Harnessing Generativity Among Young Adult Cancer Survivors

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Cancer, Young Adults

In brief

Short, online interventions designed to enhance well-being may be particularly amenable for use with adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors (age 15-39 at diagnosis), an understudied group in the cancer community. The benefits of psychological well-being on both physical and mental health outcomes are well-known and, in recent years, researchers and policymakers have begun to view the period of adolescence and young adulthood as a window of opportunity to instantiate lasting habits and behaviors. Growing evidence suggests that prosocial behavior-a behavior that can be reliably manipulated through a short online intervention-may have beneficial effects on well-being and physical health. This has yet to be tested in AYA cancer survivors. Drawing from the literature on positive psychology and prosocial interventions, the proposed study will test the feasibility and efficacy of an 8-week online peer helping intervention designed to increase well-being among AYA cancer survivors. AYA cancer survivors (n = 176) will be recruited and randomized to one of three conditions: a peer helping condition, a cancer-specific writing plus peer helping condition, or a cancer-specific writing condition (control condition). The second group was added in response to a previous study, which found that writing about one's experience prior to helping other survivors may be more beneficial. Participants will complete a weekly writing activity once per week for 4 weeks, with instructions administered via a weekly email. Participants will also complete online assessments before, during, and after the 4-week intervention period.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT04272346

Run by

University of California, Los Angeles

People needed

204

Starts

2020-08-17

Expected to finish

2021-04-07

Last updated by the study team

2021-04-27

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 39. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• diagnosis of cancer (any type) between the ages of 15 and 39 years
• have completed primary treatment and are in remission (partial or complete)
• between the ages of 18 and 39 years
• fluent in English
• have access to the internet and email.

You may not qualify if…

• none

Where it is running

• University of California, Los Angeles — Los Angeles, California, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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