Loneliness clinical trials at UC Irvine

This project includes three studies that explore the effectiveness of brief internet interventions for mental health and loneliness. Study 1: The goal of this clinical trial is to examine if a brief online single-session intervention (SSI) adapted from an evidence-based internet cognitive behavioral therapy can reduce feelings of loneliness in people aged 16 and older who struggle with loneliness. The main question it aims to answer is if a brief SSI is sufficient to meaningfully reduce loneliness compared to an active control. Researchers will test these questions by comparing change in loneliness after 8 weeks between participants randomly assigned to either 1) a 30-minute online SSI for loneliness or 2) a 3-session online intervention for loneliness or 3) an active control SSI. Study 2: The goal of this clinical trial is to examine if an SSI for psychological distress that uses popular online content as its primary form of intervention content can reduce feelings of psychological distress in people aged 16 and older who struggle with psychological distress. The main questions it aims to answer are 1) if curated popular online content can be more effective in supporting people struggling with psychological distress than researcher-created content and 2) if curated popular online content can be more effective in supporting people struggling with psychological distress than un-curated self-selected popular online content. Researchers will test these questions by comparing change in distress after 8 weeks between participants randomly assigned to either 1) 25-minute popular online content-based SSI for distress or 2) an effective 25-minute online SSI for distress with evidence-based researcher-created content or 3) online help-seeking as usual. Study 3: The goal of this clinical trial is to examine if an SSI for loneliness that uses popular online content as its primary form of intervention content can reduce feelings of loneliness in people aged 16 and older who struggle with loneliness. The main questions it aims to answer are 1) if curated popular online content can be more effective in supporting people struggling with loneliness than researcher-created content, 2) if curated popular online content can be more effective in supporting people struggling with psychological distress than an active control, and 3) replicating the comparison in study 1, if a brief SSI is sufficient to meaningfully reduce loneliness compared to an active control. The study will test these questions by comparing change in loneliness after 8 weeks between participants randomly assigned to either 1) a 25-minute popular online content-based SSI for loneliness or 2) a 25-minute online SSI for loneliness with evidence-based researcher-created content or 3) an active control SSI.