Strategies for Responding to Stress

The University of Texas System (UT)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Stress

Treatments: Behavioral: Arousal Reappraisal; Behavioral: Exercise

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03289156

2017-05-0011

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to examine whether changes in psychological and physiological responses differ based on different strategies for responding to stress.

Full description

The purpose of this study is to examine whether changes in psychological and physiological responses differ based on different strategies for responding to stress. Different strategies being examined in this study include exercise and arousal reappraisal.

Enrollment: 160 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 35 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Males and females ages 18 to 35
• Speaks English fluently
• Passes the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire-Plus
• Mild to Moderate depression symptoms as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory-II (a score ≥14 but ≤25)

Exclusion criteria

• Hearing or visually impaired such that it will interfere with ability to participate effectively
• Currently exercising regularly, defined as exercising at a moderate-intensity more than 2 times a week, for at least 20 minutes each time.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Factorial Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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160 participants in 4 patient groups

Arousal Reappraisal

Active Comparator group

Description:

Brief educational intervention about the stress response and arousal reappraisal

Treatment:

Behavioral: Arousal Reappraisal

Exercise

Active Comparator group

Description:

Three 5-minute bouts of aerobic exercise at increasing intensities

Treatment:

Behavioral: Exercise

Arousal Reappraisal + Exercise

Experimental group

Description:

Brief educational intervention about the stress response and arousal reappraisal followed by three 5-minute bouts of aerobic exercise at increasing intensities with practice applying the arousal reappraisal learned earlier.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Exercise

Behavioral: Arousal Reappraisal

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Time-matched rest