Testing the Effectiveness of an Online Behavioral Intervention in Reducing Loneliness

Happify

Status: Completed

Conditions: Loneliness; Psychological Distress

Treatments: Behavioral: Happify

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Industry

Identifiers

NCT04112225

16

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study will use a longitudinal randomized experimental design. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a positive affect skills intervention or a psychoeducation control group and assessed with questionnaires at baseline and immediately post 8-week intervention.

Full description

Participants will be randomly assigned to either a positive affect skills intervention or a psychoeducation control group, with each intervention lasting 8-weeks. Participants in the positive affect skills intervention will have full access to the unchanged Happify platform.

The psychoeducation control group participants will use a version of the Happify platform that encourages thinking about well-being through quizzes and polls without providing any instructions for promotion (i.e., Wait-list Control). Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires before and after the 8-week program, at which point study participation will end.

Enrollment: 890 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• No prior experience on the Happify platform (new user registration)
• Located in the United States
• Self reported loneliness/desire to be more connected to others

Exclusion criteria

• Participants who are under the age of 18, reside outside of the United States, have previously registered for Happify, or did not self report loneliness/desire to be more connected with others

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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890 participants in 2 patient groups

Positive affect condition

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants use Happify as it is currently available to consumers on the main site, including all engagement elements. Users may access a wide variety of 4-week programs and use them in any way they desire for the entire study period.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Happify

Psychoeducation condition

Sham Comparator group

Description:

Participants complete a series of quizzes and polls on Happify designed to engage them in thinking about well-being topics, but without giving any specific instructions for how to promote well-being. Participants gain access to 8 weeks worth of content, but may repeat the content as often as they like in the follow-up period.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Happify