Immigrants Clinical Trial
Official title:
A Positive Activity Intervention to Promote Optimism and Psychological Wellbeing in Romanian Immigrants
This study aims to test the efficacy of an intervention focused on promoting positive emotions (Best Possible Self - BPS) to improve the psychological wellbeing of Romanian immigrants living in Spain. It is hypothesized that the BPS intervention will significantly improve a series of positive mental health outcomes, i.e., optimism, future expectancies, and affect, compared to the Control group.
| Status | Recruiting |
| Enrollment | 80 |
| Est. completion date | November 2015 |
| Est. primary completion date | August 2015 |
| Accepts healthy volunteers | Accepts Healthy Volunteers |
| Gender | Both |
| Age group | 18 Years and older |
| Eligibility |
Inclusion Criteria: - Romanian immigrant in Spain - Sign a consent form stating their willingness to participate Exclusion Criteria: - Presence of severe physical illness - Presence of severe psychological disorder - Be currently involved in another psychological treatment |
Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Single Blind (Subject), Primary Purpose: Treatment
| Country | Name | City | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | University Jaume I | Castellón de la Plana | Castellón |
| Lead Sponsor | Collaborator |
|---|---|
| Universitat Jaume I |
Spain,
González-Castro JL, Ubillos S. Determinants of psychological distress among migrants from Ecuador and Romania in a Spanish city. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2011 Jan;57(1):30-44. doi: 10.1177/0020764010347336. — View Citation
MacLeod, Byrne, & Valentine (1996). Affect, emotional disorder, and future-directed thinking. Cognition & Emotion 10: 69-86.
Meevissen YM, Peters ML, Alberts HJ. Become more optimistic by imagining a best possible self: effects of a two week intervention. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2011 Sep;42(3):371-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2011.02.012. Epub 2011 Mar 2. — View Citation
Molero, F., Recio, P., García-Ael, C., Fuster, M. J., & Sanjuán, P. (2013). Measuring dimensions of perceived discrimination in five stigmatized groups. Social indicators research, 114(3), 901-914.
Peters ML, Flink IK, Boersma K, Linton SJ. Manipulating optimism: can imagining a best possible self be used to increase positive future expectancies? Journal of Positive Psychology 5: 204-211, 2010.
Renner F, Schwarz P, Peters ML, Huibers MJ. Effects of a best-possible-self mental imagery exercise on mood and dysfunctional attitudes. Psychiatry Res. 2014 Jan 30;215(1):105-10. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2013.10.033. Epub 2013 Nov 1. — View Citation
Sheldon, K. M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2006). How to increase and sustain positive emotion: The effects of expressing gratitude and visualizing best possible selves. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(2), 73-82.
| Type | Measure | Description | Time frame | Safety issue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | Self Concordance Motivation | This questionnaire assess extrinsic and intrinsic motivation to practice the imagery exercise, rated on a 9-point scale ranging from 1 "not at all for this reason" to 9 "completely for this reason". SCM has been correlated withparticipants' frequency of practicing a daily imagery exercise and with self-reported imagery performance, a key aspect in self-applied interventions. | baseline | No |
| Other | Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Discrimination | This scale is made up of 20 items that measure four aspects of perceived discrimination: blatant group discrimination, subtle group discrimination, blatant individual discrimination and subtle individual discrimination. | baseline | No |
| Other | Social Support | This scale is an adapted version of the questionnaire designed by Gonzalez-Castro and Ubillos (2011). This questionnaire measures the social support received from other Romanians in Spain and from the Spanish people, in three areas: tangible social support (support in leisure activities), emotional support (care, love) and informational and instrumental support (help in addressing problems). In addition, the questionnaire measures the support received from those who live in the country of origin of the immigrant (1 = never receives support, 4 = receives a lot of support). | baseline | No |
| Primary | Subjective Probability Task | This scale measures positive and negative expectancies about future events. It consists of 20 statements referring to negative expectancies and 10 statements referring to positive expectancies. Participants answer on a 7-point scale (Not at all likely to occur - Extremely likely to occur). Some studies have found an appropriate levels of internal consistency for positive and negative expectancies (a=0.80-0.82 and 0.91, respectively) | 1 month | No |
| Secondary | Positive and Negative Affect Scale | This measure analyzes the levels of positive (PA) and negative affect (NA). The instrument consists of 20 items, 10 for each level of affect. Participants rate on a 5-point scale (Not at all - Extremely). | 1 month | No |
| Secondary | Beck Depression Inventory II | This is one of the most widely questionnaires used to evaluate severity of depression in pharmacological and psychotherapy trials. The instrument has good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha of 0.76 to 0.95) and test-retest reliability of around 0.8. | 1 month | No |
| Secondary | Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale | OASIS is a brief instrument consisting of 5 items that measure the frequency and severity of anxiety, as well as the level of avoidance and work/school/home and social interference that anxiety produces. | 1 month | No |
| Secondary | Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale | 1 month | No | |
| Secondary | Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale | 1 month | No | |
| Secondary | Life Orientation Test | This scale measures positive and negative expectancies about future events. It consists of 20 statements referring to negative expectancies and 10 statements referring to positive expectancies. Participants answer on a 7-point scale (Not at all likely to occur - Extremely likely to occur). Some studies have found an appropriate levels of internal consistency for positive and negative expectancies (a=0.80-0.82 and 0.91, respectively). | 1 month | No |
| Secondary | Hope Scale | 1 month | No | |
| Secondary | Quality of Life Index | It consists of 10 items that evaluate perceived well-being in different areas (physical, psychological/emotional, occupational functioning, interpersonal functioning, among others) | 1 month | No |
| Secondary | Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being | 1 month | No |