Project Relate: Romantic Relationship Competence SSI

Stony Brook University

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Depression; Relational Problems

Treatments: Behavioral: Information Only Control Condition; Behavioral: Romantic Competence Intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05722574

IRB2022-00262

Details and patient eligibility

About

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased social isolation and depressive symptoms in youth, adding strain to an already overwhelmed mental healthcare system. Online single-session interventions are digital programs that can help expand access to care and teach evidence-based skills. To help youth build healthy relationships, we developed 3 online single-session interventions (SSI) to teach romantic competence skills to adolescents and emerging adults. Youth, ages 16-20, will be recruited to social media and randomly assigned to one of two conditions: the intervention condition, offering them three SSIs to select from, or an information-only control group. Within the intervention condition, youth will complete one of three romantic competence SSIs: (1) Insight, targeting awareness of one's needs in relationships, (2) Communication, teaching listening and communication skills, and (3) Stay vs. Go, helping youth make difficult decisions. Investigators will assess each SSI's relative benefits on relationship knowledge and depressive symptoms up to three months later compared to the information-only control group. Results will reveal if online SSIs can teach romantic competence skills and if engaging in these interventions has psychosocial benefits for youth with elevated depressive symptoms.

Enrollment: 500 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 16 to 20 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• are fluent in English
• have consistent internet and computer/laptop/smartphone access
• report elevated depressive symptoms (a score of >2 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 item version [PHQ-2])

Exclusion criteria

• fail to meet the above-listed inclusion criteria
• exit the study prior to condition randomization
• respond with either copy/pasted responses from text earlier in the intervention to any of free response questions
• obvious lack of English fluency in open response questions
• responding with random text in open response questions
• duplicate responses from the same individual in baseline or follow-up surveys

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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500 participants in 2 patient groups

Information Only Control Condition

Active Comparator group

Description:

The information only control condition is designed to mimic relationship education that could be easily found online by adolescents. This condition does not teach romantic competence skills such as insight, communication/mutuality, or emotion regulation skills; rather, it focuses on educating subjects about the healthy and unhealthy signs of a romantic relationship. In addition, this condition is designed to control for nonspecific aspects of the intervention, such as engaging in an online program and taking time to reflect on one's relationships.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Information Only Control Condition

Romantic Competence Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

The Romantic Competence Single-Session Intervention provides adolescents with the opportunity to learn one of three relational skills online: (1) Insight, the ability to understand what one needs in relationships and act in alignment with one's needs, (2) Communication, the capacity to listen to others and express one's needs effectively, and (3) Stay vs. Go, the ability to reflect and make difficult decisions in relationships. Adolescents are presented with the opportunity to choose which module they would like to complete. Each module has the following components: psychoeducation, a personalized action plan, and practice overcoming barriers.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Romantic Competence Intervention