Study of Student Flourishing

NCT07259746 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: Flourish2025
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 2,500
• Locations: 3 countries
• Sites: 11

Brief Summary

The goal of this study is to learn how a science-based mobile app, called Flourish, affects student well-being. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. 1.Does receiving access to the Flourish app increase well-being (e.g., positive affect, loneliness, belonging) among students?
2. 2.Does using the Flourish app in combination with a human buddy/friend lead to better outcomes than using the app alone?
3. 3.Waitlist Control Group: Students continue with existing school resources.
4. 4.Flourish App Group: Students use the Flourish app (a digital toolkit and AI chatbot) twice per week.
5. 5.Flourish App + Buddy Group: Students use the Flourish app twice per week with someone else as a "Flourish Buddy".

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

well-being; digital; positive psychology; students

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (10)

• Subcomponents of Affect Scale

  The Subcomponents of Affect Scale (SAS) is an 18-item measure of affect, divided into nine positive and nine negative adjectives. Positive subscales include calm, well-being, and vigor, while negative subscales include depression, anxiety, and anger. Participants rate each adjective from 0 (not at all accurate) to 4 (extremely accurate) based on their feelings over the past two weeks. Total scores for positive and negative affect are summed from their subscales.

  Baseline, bi-weekly for 6 weeks (3 time points)

• Implicit Theories of Emotion

  Implicit theories of emotion were assessed using the Implicit Theories of Emotion Scale, adapted from Dweck's Implicit Theories of Intelligence framework. The scale includes four items assessing beliefs about whether emotions are malleable (incremental) or fixed (entity). Participants rate each item on a 6-point scale from 1 ("Strongly disagree") to 6 ("Strongly agree"). The two entity items are reverse-scored, and all items are averaged to create a single score ranging from 1 to 6, with higher scores indicating stronger endorsement of an incremental (malleable) theory of emotion.

  Baseline and 6 weeks post-baseline

• Loneliness

  The UCLA 3-Item Loneliness Scale is a brief measure assessing subjective feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Participants rate each item on a 3-point scale, from 1 (hardly ever) to 3 (often), with higher scores indicating greater loneliness.

  Baseline, bi-weekly for 6 weeks (3 time points)

• Perceived Cohesion

  The Perceived Cohesion Scale measures a sense of belonging and morale within a community using a Likert scale from 0 (strongly disagree) to 10 (strongly agree). For our purposes, we use a single-item version: "I see myself as part of the campus community."

  Baseline, 6 weeks post-baseline

• Closeness to University

  Closeness to one's university was assessed using a modified single-item Inclusion of Other in the Self measure. Participants were shown seven pairs of increasingly overlapping circles and asked, "Which picture best describes your relationship with your university?" Responses range from 1 to 7, with higher scores indicating greater perceived closeness to the university.

  Baseline and 6 weeks post-baseline

• Perceived Social Support (PSSS-3)

  Perceived social support was assessed using a 3-item short form based on the ACO (PSSS-A6) and adapted from the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Participants rate each item on a 7-point scale from 1 ("Very Strongly Disagree") to 7 ("Very Strongly Agree"). Total scores are summed, yielding a range from 3 to 21, with higher scores indicating greater perceived social support.

  Baseline, bi-weekly for 6 weeks (3 time points)

• Mindfulness (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale)

  Mindfulness was assessed using a 5-item short form of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), modified to assess experiences over the past two weeks. Participants rate each item on a 7-point scale from 0 ("Not at all") to 6 ("Very much"). Items are averaged to create a total score ranging from 0 to 6, with higher scores reflecting lower mindfulness. For interpretability in analyses, this score is reverse-scored so that higher values indicate greater mindfulness.

  Baseline and 6 weeks post-baseline

• Resilience

  The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) is a 6-item measure of stress recovery, rated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Higher scores indicate a stronger ability to "bounce back" after setbacks.

