FeelSync: Tailoring Ecological Momentary Assessments and Interventions for Emotion Awareness, Regulation, and Mental Health Outcomes

NCT06986850 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: ETH2425-0653
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 490
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study investigates how different ways of reflecting on emotions in daily life influence emotional awareness, emotion regulation, and mental health. Using the FeelSync mobile app over the course of seven days, participants are prompted multiple times a day to report on their current emotional state in various formats (e.g., rating scales, multiple choice, or free text). In some groups, participants also receive brief daily exercises designed to help them practice cognitive reappraisal-a strategy that involves reframing stressful situations to reduce their emotional impact. The study aims to assess not only the overall effectiveness of these reappraisal exercises but also whether the type of emotional self-report used before the intervention affects its impact. All participants complete questionnaires before and after the app phase to track changes in mood, stress, emotional awareness, and regulation.

Conditions

Stress

Keywords

ecological momentary assessment; ecological momentary intervention; language; cognitive reappraisal; emotion regulation; emotion awareness; mental health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (6)

• Perceived Stress Scale

  Self-report questionnaire, Range: 0 - 40 Higher scores: Worse outcome (higher perceived stress)

  Baseline (pre-intervention, study day 1) and Follow-up (post intervention, study day 9)

• Beck Depression Inventory II

  Self-report questionnaire, Range: 0 - 63 Higher scores: Worse outcome (more severe depressive symptoms)

  Baseline (pre-intervention, study day 1) and Follow-up (post intervention, study day 9)

• State-Trait Anxiety Inventory

  Self-report questionnaire, \[state scale only\], Range: 20 - 80 Higher scores: Worse outcome (greater state anxiety)

  Baseline (pre-intervention, study day 1) and Follow-up (post intervention, study day 9)

• Emotion Regulation Questionnaire

  Self-report questionnaire, Reappraisal subscale: Range 1 - 7 (mean of 6 items) Higher scores: Better outcome (more frequent use of cognitive reappraisal) Suppression subscale: Range 1 - 7 (mean of 4 items) Higher scores: Worse outcome (more frequent use of suppression)

  Baseline (pre-intervention, study day 1) and Follow-up (post intervention, study day 9)

• Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire

  Self-report questionnaire, Subscale range: 2 - 10 per strategy Higher scores: On adaptive strategies (e.g., positive reappraisal, putting into perspective): Better outcome On maladaptive strategies (e.g., rumination, catastrophizing): Worse outcome

  Baseline (pre-intervention, study day 1) and Follow-up (post intervention, study day 9)

• Toronto Alexithymia Scale

  Self-report questionnaire, Range: 20 - 100 Higher scores: Worse outcome (greater difficulties in identifying and describing feelings; lower emotional awareness)

  Baseline (pre-intervention, study day 1) and Follow-up (post intervention, study day 9)

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Mobile Agnew Relationship Measure

  Follow-up (post intervention, study day 9)

Study Arms (7)

Ecological Momentary Assessment with self-generated emotion description

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Ecological Momentary Assessment with participant's self-generated emotion description in an open-ended question form, in English, provided five times daily for seven consecutive days

Device: Ecological Momentary Assessment mobile application

Ecological Momentary Assessment with pre-defined set of emotion items to select

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Ecological Momentary Assessment with pre-defined set of emotion items to select in a multiple-choice question form, in English, provided five times daily for seven consecutive days

Device: Ecological Momentary Assessment mobile application

Ecological Momentary Assessment with pre-defined set of emotion items to rate on a Likert scale

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Ecological Momentary Assessment with pre-defined set of emotion items to rate on a seven-point Likert scale, in a slider form, in English, provided five times daily for seven consecutive days

Device: Ecological Momentary Assessment mobile application

Ecological Momentary Intervention with self-generated emotion description

EXPERIMENTAL

Ecological Momentary Intervention focused on cognitive reappraisal, with a possibility to choose between distancing and positive reappraisal, provided three times daily and preceded by Ecological Momentary Assessment with participant's self-generated emotion description in an open-ended question form, in English, provided five times daily for seven consecutive days

Device: FeelSync mobile application

Ecological Momentary Intervention with self-generated emotion description in mother tongue

EXPERIMENTAL

Ecological Momentary Intervention focused on cognitive reappraisal, with a possibility to choose between distancing and positive reappraisal, provided three times daily and preceded by Ecological Momentary Assessment with participant's self-generated emotion description in an open-ended question form, in participant's mother tongue, provided five times daily for seven consecutive days

Device: FeelSync mobile application

Ecological Momentary Intervention with pre-defined set of emotion items to select

EXPERIMENTAL

Ecological Momentary Intervention focused on cognitive reappraisal, with a possibility to choose between distancing and positive reappraisal, provided three times daily and preceded by Ecological Momentary Assessment with pre-defined set of emotion items to rate on a seven-point Likert scale, in a slider form, in English, provided five times daily for seven consecutive days

Device: FeelSync mobile application

Ecological Momentary Intervention with pre-defined set of emotion items to rate on a Likert scale

EXPERIMENTAL

Ecological Momentary Intervention focused on cognitive reappraisal, with a possibility to choose between distancing and positive reappraisal, provided three times daily and preceded by Ecological Momentary Assessment with pre-defined set of emotion items to rate on a seven-point Likert scale, in a slider form, in English, provided five times daily for seven consecutive days

Device: FeelSync mobile application

Interventions

FeelSync mobile application DEVICE

Ecological Momentary Intervention focused on cognitive reappraisal for distressing autobiographical memories, with a possibility to choose between distancing and positive reappraisal.

Ecological Momentary Intervention with pre-defined set of emotion items to rate on a Likert scale; Ecological Momentary Intervention with pre-defined set of emotion items to select; Ecological Momentary Intervention with self-generated emotion description; Ecological Momentary Intervention with self-generated emotion description in mother tongue

Ecological Momentary Assessment mobile application DEVICE

Ecological Momentary Assessment used for self-monitoring of emotional states.

Ecological Momentary Assessment with pre-defined set of emotion items to rate on a Likert scale; Ecological Momentary Assessment with pre-defined set of emotion items to select; Ecological Momentary Assessment with self-generated emotion description

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 30 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Owning a smartphone
• Proficiency in English language
• Being a student
• Age between 18 to 30 years old

You may not qualify if:

• \- Severe mental health disorder

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Marta Marciniak: lead

Study Sites (1)

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Rotterdam, Netherlands

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Language; Emotional Regulation; Psychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Communication; Behavior; Self-Control; Social Behavior; Personal Satisfaction

Central Study Contacts

Marta A Marciniak, Dr

CONTACT

+31 10 754 5276; marciniak@essb.eur.nl

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: FACTORIAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 15, 2025
• First Posted: May 23, 2025
• Study Start: March 12, 2025
• Primary Completion: August 31, 2025
• Study Completion: August 31, 2025
• Last Updated: May 23, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: 09/2025-09/2035
• Access Criteria: Anyone will be able to access anonymized participant data from self-report questionnaires.

Locations

NL (1)