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NCT Number: NCT06896071

Evaluating a Digital Single-session Intervention for Adolescent Mental Health in New Zealand

Currently, one in five rangatahi (young people) in Aotearoa report difficulty accessing support for their mental health concerns. This treatment gap has prompted academics and clinicians to consider whether online and/or school-based interventions can increase access to evidence-based mental health care.

This research is a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of Project SOLVE, an online problem-solving intervention, compared to Project Success, an activity that teaches young people study skills. Underdeveloped problem-solving skills have been associated with varying presentations of mental distress, including depression, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation. This association has meant problem solving is often featured as a core component of therapeutic interventions, and strengthening problem solving skills has been shown to improve clinical outcomes in youth who experience mental health concerns.

For these reasons, the investigators hope that Project SOLVE will support the development of problem solving in rangatahi in Aotearoa and have a positive effect on their proximal and longitudinal mental health outcomes.

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Key information

Conditions

Healthy

Age range

12 year–14 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Any Year 9 student (ages 12-14 years old) at a participating school who provides assent.

Exclusion criteria

  • Any Year 9 student (ages 12-14 years old) at a participating school who does not provide assent and/or whose parent/caregiver does not provided consent.

Treatment and study plan

Project SOLVE

Behavioral

Project SOLVE is a 30-minute self-guided online activity that includes an introduction to problem solving and which types of problems might be most appropriate for this skill; a description of how the brain facilitates problem solving; vignettes demonstrating how older adolescents have solved their problems; scientific evidence that problem solving can work; practice exercises; and activities to encourage the use of problem solving in daily life. The intervention teaches students how to solve problems via the "SOLVE" framework (i.e., Saying what the problem is; One goal to aim for; Listing some solutions; Voting for the best solution; Exploring what works).

Project Success

Behavioral

Project Success is comparable to Project SOLVE in format and length (i.e., a 30 minute online, self-guided intervention) and teaches young people three strategies to reach their academic goals: how to take effective notes, how to break big assignments down into smaller tasks, and how to ask trusted others for help.

Primary outcomes

  1. Internalising and externalising symptoms

    Time frame: Immediately pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention and 12 weeks post-intervention

    Internalising and externalising symptoms will be measured using the Behaviour and Feelings Survey.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Social Problem Solving Skills

    Time frame: Immediately pre-intervention and 12 weeks post-intervention

    Social problem solving will be measured by the Social Problem-Solving Inventory - Revised Short-Form.

  2. General Self-Efficacy

    Time frame: Immediately pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention and 12 weeks post-intervention

    Self-efficacy will be measured using the General Self-Efficacy Scale.

  3. Hope

    Time frame: Immediately pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention and 12 weeks post-intervention

    Hope will be measured using the Child Hope Scale.

  4. Hopelessness

    Time frame: Immediately pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention and 12 weeks post-intervention

    Hopelessness will be measured using the Beck Hopelessness Scale - Shortened.

  5. Well-Being

    Time frame: Immediately pre-intervention and 12 weeks post-intervention

    Well-being will be measured using the World Health Organisation Well-Being Index.

  6. Educational Self-Efficacy

    Time frame: Immediately pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention and 12 weeks post-intervention

    Educational self-efficacy will be measured using the Educational Self-Efficacy Scale.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Morgan T Blind, BA(Hon)

CONTACT

[email protected]

+64 21 801 612

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

The University of Waikato

Other

Collaborators

  • Whau Mental Health Foundation (New Zealand)

Registry information

Official study title

Project SOLVE and Rangatahi in Aotearoa: Evaluating a Digital Single-Session Intervention for Adolescent Mental Health in New Zealand Through a School-based Randomised Controlled Trial

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Mar 26, 2025
Registry last updated
Mar 26, 2025

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.

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