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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04458181

Journaling and Addiction Recovery: Piloting "Positive Recovery Journaling"

The main objective of this study is to pilot test the Positive Peer Journaling (PPJ) [later renamed "Positive Recovery Journaling" (PRJ)] intervention and its feasibility and acceptability. A second objective is to compare individuals assigned to PPJ to individuals in a treatment as usual control group.

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Key information

Conditions

Addiction Behavior Behavior, Addictive Compulsive Behavior Impulsive Behavior

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

NUWAY

Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55413, United States

About this study

Many spiritual and religious traditions involve the practice of personal inventory and self-examination. These practices involve conducting a review of the day, spirituality, gratitude, and striving for self-knowledge and self-improvement. The 10th step of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) recommends that members conduct such a daily inventory. While this practice may benefit AA members, not everyone seeking addiction recovery joins AA. Even for those who do, it can take time to reach step 10 and begin deriving benefits from it. The study PI, Dr. Amy Krentzman, developed Positive Recovery Journaling (PRJ, formerly "positive peer journaling") as a simple 10-minute daily practice which reviews the past 24 hours on the left side of a journal page and plans the upcoming 24 hours on the right side of a journal page. The prompts for the left and right sides of the PRJ page are based on principles from positive psychology and behavioral activation.

The main objective of this study is to pilot test the PRJ intervention and to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and logistics of treatment delivery.

A second objective is to observe whether PRJ is associated with improvement in satisfaction with life, happiness with recovery, and commitment to sobriety

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • meet DSM-V criteria for past-year Substance Use Disorder as primary or secondary diagnosis,
  • English literacy sufficient to make short written lists needed to complete PPJ and homework assessments,
  • minimum 2 weeks sustained abstinence,
  • completed first 2 weeks of treatment at Nuway (approximately 2 weeks), an intensive outpatient substance use disorder treatment program and the recruitment site,
  • agree to be audio recorded or transcription recorded in group meetings and in individual meetings with research staff,
  • currently are clients in the Nuway outpatient program,
  • participants must be English speaking and literacy must be strong enough to write short lists and to understand the questions asked in the questionnaires,
  • participants must have an electronic device that connects to the internet and internet connection for online delivery of intervention during COVID-19.

Exclusion criteria

  • presence of a psychotic disorder, psychiatric condition (e.g., suicidal ideation), or cognitive impairment (e.g., severe dementia, traumatic brain injury) limiting ability to give consent and/or participate in the study;
  • severe psychiatric illness (current schizophrenia, major depression with suicidal ideation);
  • personality disorders that would interfere with satisfactory participation in or completion of the study protocol,
  • inability to give informed, voluntary consent to participate,
  • lack of sufficient English literacy to participate, defined as inability to make a list of 5 things they did yesterday and inability to understand questionnaire items,
  • any impairment, activity, or situation that in the judgement of the research staff would prevent satisfactory participation in or completion of the study protocol.

Treatment and study plan

Positive Peer Journaling (PPJ)

Behavioral

PPJ is a journaling practice to support addiction recovery. PPJ encourages past 24 hour review and upcoming 24 hour planning to improve subjective wellbeing in recovery and reduce relapse. PPJ uses journals with column headings under which individuals make bullet-pointed lists. On the left hand page, past 24 hours is recalled, itemizing "good" and "bad" things that happened and things for which one is grateful. Good wishes for others are also expressed on this page. On the right hand page, values-based activities for the upcoming 24 hours are planned via headings representing valued life domains such as "recovery," "work/school," "spirituality," "home and household," and "health."

Primary outcomes

  1. Satisfaction With Life at Baseline

    Time frame: Baseline

    Score on the "Satisfaction with Life" scale. This scale has 5 items assessed on a 7 point Likert-type response format. Scores range from 5 to 35 with higher scores representing higher satisfaction with life.

  2. Satisfaction With Life at 2 Weeks

    Time frame: 2 weeks (after Phase 1, the group phase)

    Score on the "Satisfaction with Life" scale. This scale has 5 items assessed on a 7 point Likert-type response format. Scores range from 5 to 35 with higher scores representing higher satisfaction with life.

  3. Satisfaction With Life at 4 Weeks

    Time frame: 4 weeks (after Phase 2, the independent practice phase)

    Score on the "Satisfaction with Life" scale. This scale has 5 items assessed on a 7 point Likert-type response format. Scores range from 5 to 35 with higher scores representing higher satisfaction with life.

  4. Satisfaction With Life at 8 Weeks

    Time frame: 8 weeks (the 1-month post-intervention)

    Score on the "Satisfaction with Life" scale. This scale has 5 items assessed on a 7 point Likert-type response format. Scores range from 5 to 35 with higher scores representing higher satisfaction with life.

  5. Happiness With Recovery at Baseline

    Time frame: Baseline

    Score on a single item, "In general, I am happy with my recovery." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0 to 10. Higher scores represent higher happiness with recovery.

  6. Happiness With Recovery at 2 Weeks

    Time frame: 2 weeks (after Phase 1, the group phase)

    Score on a single item, "In general, I am happy with my recovery." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0 to 10. Higher scores represent higher happiness with recovery.

  7. Happiness With Recovery at 4 Weeks

    Time frame: 4 weeks (after Phase 2, the independent practice phase)

    Score on a single item, "In general, I am happy with my recovery." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0 to 10. Higher scores represent higher happiness with recovery.

  8. Happiness With Recovery at 8 Weeks

    Time frame: 8 weeks (the 1-month post intervention)

    Score on a single item, "In general, I am happy with my recovery." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0 to 10. Higher scores represent higher happiness with recovery.

  9. Commitment to Sobriety at Baseline

    Time frame: Baseline

    Score on a single item, "I am willing to do whatever it takes to recover from my addiction." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0-10. Higher scores represent greater commitment to sobriety.

  10. Commitment to Sobriety at 2 Weeks

    Time frame: 2 weeks (after Phase 1, the group phase)

    Score on a single item, "I am willing to do whatever it takes to recover from my addiction." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0-10. Higher scores represent greater commitment to sobriety.

  11. Commitment to Sobriety at 4 Weeks

    Time frame: 4 weeks (after Phase 2, the independent practice phase)

    Score on a single item, "I am willing to do whatever it takes to recover from my addiction." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0-10. Higher scores represent greater commitment to sobriety.

  12. Commitment to Sobriety at 8 Weeks

    Time frame: 8 weeks (the 1-month post intervention)

    Score on a single item, "I am willing to do whatever it takes to recover from my addiction." This item uses an 11 point scale ranging from 0-10. Higher scores represent greater commitment to sobriety.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Minnesota

Other

Registry information

Acronym: PPJ

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2021
Study completion
2021
First posted
Jul 7, 2020
Registry last updated
Jun 20, 2024

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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