Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT06888141

Stress Management for College Students

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a virtual task can reduce distress in college students. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Will those who complete the virtual task have less distress? 2. Will men and women both benefit equally from the virtual task?

Researchers will compare the virtual task to a control task (another virtual task that we expect will not impact distress) to see if distress differs.

Participants will spend 20 minutes engaging in the virtual task (or the control task) on 3 different days all within one week. They will complete a survey about their well-being before starting the first virtual task and again ~6 weeks afterward.

Recruiting

Interested in participating?

Request Info

Key information

Conditions

Distress, Emotional

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Boise State University

Boise, Idaho, 83709, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Cindy McCrea, Ph.D.

CONTACT

[email protected]

208-426-1207

Matthew Genuchi, Ph.D.

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

About this study

Easily accessible and cost effective strategies for reducing emotional distress and improving stress tolerance in college students and the population generally are desired. The scalability and feasibility of virtual interventions hold promise for reaching segments of the population that find one-on-one psychotherapy aversive. Males in particular have higher perceived treatment stigma relative to women and find may typical traditional therapeutic processes incongruent with their masculine identity and values. The research team has designed an innovative, self-directed, virtual intervention to reduce distress and stress intolerance. The intervention consists of a set of virtual tasks which reflect the Sequential Model of Emotional Processing presented with language, imagery and content that engages men.

Using a randomized clinical trials design, this pilot project will compare the effects of the virtual intervention with a virtual control task on emotional well-being outcomes in college students.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • 18 years of age or older
  • college student

Exclusion criteria

  • Younger than 18 years of age

Treatment and study plan

Virtual Sequential Emotional Processing Task

Behavioral

A 20-minute interactive session delivered 3 times over a one week period.

Virtual Control Task

Behavioral

A time-matched (ie., 20 minute) interactive session delivered 3 times over a one week period.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change from baseline Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) scores to 6wks post intervention

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of the ~6wk follow up period.

    The scale ranges from 0-6 where higher scores indicate more dysfunction.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change from baseline Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 scores to 6wks post intervention

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of the ~6wk follow up period.

    The scale ranges from 0-6 where higher scores indicate more dysfunction.

  2. Change from baseline Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-2 scores to 6wks post intervention

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of the ~6wk follow up period.

    Possible scores range from 0-10 where higher scores indicate higher resilience.

Study contacts

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

Matthew Genuchi, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

208-426-1207

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Boise State University

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)

Registry information

Official study title

Virtual Intervention Targeting Distress in College Students: A Pilot Study

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Mar 21, 2025
Registry last updated
Mar 21, 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.

Related clinical trials

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