NCT05478096

Brief Summary

Within the Caring Universities project (study protocol VCWE- 2020-076 accepted by the VCWE), we have developed a guided e-health programme (GetStarted) designed to reduce procrastination in university students. With the current study, we aim to examine the effectiveness of GetStarted in reducing procrastination behaviour. Secondary goals are to gain an insight into pre-test to post-test differences regarding symptoms of low mood, anxiety and quality of life. Additionally, we aim to gain insight into the effects of participants' satisfaction with the intervention and Ecoach, the usability of the program, and treatment adherence on the effectiveness of the treatment.

Trial Health

43
At Risk

Trial Health Score

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

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Enrollment
176

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Nov 2021

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
unknown

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

Study Start

First participant enrolled

November 19, 2021

Completed
8 months until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

July 25, 2022

Completed
3 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

July 28, 2022

Completed
3 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

November 1, 2022

Completed
5 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

April 1, 2023

Completed
Last Updated

August 10, 2022

Status Verified

August 1, 2022

Enrollment Period

12 months

First QC Date

July 25, 2022

Last Update Submit

August 8, 2022

Conditions

Procrastination

Keywords

procrastinationguidede-healthuniversity studentsmental health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Change in procrastination behaviours

    The Irrational Procrastination Scale (IPS) is used to assess procrastination tendencies by assessing extent to which participants procrastinate. This scale contains 9 items scored on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very seldom or not true to me) to 5 (very often true or true to me).The total scores can range from 9 to 45 with highers score indicating higher levels of procrastination.

    T0/T1 (Baseline) to T2/T3 (Post-test: 4-weeks) to T5 (Follow up: 6 months)

Secondary Outcomes (4)

  • Change in depressive symptoms

    T1 (Baseline) to T2/T3 (Post-test: 4-weeks) to T5 (Follow up: 6 months)

  • Change in severity of stress

    T1 (Baseline) to T2/T3 (Post-test: 4-weeks) to T5 (Follow up: 6 months)

  • Change in quality of life

    T1 (Baseline) to T2/T3 (Post-test: 4-weeks) to T5 (Follow up: 6 months)

  • Change in Anxiety symptoms

    T1 (Baseline) to T2/T3 (Post-test: 4-weeks) to T5 (Follow up: 6 months)

Other Outcomes (5)

  • Socio demographic characteristics and additional participant information

    T0 (Baseline)

  • Satisfaction with the intervention

    T2 (Post-test: 4-weeks)

  • Usability

    T2 (Post-test: 4-weeks)

  • +2 more other outcomes

Study Arms (2)

We-based intervention for procrastination

EXPERIMENTAL

GetStarted is a guided e-health application, based on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). It comprises 5 main and 4 optional modules that are delivered weekly via computer, laptop, tablet, or mobile phone. Every week a trained e-coach will provide feedback on the progress of the program and the exercises via e-mail. The main modules are (1) psycho-education about procrastination (2) getting insight into one's own procrastination behavior, (3) uncovering unhelpful thoughts underlying procrastination and (4) replacing these unhelpful thoughts with helpful ones. Each module takes approximately 40 minutes to complete and participants will receive provide asynchronous written personalized feedback from their e-coaches within 48 hours (counting workdays only) after session completion.

Behavioral: GetStarted

Wait list

NO INTERVENTION

Participants in the waiting list condition will receive no treatment for four weeks post-randomization. Following this, they can start the program if they choose to do so.

Interventions

GetStartedBEHAVIORAL

Guided internet-based intervention for procrastination.

We-based intervention for procrastination

Eligibility Criteria

Age16 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsChild (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • aged 16 or older
  • enrolled at one of the participating universities
  • fluent in Dutch and/or English
  • access to a PC or mobile device with internet access
  • score 32 or above on the Irrational Procrastination Scale (IPS)
  • provide informed consent.

You may not qualify if:

  • any suicidal risk by identifying if they (the participants) have had thoughts of killing themselves or have made plans of killing themselves in the past year and then responding to the question "How likely do you think it is that you will act on this plan in the next 12 months?" with somewhat likely or very likely

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Amsterdam, 1081 HV, Netherlands

RECRUITING

Related Publications (2)

  • Amarnath A, Ozmen S, van Klaveren C, van Straten A, Pei J, de Wit L, Raabe RE; Caring Universities Consortium; Cuijpers P, Struijs SY. Effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention in reducing procrastination among university students - a randomized controlled trial. Internet Interv. 2025 Sep 29;42:100878. doi: 10.1016/j.invent.2025.100878. eCollection 2025 Dec.

    PMID: 41080972DERIVED

  • Amarnath A, Ozmen S, Struijs SY, de Wit L, Cuijpers P. Effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention for procrastination among university students - A randomized controlled trial study protocol. Internet Interv. 2023 Mar 3;32:100612. doi: 10.1016/j.invent.2023.100612. eCollection 2023 Apr.

    PMID: 36922962DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Psychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personal SatisfactionBehavior

Study Officials

  • Sascha Y Struijs, PhD

    VU University of Amsterdam

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Sascha Y Struijs, PhD

CONTACT

+316 48 20 62 23s.y.struijs@vu.nl

Pim Cuijpers, Dr. Prof

CONTACT

p.cuijpers@vu.nl

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
DOUBLE
Who Masked
INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Masking Details
An independent researcher who is not involved in the study will generate the random sequence using a computer random sequence generator. Randomisation will take place at an individual level, stratified by gender and the university where students study. Participants will be randomised into two groups (web-based intervention vs. WL) with allocation ratio of 1:1. We will conduct block randomisation with randomly varied block sizes (6 to 12 allocations per block) to prevent foreknowledge of intervention assignment. Allocation will be concealed from the study's researchers. It is not possible to mask personnel and participants to the treatment allocation because of the nature of the intervention.
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Model Details: The present study is a two-arm randomized control superiority trial. This trial will be conducted in a university setting. A guided web-based anti-procrastination programme (GetStarted) will be compared to a waiting list condition.
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Associate researcher

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

July 25, 2022

First Posted

July 28, 2022

Study Start

November 19, 2021

Primary Completion

November 1, 2022

Study Completion

April 1, 2023

Last Updated

August 10, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-08

Locations

NL(1)