionally, we will investigate whether the efficacy of the Youth Compass plus varies according to different individual and contextual factors. Using the internet to deliver interventions is assumed to be particularly motivating for youth who enjoy spending time online using different social media. Web-based interventions have several advantages; they can include more information and treatment components than traditionally delivered treatments and they are accessible at any time and place. The five-week structured intervention is delivered using the novel web- and mobile-based program Youth Compass plus. Youth Compass plus has been developed based on the feedback for the Youth COMPASS pilot program (see ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03274934). The exercises of Youth Compass plus have been modified, visual aspects have been improved and new game-based interactive elements have been developed. In the Youth COMPASS pilot study, psychology students acted as (human) coaches for the users. While interaction with a personal coach increases commitment to the program, the need to train and supervise coaches limits large scale dissemination. To provide an alternative that is less demanding in terms of resources, we have developed a chatbot (eCoach) as a new feature within the new Youth Compass plus program. The automated eCoach provides personal support within the program and via text messages. The eCoach provides support and encouragement, reminds about using Youth Compass plus, sends individualized feedback, and recommends different exercises.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Sep 2020
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
April 1, 2020
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
April 9, 2020
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
September 8, 2020
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
December 15, 2020
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
August 31, 2021
CompletedMay 23, 2022
May 1, 2022
3 months
April 1, 2020
May 20, 2022
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (8)
psychological flexibility
Comprehensive assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy processes, CompACT; Francis et al., 2016
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
psychological flexibility
Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (Gillanders et al., 2014)
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
life satisfaction
Satisfaction with Life Scale, SWLS, Diener et al., 1985
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
mental well-being
Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale WEMWBS; THL 2011
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
stress symptoms
Perceived Stress Scale, PSS-10; Cohen et al., 1983
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
anxiety symptoms
short-form of the state scale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI; Marteau \& Becker, 1992
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
depressive symptoms
Depression Scale, DEPS; Salokangas et al., 1995
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
Career choice preparedness
career choice self-efficacy, career-related insecurity, preparation against setbacks, Koivisto et al., 2011
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
Secondary Outcomes (8)
perfectionism
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
self-compassion
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
prosocial aspirations
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
academic buoyancy
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
school well-being
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
- +3 more secondary outcomes
Other Outcomes (4)
learning-related expectations and behaviours
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
educational expectations
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
quality of close relationships
Change from baseline at 2 and 6 months after the intervention
- +1 more other outcomes
Study Arms (3)
face-to-face support and Chatbot online support group
EXPERIMENTALExperimental, Intervention Group A: face-to-face support and Chatbot online support group: 5-week intervention according to ACT principles with the web- and mobile-based Youth Compass plus program, face-to-face support (2 meetings) and weekly online support and feedback from the Chabot eCoach built within the program (one third of the participants is randomly assigned to this group)
only chat-robot online support group
EXPERIMENTALExperimental, Intervention Group B: only chat-robot online support group: 5-week intervention according to ACT principles with the web-and mobile-based Youth Compass plus program, no face-to-face support, and weekly online support and feedback from the chatbot eCoach built within the program (one third of the participants is randomly assigned to this group)
Experimental Control
EXPERIMENTALExperimental Control: Control group, no intervention (one third of the participants is randomly assigned to this group)
Interventions
Behavioral: Structured web- and mobile-based intervention with Youth Compass plus program to support adolescents' psychological flexibility, well-being, and subsequently support successful transition to upper secondary education. The Youth Compass plus is a five-week online program aiming to enhance adolescents' psychological flexibility by guiding adolescents in exploring their values and setting goals and changing behaviors according to their goals (week 1), and learning acceptance, defusion and mindfulness skills (weeks 2-3) and integrating these skills into their personal and social life (weeks 4-5). The participants in this condition receive weekly online support and feedback from the eCoach built within the program. In addition, they meet and get support from their human coach (i.e., psychology student) twice in the face-to-face meetings.
Behavioral: Structured web- and mobile-based intervention with Youth Compass plus program to adolescents' psychological flexibility, well-being, and subsequently support successful transition to upper secondary education. The Youth Compass plus is a five-week online program aiming to enhance adolescents' psychological flexibility by guiding adolescents in exploring their values and setting goals and changing behaviors according to their goals (week 1), and learning acceptance, defusion and mindfulness skills (weeks 2-3) and integrating these skills into their personal and social life (weeks 4-5). The participants in this condition receive weekly online support and feedback from the eCoach built within the program.
Eligibility Criteria
You may not qualify if:
- Approximately 600-1000 Finnish 14-16 year old adolescents from non-clinical school-age population will fill in a pre-questionnaire. Based on this data the participants for the randomized control trial will be selected from the two gender-balanced groups of Finnish adolescents:
- Adolescents (n = 150) who have heightened (pre-clinical) level of symptoms of stress/anxiety/depression in the screening measures (no diagnosis is required for participation).
- Randomly chosen adolescents (n=150) who have no symptoms of stress/anxiety/depression in the screening measures
- Adolescents from both groups are randomly assigned in three conditions: (a) five weeks of Youth Compass plus with support from chatbot + face-to-face support (altogether two face-to-face meetings); b) five-weeks of Youth Compass plus with support from chatbot only; or (c) no intervention. At the baseline (fall 2020) the participants will be ninth-graders facing the transition to upper secondary education.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- University of Jyvaskylalead
- Academy of Finlandcollaborator
Study Sites (1)
Department of Psychology University of Jyvaskyla
Jyväskylä, 40014, Finland
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Interventions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- NONE
- Purpose
- TREATMENT
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
April 1, 2020
First Posted
April 9, 2020
Study Start
September 8, 2020
Primary Completion
December 15, 2020
Study Completion
August 31, 2021
Last Updated
May 23, 2022
Record last verified: 2022-05
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share
Ownership of the data will reside with the University of Jyväskylä and the data are managed by the PI and her research team. Research co-operation agreements will be made with the collaborators about confidentiality issues, data management principles, and use of data in publications. Other researchers are encouraged to use the data; however, it requires a research plan and the permission of the research team. Principally, the PI or someone else from the research team will be one of the co-authors in all publications written from the data.