Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Mental Health
Date Submitted: Sep 8, 2021
Date Accepted: Feb 22, 2022
Date Submitted to PubMed: Mar 1, 2022
Web-Based Single Session Intervention for Perceived Control Over Anxiety During COVID-19: Randomized Controlled Trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Anxiety is rising across the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, and social distancing mandates preclude in-person mental healthcare. Anxiety is not necessarily pathological; however, increased worrying about COVID-19 shows links to more severe anxiety pathology. Greater perceived control over anxiety has predicted decreased anxiety pathology, including adaptive responses to uncontrollable stressors. Evidence suggests that no-therapist, single-session interventions can strengthen perceived control over emotions like anxiety; similar programs, if designed for the COVID-19 context, could hold substantial public health value.
Objective:
Our registered report tested whether a no-therapist, single-session online intervention adapted for the COVID-19 context could: 1) decrease generalized anxiety and increase perceived control over anxiety, versus a placebo intervention and 2) achieve this without decreasing social-distancing intentions.
Methods:
We tested these questions using a between-subjects design in a weighted-probability sample of U.S. adults (N=500).
Results:
We found no support for therapeutic or iatrogenic effects; effects on generalized anxiety were d = -0.06 (P = 0.48, CI [-0.27, 0.15]), effects on perceived control were d = 0.04 (P = 0.48, CI [-0.08, 0.16]), and effects on social-distancing intentions were d = -0.02 (P = 0.83, CI [-0.23, 0.19]).
Conclusions:
Strengths of this study included a large, nationally representative sample and adherence to open science practices. Implications for scalable interventions are discussed. Clinical Trial: NCT04459455
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