Smartphone Mindfulness Autism Research Study
Completed · Not applicable
Conditions studied: Anxiety, Stress
In brief
Individuals diagnosed with autism are also often diagnosed with anxiety disorders. Therefore, having useful strategies to manage stress and anxiety may be particularly helpful for autistic individuals. Mindfulness-based interventions, delivered in-person as well as those offered remotely online, have been found to lower stress and anxiety. Although in-person mindfulness training has been found to be helpful for autistic individuals, there is little research that has studied remote app-based mindfulness training in autistic adults. This study examines whether a six-week structured intervention, using a mindfulness app, lowers anxiety and stress in autistic adults. Participants were randomly assigned either to an intervention group, which started the intervention immediately, or a wait-list control group, which participated in the same intervention program six-weeks later. Findings will provide important information about the potential for remote app-based mindfulness training to lower stress and anxiety in adults diagnosed with autism.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT05880498
- Run by
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- People needed
- 89
- Starts
- 2022-01-30
- Expected to finish
- 2023-04-17
- Last updated by the study team
- 2023-05-30
Who can join
Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Daily access to smartphone
- Professional diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder
You may not qualify if…
- Non-corrected hearing impairment (if it impacts their ability to listen to the app)
- Far below average nonverbal intellectual ability: 2 standard deviations below the mean on the Test My Brain, matrix reasoning subtest (a validated and normed proxy for nonverbal IQ)
- Listening comprehension skills that may compromise one's ability to understand the lessons and practices in the app: Below 60% correct on the Listening Comprehension measure (created for this study, based on language used in the Healthy Minds app)
- Ever taken part in a meditation retreat
- Engaged in meditation practice at least once per week over the past year
- Used Healthy Minds app ever
- Prior training with a meditation teacher (other than an introductory course)
- Practiced meditation daily for the past 6 months
Where it is running
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.