Effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention for procrastination among university students – A randomized controlled trial study protocol
Procrastination is a widespread problem that is highly prevalent among the young adult population and is associated with several negative consequences. However, current evidence on the effectiveness of e-health interventions for procrastination either lack a comparison to an inactive control, do not...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Internet Interventions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221478292300012X |
| _version_ | 1797820677891293184 |
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| author | Arpana Amarnath Sevin Ozmen Sascha Y. Struijs Leonore de Wit Pim Cuijpers |
| author_facet | Arpana Amarnath Sevin Ozmen Sascha Y. Struijs Leonore de Wit Pim Cuijpers |
| author_sort | Arpana Amarnath |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Procrastination is a widespread problem that is highly prevalent among the young adult population and is associated with several negative consequences. However, current evidence on the effectiveness of e-health interventions for procrastination either lack a comparison to an inactive control, do not include a student population or are of poor quality. This protocol describes the design of a trial that will overcome these limitations and examine the effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention (GetStarted) to reduce problematic procrastinating behaviors in college students compared to a waitlist control. This study will be a two-armed randomized controlled trial with a calculated sample size of N = 176. Participants will be students from seven universities in the Netherlands. The intervention group will receive a four-week e-coach-guided intervention for procrastination. The waitlist control group will get access to treatment four weeks after randomization. Assessments will take place at baseline, post-test (4 weeks post-baseline) and follow-up (6 months post-baseline). Data will be analyzed with an intent-to-treat principle. The primary outcome is change in procrastination behaviors measured on the Irrational Procrastination scale (IPS). Secondary outcomes are depression, anxiety, stress, and quality of life. Additionally, sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, satisfaction with treatment, program usability, satisfaction with e-coach and treatment adherence will be examined as potential moderators. The results from this study can build evidence for the effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention for treating procrastination in college students. Should it be effective, GetStarted could provide a flexible, low-intense and cost-effective treatment for procrastination and prevent common mental health problems in college students. Trial registration: This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration and Results System (Trial number: NCT05478096). |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:41:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b6e6e5cc85de42509f5c09878b75bdfb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2214-7829 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:41:48Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Internet Interventions |
| spelling | doaj.art-b6e6e5cc85de42509f5c09878b75bdfb2023-05-25T04:24:24ZengElsevierInternet Interventions2214-78292023-04-0132100612Effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention for procrastination among university students – A randomized controlled trial study protocolArpana Amarnath0Sevin Ozmen1Sascha Y. Struijs2Leonore de Wit3Pim Cuijpers4Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Corresponding author at: Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the NetherlandsDepartment of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Institute of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the NetherlandsDepartment of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the NetherlandsDepartment of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands; WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Dissemination of Psychological InterventionsProcrastination is a widespread problem that is highly prevalent among the young adult population and is associated with several negative consequences. However, current evidence on the effectiveness of e-health interventions for procrastination either lack a comparison to an inactive control, do not include a student population or are of poor quality. This protocol describes the design of a trial that will overcome these limitations and examine the effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention (GetStarted) to reduce problematic procrastinating behaviors in college students compared to a waitlist control. This study will be a two-armed randomized controlled trial with a calculated sample size of N = 176. Participants will be students from seven universities in the Netherlands. The intervention group will receive a four-week e-coach-guided intervention for procrastination. The waitlist control group will get access to treatment four weeks after randomization. Assessments will take place at baseline, post-test (4 weeks post-baseline) and follow-up (6 months post-baseline). Data will be analyzed with an intent-to-treat principle. The primary outcome is change in procrastination behaviors measured on the Irrational Procrastination scale (IPS). Secondary outcomes are depression, anxiety, stress, and quality of life. Additionally, sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, satisfaction with treatment, program usability, satisfaction with e-coach and treatment adherence will be examined as potential moderators. The results from this study can build evidence for the effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention for treating procrastination in college students. Should it be effective, GetStarted could provide a flexible, low-intense and cost-effective treatment for procrastination and prevent common mental health problems in college students. Trial registration: This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration and Results System (Trial number: NCT05478096).http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221478292300012XInternet-based interventionGuided interventionProcrastinationUniversity studentsMental heath |
| spellingShingle | Arpana Amarnath Sevin Ozmen Sascha Y. Struijs Leonore de Wit Pim Cuijpers Effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention for procrastination among university students – A randomized controlled trial study protocol Internet Interventions Internet-based intervention Guided intervention Procrastination University students Mental heath |
| title | Effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention for procrastination among university students – A randomized controlled trial study protocol |
| title_full | Effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention for procrastination among university students – A randomized controlled trial study protocol |
| title_fullStr | Effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention for procrastination among university students – A randomized controlled trial study protocol |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention for procrastination among university students – A randomized controlled trial study protocol |
| title_short | Effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention for procrastination among university students – A randomized controlled trial study protocol |
| title_sort | effectiveness of a guided internet based intervention for procrastination among university students a randomized controlled trial study protocol |
| topic | Internet-based intervention Guided intervention Procrastination University students Mental heath |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221478292300012X |
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