Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

University of Florida

Code:

NCT07782398

Conditions

Emotional Regulation

Alcohol Drinking in College

Emotional Eating

Aggression

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Momentary coping prompt

Active control message

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study looks at the moments when college students feel a strong emotional swing, and how those moments relate to reacting online when upset, drinking alcohol, and eating in response to emotions. Participants wear a wrist device and answer brief check-ins on their phone several times a day for about five weeks. During part of that time, a study app sometimes sends a short coping message at moments when the wrist device and check-ins suggest emotions are shifting quickly. Whether a message is sent at any given moment is decided at random, and the study compares what participants do in the short window afterward. An optional part of the study collects one small hair sample, which is tested for two hormones related to stress and to status-linked behavior, so the researchers can see whether longer-term hormone levels relate to how people respond in the moment. The study is a pilot designed to test whether the approach works and to estimate how large its effects are.

Conditions

Emotional Regulation

Alcohol Drinking in College

Emotional Eating

Aggression

Study ID

NCT07782398

Start date

Sep 21, 2026

Status verified date

Sep, 2026

Completion date

Dec, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

May, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Currently enrolled University of Florida student
  • Age 18 years or older
  • Owns a smartphone used daily
  • Willing to wear a wrist-worn device and complete brief check-ins several times daily for approximately five weeks
  • For the optional hair biomarker sub-study only: at least approximately 1 cm of hair at the posterior vertex, no scalp wound, rash, or dermatologic treatment at the collection site, and natural hair growth accessible at the collection site

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Varsity student-athlete governed by the university athletic association
  • Unable to complete study procedures in English

Study Design

Enrollment

80 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Prevention

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Coping prompt delivered

Decision points at which the randomization outcome is to deliver a brief cognitive-behavioral or acceptance-based coping message. Message type is selected at random from those eligible in the participant's current context. Every participant contributes decision points to this condition.

active comparator: No coping prompt or active control message

Decision points at which the randomization outcome is not to deliver a coping message. A brief neutral, non-directive acknowledgment message may be delivered as an active control so that receiving any message can be separated from receiving a coping message. Every participant contributes decision points to this condition.

Interventions

Momentary coping prompt

A single short message of one to three sentences delivered to the participant's smartphone at a randomized decision point, taking roughly fifteen to thirty seconds to read. Messages apply cognitive-behavioral techniques including thought records, perspective-taking, decatastrophizing, cost-benefit checks, implementation intentions, and behavioral redirection, or acceptance-based techniques including cognitive defusion, acceptance, values anchoring, urge surfing, and present-moment grounding. Delivery is capped at four messages per day with a minimum sixty-minute interval and is confined to participant-set waking hours. Messages may be dismissed without responding.

Active control message

A brief neutral acknowledgment message matched to the coping messages on delivery mechanism and approximate length, containing no coping technique or behavioral suggestion.

Primary outcome measure

  • Momentary urge to post or reply reactively, score on a 7-point scale. [ Time Frame: Within 2 hours after each randomized decision point, across weeks 2 to 5. ]
  • Momentary urge to drink alcohol, score on a 7-point scale. [ Time Frame: Within 2 hours after each randomized decision point, across weeks 2 to 5. ]
  • Momentary emotional influence on eating, score on a 7-point scale. [ Time Frame: Within 2 hours after each randomized decision point, across weeks 2 to 5 ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Yonghwan Chang, PhD

352-294-1664yhchang@ufl.edu

Locations

University of Florida

Recruiting

Gainesville, Florida, United States, 32611

Contacts

Yonghwan Chang, PhD

352-294-1664yhchang@ufl.edu

Principal Investigator:

Yonghwan Chang, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

University of Florida

Last update posted

Oct 1, 2026

Last verified

Sep, 2026

Keywords

  • just-in-time adaptive intervention
  • micro-randomized trial
  • ecological momentary assessment
  • wearable sensor
  • hair cortisol
  • emotional volatility
  • college students

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-10-02. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Florida on 2026-10-01. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.