The Fundamental Adaptive Skills Training (FAST)

Florida State University

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Fundamental Adaptive Skills Training; Relaxation and Mindfulness Training

Treatments: Behavioral: Relaxation and Mindfulness Training; Behavioral: Fundamental Adaptive Skills Training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07140718

STUDY00006276

Details and patient eligibility

About

The present study seeks to develop, refine, and test a novel psychological treatment for boosting mental health resilience among college students. This Fundamental Adaptive Skills Training (FAST) will be evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. We will seek to recruit 5 undergraduate students as participants for a pilot phase and 100 undergraduate students for a randomized controlled trial. The primary questions we are seeking to answer in this trial are:

Do participants rate the FAST intervention as acceptable? Does FAST improve sleep quality, physical activity, anxiety sensitivity, loneliness, and social isolation for college students?

Participants will:

Receive the active FAST or a placebo control Relaxation and Mindfulness Training (RMT) and will complete measures at baseline, week 2, and week 4.

Full description

The mental health crisis among college students has intensified in recent years, with rising rates of anxiety, depression, and stress. Despite increased institutional efforts, existing mental health services often remain inaccessible or insufficient. The present study proposes and evaluates the Fundamental Adaptive Skills Training (FAST), a novel, single-session intervention designed to promote mental health resilience in college students. FAST will be developed to target empirically supported mechanisms-sleep and physical activity, anxiety sensitivity, loneliness, and social isolation-each linked to a broad range of emotional disorders. Delivered in a digital, group-based format by trained undergraduate peer facilitators, FAST will be scalable, cost-effective, and engaging. This randomized controlled trial will assess the intervention's acceptability and efficacy in improving targeted mechanisms and reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress over a four-week follow-up period. 100 participants identified as at-risk based on elevated negative affectivity will be randomly assigned to FAST or an active control condition involving mindfulness and relaxation training (RMT). Primary outcomes include improvements in sleep quality, physical activity, anxiety sensitivity, loneliness, and social isolation from baseline through week two and week four follow-up. Similarly, clinical outcomes will include improvements in anxiety, depression, and stress levels as indicators of broader emotional resilience. Findings will advance the science of developing and implementing accessible, evidence-based mental health interventions and may contribute to a novel, scalable solution for addressing mental health issues in higher education settings.

Enrollment: 105 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Aged 18+
• At-risk for emotional disorders as indicated by a PANAS-NA Score >= 20
• Ability to use a computer or smartphone
• Currently enrolled at college/university at the time of study enrollment

Exclusion criteria

• Adults aged 17 and under
• PANAS-NA Score <= 19
• Inability to use a computer or smartphone
• Not currently enrolled at college/university at the time of study enrollment

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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105 participants in 2 patient groups

Fundamental Adaptive Skills Training

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Fundamental Adaptive Skills Training

Relaxation and Mindfulness Training

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Relaxation and Mindfulness Training