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A scalable, single session intervention for perceived control over anxiety during COVID-19 (Preprint)


 BACKGROUND
 Anxiety is rising across the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, and social distancing mandates preclude in-person mental healthcare. Anxiety is not necessarily pathological; however, increased worrying about COVID-19 shows links to more severe anxiety pathology. Greater perceived control over anxiety has predicted decreased anxiety pathology, including adaptive responses to uncontrollable stressors. Evidence suggests that no-therapist, single-session interventions can strengthen perceived control over emotions like anxiety; similar programs, if designed for the COVID-19 context, could hold substantial public health value.
 
 
 OBJECTIVE
 Our registered report tested whether a no-therapist, single-session online intervention adapted for the COVID-19 context could: 1) decrease generalized anxiety and increase perceived control over anxiety, versus a placebo intervention and 2) achieve this without decreasing social-distancing intentions.
 
 
 METHODS
 We tested these questions using a between-subjects design in a weighted-probability sample of U.S. adults (N=500).
 
 
 RESULTS
 We found no support for therapeutic or iatrogenic effects; effects on generalized anxiety were d = -0.06 (P = 0.48, CI [-0.27, 0.15]), effects on perceived control were d = 0.04 (P = 0.48, CI [-0.08, 0.16]), and effects on social-distancing intentions were d = -0.02 (P = 0.83, CI [-0.23, 0.19]).
 
 
 CONCLUSIONS
 Strengths of this study included a large, nationally representative sample and adherence to open science practices. Implications for scalable interventions are discussed.
 
 
 CLINICALTRIAL
 NCT04459455
