Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT05500209

Chatbot-based Internet Intervention for Stress Among University Students (Stressbot)

The aim of this study is to verify the efficacy of chatbot internet intervention for reduction of stress and improvement of quality of life among university students through the enhancement of coping self-efficacy.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Stress, Psychological Behavior Behavioral Symptoms

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities

Warsaw, 00-864, Poland

About this study

University students experience high stress levels and mental health risks. Research shows that increasing resources such as coping self-efficacy can reduce stress. Internet interventions can be successfully employed to deliver programs for improving university students' mental health.

The primary objective of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate short- and long-term efficacy of coping self-efficacy enhancing intervention in reducing university students' stress and improving quality of life. The intervention will be delivered through a Facebook Messenger chat-bot. The secondary goal is to investigate acceptability of a chat-bot delivered intervention.

Participants will be recruited via social media and randomized to 1 of 2 groups: (1) experimental condition increasing coping self-efficacy with a 7-day program delivered through a chat-bot, or (2) waitlist control group. Outcomes include perceived stress and quality of life. Measurements will be taken at baseline (T1), immediately after intervention (T2), at 1 month follow-up (T3), and at 6 months follow-up (T4). Linear mixed effects model will be used to analyze the data.

The study aims to assess Stressbot's potential benefit for improving university students' well-being. Moreover, it will provide insight into feasibility of using chat-bots for delivering smartphone-based e-health treatments.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age of at least 18 years
  • University students
  • Mobile personal device with internet access

Exclusion criteria

  • Not meeting at least 1 inclusion criteria

Treatment and study plan

Personal resources' enhancement: self-efficacy

Behavioral

Participants in this condition are asked to take part in a 7-day psychological intervention delivered through Facebook Messenger chat-bot. Each day one CBT-framed exercise aimed at coping self-efficacy enhancement is delivered. An exercise takes form 5 to 30 minutes to complete.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change on Perceived Stress Scale 4 (PSS-4)

    Time frame: Change from baseline on PSS-4 (7 days)

    The PSS-4 is a measure of perceived stress. It consists of 4 items with response scale from 0 to 4. Higher total score represents higher perceived stress.

  2. Change on Perceived Stress Scale 4 (PSS-4)

    Time frame: Change from baseline on PSS-4 (1 month)

    The PSS-4 is a measure of perceived stress. It consists of 4 items with response scale from 0 to 4. Higher total score represents higher perceived stress.

  3. Change on Perceived Stress Scale 4 (PSS-4)

    Time frame: Change from baseline on PSS-4 (6 month)

    The PSS-4 is a measure of perceived stress. It consists of 4 items with response scale from 1 to 4. Higher total score represents higher perceived stress.

  4. Change on Brunnsviken Brief Quality of Life Scale (BBQ)

    Time frame: Change from baseline on BBQ (7 days)

    The BBQ is a measure of quality of life. It consists of 12 items with response scale from 0 to 4. Higher total score represents higher quality of life.

  5. Change on Brunnsviken Brief Quality of Life Scale (BBQ)

    Time frame: Change from baseline on BBQ (1 month)

    The BBQ is a measure of quality of life. It consists of 12 items with response scale from 0 to 4. Higher total score represents higher quality of life.

  6. Change on Brunnsviken Brief Quality of Life Scale (BBQ)

    Time frame: Change from baseline on BBQ (6 months)

    The BBQ is a measure of quality of life. It consists of 12 items with response scale from 0 to 4. Higher total score represents higher quality of life.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES)

    Time frame: Change from baseline on CSES (7 days)

    The CSES is a measure of coping self-efficacy. It consists of 26 items with response scale from 1 to 10. Higher total score represents higher coping self-efficacy.

  2. Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES)

    Time frame: Change from baseline on CSES (1 month)

    The CSES is a measure of coping self-efficacy. It consists of 26 items with response scale from 1 to 10. Higher total score represents higher coping self-efficacy.

  3. Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES)

    Time frame: Change from baseline on CSES (6 months)

    The CSES is a measure of coping self-efficacy. It consists of 26 items with response scale from 1 to 10. Higher total score represents higher coping self-efficacy.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Efficacy of Chatbot-based Internet Intervention for Stress Among University Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Aug 15, 2022
Registry last updated
Feb 1, 2023

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.