Recruiting

JoyPop

Sponsor:

Lakehead University

Code:

NCT06239545

Conditions

Emotion Regulation

Depression

Anxiety

Stress

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 25

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Usual Practice + JoyPop

Study Details

Brief summary:

New challenges, stressors, and a loss of support often accompany the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Not surprisingly, transitional-aged youth (TAY) between the ages of 18-25 experience some of the highest rates of mental distress. However, access to mental health services diminish for TAY due to gaps in care when transitioning from pediatric to adult services. These challenges are exacerbated in rural communities, such as in Northwestern Ontario, where youth already access mental health services less frequently and face longer wait times than those in more urban areas. Limited access and extended waits can exacerbate symptoms, prolong distress, and increase the risk for adverse outcomes. Novel, innovative approaches are urgently needed to support TAY in Northwestern Ontario. In partnership with St. Joseph Care Group and Thunder Bay Counselling Centre, the investigators are evaluating the impact of a mental health app (JoyPop) as a tool for TAY waiting for mental health services. The JoyPop app was developed to support improved emotion regulation - a fundamental difficulty for youth presenting with mental health challenges. A two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the app compared to usual practice while TAY are waiting for mental health services.

Conditions

Emotion Regulation

Depression

Anxiety

Stress

Study ID

NCT06239545

Start date

Feb 1, 2024

Status verified date

Sep, 2025

Completion date

Dec, 2025

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec, 2025

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 25

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Youth must be on the wait-list for mental health services at St. Joseph's Care Group or Thunder Bay Counselling Centre and be between 18-25 years old.
  • Eligible youth will also need to be available to attend a virtual or in-person orientation session.
  • In order to download the JoyPop app, participants will need access to an iOS device (e.g., iPhone, iPad). Refurbished iPhones containing just the JoyPop app will be provided to participants to use for the duration of the trial if they do not have access to their own.

Study Design

Enrollment

110 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Usual Practice + JoyPop

Participants will be monitored through the existing wait-list practices, and will receive access to the JoyPop app for 4 weeks.

no intervention: Usual Practice

Participants will be monitored through existing wait-list practices. After 4 weeks in the Usual Practice condition, participants will be offered access to the JoyPop app.

Interventions

Usual Practice + JoyPop

Participants will be asked to use the app at least twice daily but will otherwise not be provided with requirements related to feature or total usage.

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in emotion regulation (overall) [ Time Frame: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form will be administered at baseline (pre), after 2 weeks (mid), and after 4 weeks (post) ]
  • Change in emotion regulation (strategies) [ Time Frame: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form will be administered at baseline (pre), after 2 weeks (mid), and after 4 weeks (post) ]
  • Change in emotion regulation (non-acceptance) [ Time Frame: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form will be administered at baseline (pre), after 2 weeks (mid), and after 4 weeks (post) ]
  • Change in emotion regulation (impulse) [ Time Frame: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form will be administered at baseline (pre), after 2 weeks (mid), and after 4 weeks (post) ]
  • Change in emotion regulation (goals) [ Time Frame: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form will be administered at baseline (pre), after 2 weeks (mid), and after 4 weeks (post) ]
  • Change in emotion regulation (awareness) [ Time Frame: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form will be administered at baseline (pre), after 2 weeks (mid), and after 4 weeks (post) ]
  • Change in emotion regulation (clarity) [ Time Frame: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form will be administered at baseline (pre), after 2 weeks (mid), and after 4 weeks (post) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Aislin R Mushquash, PhD

807-343-8010aislin.mushquash@lakeheadu.ca

Locations

Lakehead University

Recruiting

Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, P7B5E1

More Information

Sponsor

Lakehead University

Last update posted

Sep 10, 2025

Last verified

Sep, 2025

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Lakehead University on 2025-09-10.