Universitat Jaume I de Castellón

The study aims to develop and implement a self-applied online psychological intervention for the correction of Emotional Reasoning bias for people with public speaking anxiety. By comparing the effects of this training for ER biases vs. a non-specific mindfulness intervention, the newly developed intervention is expected to promote a greater reduction in emotional reasoning bias and the severity of symptomatology associated with public speaking anxiety.

Background: Symptoms of depression and anxiety are prevalent among Spanish university students. Minimally guided online interventions have shown promise in reducing symptomatology and preventing increased mental distress. There is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of guided preventive mental health interventions for depression and anxiety in university students.
Methods: two-arm multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT), addressed to undergraduate students from 6 public universities with symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. Students will be evaluated through an online survey assessing mental health problems, use of mental health services, sociodemographic variables, self-perceived health, childhood and adolescent adversities, recent stressful events, social networks, personality and university experiences. A total of 600 students will be randomly assigned to: intervention group (guided E-health prevention intervention) or control group (treatment as usual with self-monitoring). The intervention, in app format, is based on principles of cognitive behavioral therapy, includes weekly feedback based on content and participation from a psychologist and self-monitoring. Assessments will take place post-intervention (up to 6 weeks), at 6 months and 12 months after randomization. The primary outcome will be the reduction of depressive or anxiety symptoms post-intervention, assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-Anxiety and Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS). Secondary outcomes of the RCT will be mental wellbeing, academic stress, comorbid symptoms, and adherence. Analyses will be conducted on an intention-to-treat and per protocol basis.
Discussion: The results of the PROMES-U RCT will provide valuable information on a guided preventive online intervention that could be delivered in the campus context. In addition, results will provide information on the positive impact of the intervention on other relevant factors involved in mental health among university students.

This study will consist in a randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) to test the efficacy of a blended group transversal protocol (BLGr-TP) compared to a face-to-face group transversal protocol (FFGr-TP).
The main aims of the study are the following:
* To analyze the differential efficacy of the BLGr-TP versus the FFGr-TP for the treatment of emotional disorders in aspects of clinical measures, as well as in terms of retention and dropout rate and adherence.
* To analyze the differential acceptability of the BLGr-TP versus the FFGr-TP for the treatment of emotional disorders.
In addition, it is intended to carry out a study of mediators and moderators of the efficacy of both interventions.
The established hypotheses in relation to the main goals are:
* Both treatment modalities (FFGr-TP and BLGr-TP) will achieve improvements in the symptoms of emotional disorders, reflected in the scores of the clinical measures.
* The BLGr-TP will show equivalent efficacy to the FFGr-TP.
* The BLGr-TP will show an acceptability comparable to the face-to-face protocol. Both modalities will be well valued by the participants.
* In both treatment modalities, the changes achieved are expected to be maintained over time (3, 6 and 12 months).