Evaluating a Digital Single-session Intervention for Adolescent Mental Health in New Zealand

NCT06896071 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: HREC(Health)2024#60
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 300
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Currently, one in five rangatahi (young people) in Aotearoa report difficulty accessing support for their mental health concerns. This treatment gap has prompted academics and clinicians to consider whether online and/or school-based interventions can increase access to evidence-based mental health care. This research is a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of Project SOLVE, an online problem-solving intervention, compared to Project Success, an activity that teaches young people study skills. Underdeveloped problem-solving skills have been associated with varying presentations of mental distress, including depression, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation. This association has meant problem solving is often featured as a core component of therapeutic interventions, and strengthening problem solving skills has been shown to improve clinical outcomes in youth who experience mental health concerns. For these reasons, the investigators hope that Project SOLVE will support the development of problem solving in rangatahi in Aotearoa and have a positive effect on their proximal and longitudinal mental health outcomes.

Conditions

Healthy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Internalising and externalising symptoms

  Internalising and externalising symptoms will be measured using the Behaviour and Feelings Survey.

  Immediately pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention and 12 weeks post-intervention

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Social Problem Solving Skills

  Immediately pre-intervention and 12 weeks post-intervention

• General Self-Efficacy

  Immediately pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention and 12 weeks post-intervention

• Hope

  Immediately pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention and 12 weeks post-intervention

• Hopelessness

  Immediately pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention and 12 weeks post-intervention

• Well-Being

  Immediately pre-intervention and 12 weeks post-intervention

Study Arms (2)

Project SOLVE

EXPERIMENTAL

In this arm, participants will complete Project SOLVE.

Behavioral: Project SOLVE

Project Success

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

In this arm, participants will complete Project Success.

Behavioral: Project Success

Interventions

Project SOLVE BEHAVIORAL

Project SOLVE is a 30-minute self-guided online activity that includes an introduction to problem solving and which types of problems might be most appropriate for this skill; a description of how the brain facilitates problem solving; vignettes demonstrating how older adolescents have solved their problems; scientific evidence that problem solving can work; practice exercises; and activities to encourage the use of problem solving in daily life. The intervention teaches students how to solve problems via the "SOLVE" framework (i.e., Saying what the problem is; One goal to aim for; Listing some solutions; Voting for the best solution; Exploring what works).

Project SOLVE

Project Success BEHAVIORAL

Project Success is comparable to Project SOLVE in format and length (i.e., a 30 minute online, self-guided intervention) and teaches young people three strategies to reach their academic goals: how to take effective notes, how to break big assignments down into smaller tasks, and how to ask trusted others for help.

Project Success

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 12 Years - 14 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Any Year 9 student (ages 12-14 years old) at a participating school who provides assent.

You may not qualify if:

• Any Year 9 student (ages 12-14 years old) at a participating school who does not provide assent and/or whose parent/caregiver does not provided consent.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Waikato: lead
• Whau Mental Health Foundation (New Zealand): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

St Peter's School Cambridge

Cambridge, New Zealand

RECRUITING

Related Publications (6)

• Fenwick-Smith A, Dahlberg EE, Thompson SC. Systematic review of resilience-enhancing, universal, primary school-based mental health promotion programs. BMC Psychol. 2018 Jul 5;6(1):30. doi: 10.1186/s40359-018-0242-3.

  PMID: 29976252 BACKGROUND

• Thabrew H, Stasiak K, Hetrick SE, Wong S, Huss JH, Merry SN. E-Health interventions for anxiety and depression in children and adolescents with long-term physical conditions. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Aug 15;8(8):CD012489. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012489.pub2.

  PMID: 30110718 BACKGROUND

• Ludin N, Holt-Quick C, Hopkins S, Stasiak K, Hetrick S, Warren J, Cargo T. A Chatbot to Support Young People During the COVID-19 Pandemic in New Zealand: Evaluation of the Real-World Rollout of an Open Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2022 Nov 4;24(11):e38743. doi: 10.2196/38743.

  PMID: 36219754 BACKGROUND

• Sutcliffe K, Ball J, Clark TC, Archer D, Peiris-John R, Crengle S, Fleming TT. Rapid and unequal decline in adolescent mental health and well-being 2012-2019: Findings from New Zealand cross-sectional surveys. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2023 Feb;57(2):264-282. doi: 10.1177/00048674221138503. Epub 2022 Dec 1.

  PMID: 36453262 BACKGROUND

• Schleider JL, Weisz JR. Little Treatments, Promising Effects? Meta-Analysis of Single-Session Interventions for Youth Psychiatric Problems. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2017 Feb;56(2):107-115. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2016.11.007. Epub 2016 Nov 25.

  PMID: 28117056 BACKGROUND

• Schleider JL, Mullarkey MC, Fox KR, Dobias ML, Shroff A, Hart EA, Roulston CA. A randomized trial of online single-session interventions for adolescent depression during COVID-19. Nat Hum Behav. 2022 Feb;6(2):258-268. doi: 10.1038/s41562-021-01235-0. Epub 2021 Dec 9.

  PMID: 34887544 BACKGROUND

Study Officials

• Morgan T Blind, BA(Hon)

  University of Waikato

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Morgan T Blind, BA(Hon)

CONTACT

+64 21 801 612; mb1080@students.waikato.ac.nz

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 13, 2025
• First Posted: March 26, 2025
• Study Start: March 30, 2025
• Primary Completion: June 30, 2025
• Study Completion: June 30, 2025
• Last Updated: March 26, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-03

Locations

NZ (1)