Psychological DistressNCT07588451
Effectiveness of a Brief Gratitude Writing Intervention on State Optimism, State Gratitude, and Psychological Distress
A study testing Gratitude Writing Intervention, Expressive Writing and Neutral writing in people with Psychological Distress, run by Kinnaird College for Women at 1 site in Pakistan.
Trial summary
The goal of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of brief writing interventions on state optimism, state gratitude and psychological distress among female university students. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 25 years, women onlyHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Psychological Distress
- What is being tested?
- Gratitude Writing Intervention, Expressive Writing and Neutral writing
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 96 participants
- Where
- 1 sitePakistan
- Study dates
- 20 Jun 2026to Aug 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 25 years
- Women only
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Female undergraduate students
- Students scoring mild to moderate distress on Kessler Psychological Distress scale
Who cannot join
- Female university students enrolled in psychology programs
- Students with physical disability
- Students who are already in therapy
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Pakistan1 site
Kinnaird College For Women University
Lahore, Punjab Province, 54000
About this study
Official title: Effectiveness of a Brief Gratitude Writing Intervention on State Optimism, State Gratitude, and Psychological Distress Among Female University Students
The goal of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of brief writing interventions on state optimism, state gratitude and psychological distress among female university students. There are three groups; gratitude writing group where participants are required to write about the things they are grateful for, expressive writing group where participants are required to write about their deepest feelings and thoughts from last week and a control group where participants just write about the tasks they completed in the past week.
- Conditions
- Psychological Distress
- Being tested
- Gratitude Writing Intervention, Expressive Writing, Neutral writing
- Keywords
- gratitude writing, expressive writing, state optimism, state gratitude, psychological distress, brief interventions
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Gratitude Writing InterventionOther
Participants write the things they are grateful and thankful in their life for. It could be anything they want to write about for a period of 10 mins. They can write it in the language of their own choice and in what ever format they prefer.
Expressive WritingOther
Participants write about their deepest feelings and thoughts from the past week. They are given 10 mins to write. They can write in language of their own choice and in any format they prefer.
Neutral writingOther
Participants are asked to write about the tasks they have completed in the past week in 10 mins. They can write in the language of their choice and in any format they prefer
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Gratitude Writing | Experimental | Participants write about the things they are grateful. They are given a total of 10 mins with no language or structural limit or restriction for the writing. Receives: Other: Gratitude Writing Intervention |
| Expressive Writing | Active comparator | Participants are asked to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings from the past week for a period of 10 mins without any language or structure limit or restriction. Receives: Other: Expressive Writing |
| Control | Sham comparator | The participants were asked to write about the tasks they completed in the past week for 10 mins without any language of structure limit or restriction Receives: Other: Neutral writing |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
State Optimism measured by State Optimism Measure
Change in state optimism assessed using the State Optimism Measure. Higher scores indicate greater levels of state optimism.
Measured: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the intervention
Secondary outcomes (2)
State gratitude measured by the Gratitude Adjective Checklist
Change in state gratitude assessed using the Gratitude Adjective Checklist. Higher scores indicate greater levels of state gratitude.
Measured: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the intervention
Psychological distress measured by the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10)
Change in psychological distress assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Total scores range from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating greater psychological distress.
Measured: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the intervention
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted14 May 2026
- Study start20 Jun 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completionAug 2026 (estimated)
- Study completionAug 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Psychological DistressStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- The study used a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group research design
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 96 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Kinnaird College for Women
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Kainat Safdar, Kinnaird College for Women
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07588451
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 46hv4152kbj2451
- Status last verified
- May 2026
- First submitted
- 30 Apr 2026
- Last updated
- 14 May 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 14 May 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Effectiveness of a Brief Gratitude Writing Intervention on State Optimism, State Gratitude, and Psychological Distress Among Female University Students
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07588451
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 46hv4152kbj2451
- Conditions
- Psychological Distress
- Keywords
- gratitude writing, expressive writing, state optimism, state gratitude, psychological distress, brief interventions
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 96 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Kinnaird College for WomenUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 20 Jun 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- Aug 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Aug 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 14 May 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of brief writing interventions on state optimism, state gratitude and psychological distress among female university students. There are three groups; gratitude writing group where participants are required to write about the things they are grateful for, expressive writing group where participants are required to write about their deepest feelings and thoughts from last week and a control group where participants just write about the tasks they completed in the past week.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 3
- Model description
- The study used a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group research design
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Gratitude Writing | Experimental | Other: Gratitude Writing InterventionParticipants write about the things they are grateful. They are given a total of 10 mins with no language or structural limit or restriction for the writing. |
| Expressive Writing | Active comparator | Other: Expressive WritingParticipants are asked to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings from the past week for a period of 10 mins without any language or structure limit or restriction. |
| Control | Sham comparator | Other: Neutral writingThe participants were asked to write about the tasks they completed in the past week for 10 mins without any language of structure limit or restriction |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 25 years
- Sex
- Female only
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Female undergraduate students
- Students scoring mild to moderate distress on Kessler Psychological Distress scale
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Female university students enrolled in psychology programs
- Students with physical disability
- Students who are already in therapy
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Gratitude Writing InterventionParticipants write the things they are grateful and thankful in their life for. It could be anything they want to write about for a period of 10 mins. They can write it in the language of their own choice and in what ever format they prefer. | Other | Gratitude Writing |
| Expressive WritingParticipants write about their deepest feelings and thoughts from the past week. They are given 10 mins to write. They can write in language of their own choice and in any format they prefer. | Other | Expressive Writing |
| Neutral writingParticipants are asked to write about the tasks they have completed in the past week in 10 mins. They can write in the language of their choice and in any format they prefer | Other | Control |
Primary outcome
State Optimism measured by State Optimism Measure
Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the intervention
Change in state optimism assessed using the State Optimism Measure. Higher scores indicate greater levels of state optimism.
2 secondary outcomes
State gratitude measured by the Gratitude Adjective Checklist
Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the intervention
Psychological distress measured by the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10)
Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the intervention
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 14 May 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Gratitude Writing Intervention, Expressive Writing and Neutral writing in people with Psychological Distress, run by Kinnaird College for Women at 1 site in Pakistan.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 14 May 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Pakistan. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Kainat Safdar (+923164684767, kainat.safder@gmail.com), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
State Optimism measured by State Optimism Measure (time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the intervention). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 14 May 2026.