  Baseline, 6 weeks post-baseline

• Flourishing Scale

  The Flourishing Scale is an 8-item measure of psychological well-being. Respondents rate items from 1 ("Strongly disagree") to 7 ("Strongly agree"), yielding a total score range from 8 to 56. Higher scores indicate greater well-being and flourishing.

  Baseline, 6 weeks post-baseline

• Retention / Enrollment Intention

  Retention intention was assessed using 2 items evaluating students' likelihood of continuing their enrollment. Participants respond to "How likely are you to stay enrolled next quarter/semester?" on a 5-point scale from 1 ("Very unlikely") to 5 ("Very likely"). A second item asks, "How often have you considered leaving your college/university in the past semester?" rated from 1 ("Never") to 5 ("Very often"). Higher scores on the first item indicate greater intention to persist, while higher scores on the second item indicate greater consideration of leaving.

  Baseline, 6 weeks post-baseline

Secondary Outcomes (12)

• Depression (PHQ-2)

  Baseline, bi-weekly for 6 weeks (3 time points)

• Anxiety (GAD-2)

  Baseline, bi-weekly for 6 weeks (3 time points)

• Perceived Stress (PSS-4)

  Baseline, bi-weekly for 6 weeks (3 time points)

• Academic Self Efficacy

  Baseline, 6 weeks post-baseline

• Satisfaction With Life

  Baseline, bi-weekly for 6 weeks (3 time points)

Other Outcomes (1)

• Net Promoter Score (NPS)

  6 weeks post-baseline

Study Arms (3)

Flourish app condition

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this condition will gain access to the Flourish app and be instructed to use it at least twice a week for 6 weeks.

Behavioral: Digital toolkit

Flourish app with buddies condition

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this condition will gain access to the Flourish app and be instructed to use it at least twice a week for 6 weeks. In addition, they will be instructed to invite a buddy (e.g., friend, family member) to join them on the app.

Behavioral: Digital toolkit

MHA Resources

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants in this condition will continue to use existing school resources and will be provided with information directing them to external Mental Health America (MHA) resources. Participants in this arm do not receive access to the Flourish app.

Behavioral: Mental Health America Resources

Interventions

Digital toolkit BEHAVIORAL

A mobile application providing a science-based digital toolkit and AI chatbot.

Also known as: Flourish app

Flourish app condition; Flourish app with buddies condition

Mental Health America Resources BEHAVIORAL

Access to national mental health resources from Mental Health America, which can be found here: https://mhanational.org/resources/.

MHA Resources

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Currently a student at one of the participating institutions
• Age 18 or older
• Able to provide informed consent

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Flourish Science, Inc.: lead

Study Sites (11)

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, California, 94720, United States

RECRUITING

Foothill College

Los Altos Hills, California, 94022, United States

RECRUITING

Chapman University

Orange, California, 92866, United States

RECRUITING

University of Colorado Denver

Denver, Colorado, 80204, United States

NOT YET RECRUITING

University of Hawai'i at Mānoa

Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822, United States

RECRUITING

Kansas State University

Manhattan, Kansas, 66506, United States

RECRUITING

Brown University

Providence, Rhode Island, 02912, United States

NOT YET RECRUITING

University of Washington

Seattle, Washington, 98195, United States

NOT YET RECRUITING

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, United States

RECRUITING

University of Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia, V8P 5C2, Canada

RECRUITING

University of Canterbury

Christchurch, Canterbury, 8140, New Zealand

NOT YET RECRUITING

Central Study Contacts

Julie YA Cachia, PhD

CONTACT

650-898-6664; julie@flouriship.com

Xuan Zhao, PhD

CONTACT

408-412-1555‬; xuan@flouriship.com

Study Design

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

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 21, 2025
• First Posted: December 2, 2025
• Study Start: September 22, 2025
• Primary Completion: May 1, 2026
• Study Completion: May 1, 2026
• Last Updated: December 18, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: Beginning upon submission for publication with no end date.

Locations

US (9); CA (1); NZ (1)