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NCT Number: NCT07331922

Mental Health App and Impact on Wellbeing

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if intervention with Landing Place mental health app can support wellness in college students. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Can the app increased well-being in college students? Will the app have increased use and usability by the college students? Researchers will compare two groups of participants to see if the app intervention will increase wellbeing and app usability rates.

Participants will randomly assigned into group 1 and 2. Group 1 will not use the app at all. Group 2 will use the app almost every day for 4 weeks.

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Key information

Conditions

Well-Being, Psychological Behavior Personal Satisfaction Psychological Well-Being

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

PennState the Beherend College/VAR Lab

Erie, Pennsylvania, 16563, United States

Location contact

Christopher R Shelton, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

: 814-898-6082

About this study

Mental health concerns across the United States have increased substantially, affecting individuals across age groups, geographic regions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Emerging adults demonstrate the highest prevalence of mental health conditions among adult populations, while simultaneously exhibiting the lowest rates of treatment utilization. Barriers to treatment for this population include limited affordability, accessibility, availability, and acceptability of mental health services.

Digital mental health interventions have demonstrated effectiveness across a range of outcomes, including symptom reduction, self-management, and well-being enhancement. Smartphone-based applications, in particular, have been evaluated as tools to integrate mental health support through scalable and accessible technologies. Such applications may offer features including guided self-help activities, mindfulness practices, journaling, mood tracking, psychoeducational content, and location-based resources for mental health services.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health challenges among U.S. college students have intensified, with documented impacts on academic performance and overall functioning. These challenges are further exacerbated by stigma, financial constraints, and limited access to campus-based or community mental health services, particularly for students from historically marginalized backgrounds.

In response to these needs, Penn State Behrend's Virtual/Augmented Reality (VAR) Lab developed the Landing Place mental health app, a free digital intervention designed to support mental wellness among college students in the Erie region. The application was developed with an emphasis on usability, privacy, and accessibility, and is tailored to the developmental and contextual needs of young adults. Planned future iterations of the application aim to extend its use to additional populations, such as survivors of domestic violence.

The Landing Place app incorporates artificial intelligence, supported features and evidence-based therapeutic components, including mindfulness exercises, goal-setting activities, journaling, mood tracking, and educational content related to mental health and coping strategies. This clinical trial evaluates the effectiveness, usability, and acceptability of the application when used as a self-guided mental wellness intervention among college students.

The study examines multiple forms of data, including behavioral change measures, user engagement metrics, usability assessments, and participant feedback, to assess the app's utility in supporting well-being. It is hypothesized that participants who use the application will demonstrate increased well-being compared to a control group, along with higher engagement and acceptability of the app-based intervention modality.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Penn State Behrend students
  • Over the age of 18
  • Must have an iPhone

Exclusion criteria

  • People outside of Penn State
  • Minors
  • People currently in therapy

Treatment and study plan

mental health app

Behavioral

The intervention will be the use of an AI-powered mental health app that includes activities based on evidence-based therapeutic techniques, mindfulness, goal setting, journaling, mood tracking, and educational material. The app is secure, easy-to-use, and customized for the needs of the college students.

Primary outcomes

  1. Well-being related to Attention and Cognitive Functioning

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 5 weeks

    Attention-related symptoms will be assessed using the DSM-5-TR Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Measure, a self-report scale evaluating attentional functioning. Scores vary by subscale, with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity.

  2. Well-being related to Health-related quality of life

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of the intervention at 5 weeks

    Health-related quality of life will be measured using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36). The instrument generates domain scores ranging from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better perceived health and well-being.

  3. Well-being related to Mental Health Symptom Severity

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of the intervention at 5 weeks

    Mental health symptom severity will be assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales - 21 Items (DASS-21), a self-report instrument measuring symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Scores range from 0 to 63, with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity.

  4. Well-being related to Functional Impairment

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of the intervention at 5 weeks

    Functional impairment will be evaluated using the Brief Functional Impairment Scale - Long Form (BFIS-LF), which assesses impairment across daily functioning domains. Scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater functional impairment.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Usability

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 5 weeks

    App usability will be assessed using the mHealth App Usability Questionnaire - Standalone Patient App Version (MAUQ-SPA), a self-report instrument designed to evaluate the usability of standalone mHealth applications. Items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale, and total scores range from 1 to 7, with higher scores indicating better perceived usability.

  2. Usage

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of the intervention at 5 weeks

    Patterns of mobile health application use will be assessed using the mHealth Usage Questionnaire, a self-report measure evaluating frequency and duration of app use. Scores are reported in units on a scale, with higher scores indicating greater application use.

  3. Engagement

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of the intervention at 5 weeks

    Engagement with mobile health technology will be measured using the mHealth Technology Use Questionnaire, which assesses overall use and engagement with mHealth technologies. Scores are reported in units on a scale, with higher scores indicating greater technology engagement.

Study contacts

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

Christopher R Shelton, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

814-898-6082

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Penn State University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Landing Place: Impact of the Landing Place Mental Health App on Mental Health and Well-being

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Jan 12, 2026
Registry last updated
May 6, 2026

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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