Recruiting

PARK

Sponsor:

Northwestern University

Code:

NCT07334106

Conditions

Aging

Aging, Healthy

Aging Well

Aging, Biological

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 40 - 70

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Positive Emotion Skills Intervention

Study Details

Brief summary:

This randomized control study is designed to understand the role of a positive psychology intervention (PARK: Positive Affect Regulation sKills) in biological aging and well-being. PARK provides a series of positive emotion skills in a self-guided online format, making the program accessible and convenient.

Our main aims are:

Aim 1: To explore the effects of PARK on psychological well-being (e.g., depression, anxiety, positive affect).

Aim 2: To explore the effects of PARK on biological age as defined by DNA methylation (DNAm) GrimAge and electrocardiogram-age (ECG-age), as well as physiological well-being in adults (e.g., cardiovascular, endocrine, musculoskeletal functioning, etc.).

Conditions

Aging

Aging, Healthy

Aging Well

Aging, Biological

Study ID

NCT07334106

Start date

Sep 1, 2025

Status verified date

Jan, 2026

Completion date

Aug, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Aug, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 40 - 70

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 40-70
  • Speaks and reads English
  • Able to access the online platform through their phone, a public device (i.e., at the library) or at home.
  • Lives in the Chicagoland area
  • Willing/able to travel to the Human Longevity Lab for in-person visits

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Adults unable to consent
  • Individuals who are not yet adults (infants, children, teenagers)
  • Pregnant women
  • Prisoners
  • Vulnerable Populations
  • Pre-existing heart disease (prevalent coronary heart and cerebrovascular disease or heart failure)
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Severe psychiatric illness

Study Design

Enrollment

80 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Prevention

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Positive Emotion Skills Intervention

Participants will receive the 6-week online intervention, PARK (Positive Affect Regulation sKills Course).

no intervention: Waitlist Control

The waitlist control condition will receive usual care in the Human Longevity Lab, which consists of a feedback report on biological age and lifestyle counseling from a clinical provider at the end of the study period. Control condition participants will have the option to gain access to the PARK platform and learn positive emotion skills after their study participation is completed at the end of 12 months.

Interventions

Positive Emotion Skills Intervention

Skills include positive events, capitalizing, gratitude, mindfulness, positive reappraisal, personal strengths, achievable goals, and self-compassion. The skills will be delivered over approximately 6 weeks, and individuals can participate from any device and location with internet access. A week will consist of 1-2 days of didactic material and 5-6 days of real-life skills practice and reporting. Participants cannot skip ahead and can only progress to the next lesson if they have completed the current one, but they can return to old lessons or exercises if they wish to.

Primary outcome measure

  • Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Positive Affect (v1.0) and PROMIS Meaning and Purpose (v1.0) [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months ]
  • PROMIS Depression (v1.0), Anxiety (v1.0), Social Isolation (v2.0) [ Time Frame: baseline and 3, 6, 12 months post-baseline ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Chelsea S Brown

312-503-3712chelsea.brown@northwestern.edu

Locations

Potocsnak Human Longevity Lab

Recruiting

Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611

Contacts

Chelsea Brown

312-503-3712chelsea.brown@northwestern.edu

More Information

Sponsor

Northwestern University

Last update posted

Jan 12, 2026

Last verified

Jan, 2026

Keywords

  • Aging
  • Resilience, Psychological
  • Psychological Well-Being
  • Aging Well
  • Internet-Based Intervention

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-08. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Northwestern University on 2026-01-12.