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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05622604

The Effect of Religious Practices on Mental and Spiritual Health

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effects of using a religious mobile app (i.e., Pray.com) in participants who have high levels of stress. The main question it aims to answer is:

•What are the effects of using Pray.com on stress in individuals who report high levels of stress?

Participants will complete measures at baseline (i.e., Time 1), four-weeks (i.e., Time 2), and eight weeks (i.e., Time 3). Participants will be randomly assigned one of three conditions: (1) autonomous use (directed to use the app daily), (2) meditative prayer condition (directed to use this feature of the app daily), or (3) wait-list control condition.

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Key information

Conditions

Stress

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Biola University

La Mirada, California, 90639, United States

About this study

Participants (N = 300) will be adults recruited through social media and faith-based organizations. Participants will first complete a brief screener to determine eligibility for the study.

Eligible participants will be invited to participate in the study. Participants will read an informed consent document that will give information about the study and their rights as participants. Participants will be given the opportunity to contact the research team and ask questions. If they agree to participate, participants will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions. Condition 1 is the control condition (i.e., no intervention condition). In Condition 2, participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to use the app five days per week (i.e., autonomous use condition). In Condition 3, participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to listen to a meditation prayer five days per week (i.e., meditative prayer condition). Participants will receive periodic reminders on their phone if they have not used the app.

All participants will fill out a series of online questionnaires monthly for a two-month time-period (i.e., Baseline / Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3). Participants will receive a link from the research team when it is time for them to fill out their questionnaire via a secure online data collection portal. After finishing the study, participants will be debriefed and given the opportunity to ask questions about their participation.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • over the age of 18
  • own a smart phone and be willing to download a mobile app
  • willing to engage in a Christian practice on a mobile app
  • score of 14 or greater on the Perceived Stress Scale (indicating at least a moderate level of stress)

Exclusion criteria

  • n/a

Treatment and study plan

pray.com app (autonomous use)

Behavioral

Participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to use the app five days per week.

pray.com app (meditative prayer condition)

Behavioral

Participants will be given a free subscription to the Pray.com app and will be directed to listen to a meditation prayer five days per week.

Primary outcomes

  1. Perceived Stress Scale

    Time frame: 2 months

    minimum value: 0, maximum value: 4, higher average item scores indicate higher levels of stress (i.e., worse outcome)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale

    Time frame: 2 months

    minimum value: 0, maximum value: 3, higher average item scores indicate higher levels of anxiety/depression (i.e., worse outcome)

  2. Mindful Attention Awareness Scale

    Time frame: 2 months

    minimum value: 1, maximum value: 6, higher average item scores indicate higher levels of mindfulness (i.e., better outcome)

  3. Copenhagen Burnout Inventory--personal Subscale

    Time frame: 2 months

    minimum value: 0, maximum value: 4, higher average item scores indicate higher levels of burnout (i.e., worse outcome)

  4. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory

    Time frame: 2 months

    Each component score of the scale ranges from 0 to 3, with 3 indicating the greatest dysfunction or disturbance. The seven component scores are then summed to obtain a total score, which ranges from 0 to 21. Higher scores indicate poorer sleep quality, with a score greater than 5 suggesting significant sleep difficulties

  5. Religious Commitment Inventory

    Time frame: 2 months

    minimum value: 1, maximum value: 5, higher average item scores indicate higher levels of religious commitment (i.e., better outcome)

  6. Spiritual Well-Being Scale

    Time frame: 2 months

    minimum value: 1, maximum value: 6, higher average item scores indicate higher levels of spiritual well-being (i.e., better outcome)

  7. Satisfaction With Life Scale

    Time frame: 2 months

    minimum value: 1, maximum value: 7, higher average item scores indicate higher levels of satisfaction with life (i.e., better outcome)

  8. Productivity

    Time frame: 2 months

    Participants' level of productivity was measured by three items (Vogel et al., 2022): Participants were asked to rate their responses on a scale from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. Participants' mean responses were calculated, with higher scores indicating higher perceived efficiency and productivity

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Biola University

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Nov 18, 2022
Registry last updated
Oct 10, 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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