Promoting Stress Management and Engagement in Introductory Physics Courses with Mindfulness and Relaxation

NCT05542498 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: STUDY19050258 Part 2
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 303
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study tests the impact of mindfulness vs. relaxation training on psychological threat and challenge, emotions/emotion regulation, motivation/engagement, and performance among undergraduates enrolled in introductory physics courses. Data used to compare groups will be collected from a variety of sources, including self-report surveys, experience sampling and daily diary assessments, physics learning activities, and academic records.

Conditions

Psychological Stress; Coping Skills; Emotions; Emotion Regulation

Keywords

Mindfulness; Physics Education; Psychological Challenge and Threat; Engagement; Motivation; Relaxation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Mean Change in Daily Physics Emotions from baseline up to 1 week post-intervention assessed via Daily Diary Self-Report

  Daily Physics Emotions measured using 12 self-report items with Likert scale from 0 (not at all) to 4 (an extreme amount). Daily Physics Emotions are calculated by averaging daily emotion items, with scores closer to 4 indicating experiencing more extreme emotions in physics.

  From enrollment up to 1 week post-intervention

• Mean Change in Daily Responses to Physics Emotions from baseline up to 1 week post-intervention assessed via Daily Diary Self-Report

  Daily reappraisal, perspective shifting, and relaxation measured using 6 self-report items with Likert scale from 0 (not at all true) to 4 (completely true). Composite scores for reappraisal, perspective shifting, and relaxation are calculated as an average of all items for each subscale, respectively. Daily responses to emotions ranges from 0 to 4, with higher scores indicating greater use of reappraisal, perspective shifting, or relaxation.

  From enrollment up to 1 week post-intervention

• Mean Change in Daily Threat vs. Challenge Appraisals from baseline up to 1 week post-intervention assessed via Daily Diary Self-Report

  Daily Threat vs. Challenge Appraisals measured using 3 self-report items about threat, challenge, and confidence with regarding to unpleasant physics emotions with Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree).

  From enrollment up to 1 week post-intervention

• Mean Change in Daily Physics Engagement from baseline up to 1 week post-intervention assessed via Daily Diary Self-Report

  Degree to which students felt engaged in and motivated to learn physics on a daily basis. Measured using 2 self-report items measured with Likert scale from 1 (not at all motivated/engaged) to 6 (extremely motivated/engaged). Daily engagement is calculated by averaging both items, with scores closer to 6 indicating more greater physics engagement.

  From enrollment up to 1 week post-intervention

Secondary Outcomes (19)

• State Presence assessed via Ecological Momentary Assessment

  during intervention, five days

• State Relaxation assessed via Ecological Momentary Assessment

  during intervention, five days

• State Physics Anxiety assessed via Ecological Momentary Assessment

  during intervention, five days

• Mean Change in Physics Anxiety from baseline up to 3 months post-intervention assessed via Self-Report

  From enrollment, up to 3 months post-intervention

• Mean Change in Psychological Threat vs. Challenge from baseline up to 3 months post-intervention assessed via Self-Report

  From enrollment, up to 3 months post-intervention

Other Outcomes (7)

• Performance in Physics Class

  End of semester following intervention, approximately 12 weeks

• Retention in Physics Classes

  End of semester following intervention, approximately 7 months

• Mean Change in Mindfulness from baseline up to 3 months post-intervention assessed via Self-Report

  From enrollment, up to 3 months post-intervention

Study Arms (2)

Mindfulness Training

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

5-lesson audio-guided mindfulness training program delivered over 5 consecutive days, with two additional writing activities on day 1 and day 5

Behavioral: Mindfulness

Relaxation Training

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

5-lesson audio-guided relaxation training program delivered over 5 consecutive days, with two additional writing activities on day 1 and day 5

Behavioral: Relaxation

Interventions

Mindfulness BEHAVIORAL

Training is focused on learning and applying the principles of R.A.I.N. (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Non-identify) in the context of physics learning.

Mindfulness Training

Relaxation BEHAVIORAL

Training is focused on learning and applying relaxation practices (e.g., progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery) in the context of physics learning.

Relaxation Training

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• at least 18 years of age
• current University of Pittsburgh undergraduate
• enrolled in introductory physics
• self-reports psychological threat in physics

You may not qualify if:

• under 18 years of age
• not a current University of Pittsburgh undergraduate
• not enrolled in introductory physics
• does not self-report psychological threat in physics

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Pittsburgh: lead
• U.S. National Science Foundation: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15260, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stress, Psychological; Emotional Regulation

Interventions

Mindfulness

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Self-Control; Social Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Behavior Therapy; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities

Study Officials

• Brian Galla, PhD

  University of Pittsburgh

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Timothy Nokes-Malach, PhD

  University of Pittsburgh

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 12, 2022
• First Posted: September 15, 2022
• Study Start: October 3, 2022
• Primary Completion: July 12, 2024
• Study Completion: December 31, 2024
• Last Updated: January 10, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: Data, materials, and analytic code required to reproduce results will be shared upon publication.
• Access Criteria: Data, materials, and analytic code will be shared on Open Science Framework (or other online repository).

Locations

US (1)