NCT02647801

Self-control and Mindfulness Within Ambulatorily Assessed Network Systems Across Health Related Domains

The SMASH Study: Self-control and Mindfulness Within Ambulatorily Assessed Network Systems Across Health Related Domains

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 137 (actual)
• Sponsor: Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The aim of this trial is to test a novel network approach (Bringmann et al., 2013), which enables to investigate the complex, interdependent network of self-control and its influences in everyday life. By adding an intervention to the network, such as mindfulness training, it is also possible to explore the way mindfulness changes connection strengths between network variables. For six weeks, an ambulatory assessment and additional seven weekly laboratory sessions are conducted with 120 students from the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz who are randomized to a control (n=60) or intervention condition (n=60). Pre and post measurement sessions take place to assess self-reported trait self-control and mindfulness and a behavioral measure of mindfulness (Levinson, Stoll, Kindy, Merry \& Davidson 2014). Participants of both the experimental and control condition come to five weekly lab meetings in which they fill out questionnaires to assess changes in self-reported self-control and mindfulness. But only participants of the experimental condition take part in weekly computer based mindfulness trainings. During the ambulatory assessment, participants complete questionnaires six times a day via mobile phones that are randomly prompted and answer questions about state self-control, motivation, affect, and current situation.

Conditions

• Self Regulation

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Mindfulness intervention	Mindfulness is practiced with a weekly computer based guided breathing meditation in which one's own breath has to be counted repetitively from 1 to 9. Participants have to press a specific button for breaths 1 to 8 and then press another button for breath 9 on a keyboard. During this practice they put on headphones and listen to a voice that guides them through breathing meditation. A "click" sound will occur if breath is miscounted (Levinson et al., 2014). After each computer based breathing meditation the experimenter and participants exchange meditation experiences and views. After the first mindfulness training participants in the experimental group are also able to practice mindfulness at home by listening to audio files on the mobile phone (bodyscan or breathing meditation).

Timeline

• Start date: 2015-09-01
• Primary completion: 2016-12-01
• Completion: 2016-12-01
• First posted: 2016-01-06
• Last updated: 2017-03-07

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Germany