Ignite Creation Date:
2024-05-06 @ 3:12 PM
Last Modification Date:
2024-10-26 @ 1:44 PM
Study NCT ID:
NCT04550286
Status:
UNKNOWN
Last Update Posted:
2021-06-08
First Post:
2020-07-06
Brief Title:
Study Smart Effectiveness of a Smartphone Use Intervention on Students Performance and Well-being
Sponsor:
University of WittenHerdecke
Organization:
University of WittenHerdecke
Study Overview
Official Title:
Study Smart A Randomized Control Trial Examining the Effectiveness of an Individual Planning Intervention to Reduce Smartphone Interferences on Students Academic Performance and Well-being
Status:
UNKNOWN
Status Verified Date:
2021-06
Last Known Status:
RECRUITING
Delayed Posting:
No
If Stopped, Why?:
Not Stopped
Has Expanded Access:
False
If Expanded Access, NCT#:
N/A
Has Expanded Access, NCT# Status:
N/A
Acronym:
None
Brief Summary:
Smartphone use in academic contexts eg in lectures or while studying for an exam appears to go along with negative effects on students academic performance ie concentration perceived learning achievement and grades and well-being eg anxiety positive and negative affect Despite these alarming effects intervention studies aiming at reducing smartphone interference are generally scarce and evidential inconsistent For instance existing studies suggest that short separation phases from smartphones accelerate anxiety and lead to cravings and smartphone overuse after the separation period Other studies however conclude that separation phases enhance individual well-being and academic performance
RESEARCH QUESTIONS The present study aims at rigorously studying the effects of smartphone separation during exam phases on university students performance and well-being To do so smartphone use reduction is incorporated into students everyday life and encouraged through a planning intervention The main research questions concern whether the intervention can reduce smartphone use in students whether planning is effective in this regard whether the intervention positively affects students academic performance eg concentration perceived performance grades and whether the intervention enhances students well-being eg increased positive and decreased negative affect lower anxiety Furthermore possible moderating eg smartphone dependence FoMO and mediating variables eg exam preparation-related flow smartphone usage time used mobile applications are examined
METHOD Students are to develop action plans BCT 14 plans on how to reduce smartphone use during exam phases and coping plans BCT 12 plans on how to uphold reduced smartphone use during exam phases despite potential stressors or urges The relevant variables are assessed over the course of 5 measurement points t1-t3 take place on a weekly basis t4 takes place after the last exam t5 takes place 2 months after t4 Furthermore smartphone use smartphone use time used mobile applications is objectively measured via a mobile application
RESEARCH QUESTIONS The present study aims at rigorously studying the effects of smartphone separation during exam phases on university students performance and well-being To do so smartphone use reduction is incorporated into students everyday life and encouraged through a planning intervention The main research questions concern whether the intervention can reduce smartphone use in students whether planning is effective in this regard whether the intervention positively affects students academic performance eg concentration perceived performance grades and whether the intervention enhances students well-being eg increased positive and decreased negative affect lower anxiety Furthermore possible moderating eg smartphone dependence FoMO and mediating variables eg exam preparation-related flow smartphone usage time used mobile applications are examined
METHOD Students are to develop action plans BCT 14 plans on how to reduce smartphone use during exam phases and coping plans BCT 12 plans on how to uphold reduced smartphone use during exam phases despite potential stressors or urges The relevant variables are assessed over the course of 5 measurement points t1-t3 take place on a weekly basis t4 takes place after the last exam t5 takes place 2 months after t4 Furthermore smartphone use smartphone use time used mobile applications is objectively measured via a mobile application
Detailed Description:
Smartphones have become integral parts of students everyday life Research has shown that students excessively use their smartphones during semester times in lectures and while studying and that their smartphone use seldomly serves educational purposes Unsurprisingly smartphone interferences within such academically relevant situations can impair students performance For instance it has been shown that students are more distracted experience less study-related flow evaluate their own performance more negatively and achieve lower grades when engaging with their smartphones in academic contexts Besides these performance-related downsides research also suggests that smartphone use can impair students well-being Excessive use of smartphones and social media applications has been linked to various well-being-related issues such as negative affect stress and anxiety As students have been identified as a high-risk group prone to smartphone overuse and smartphone addiction they should be particularly susceptible to such well-being-related consequences
The overall goal of all institutions of higher education must be the promotion of students academic success as well as students well-being as these two interrelated factors act as important predictors for both individual and public health and functioning Consequently while it is valuable to examine the negative effects of smartphone use on performance and well-being in academic contexts and understand their underlying processes it is just as important to explore possible interventions to mitigate such negative outcomes Here it is necessary to answer questions regarding the effectiveness of such interventions eg smartphone abstinence on a variety of outcome variables and incorporate possible mediating or moderating influences relevant to the effects of such interventions on students performance and well-being Unfortunately intervention studies in this regard are scarce Yet existing research indicates inconsistent findings In fact there is some evidence that short separation phases from smartphones result in higher anxiety levels Moreover phases of smartphone and social media abstinence appear to go along with smartphone cravings and potential overuse after the intervention is over However some studies found promising effects of separation phases on well-being life satisfaction procrastination perceived stress or depression A first study that investigated separation phases from smartphones among students revealed positive effects on individual well-being and performance by enhancing personal lifestyle health and academic management and reducing smartphone overuse Yet such intervention studies are extremely limited and need to be studied more rigorously Especially moderating or mediating variables need to be taken into account to explain the effectiveness of smartphone abstinence interventions In this light smartphone addiction and fear of missing out FOMO seem to play an important role concerning the detrimental effect of smartphone abstinence on well-being Finally existing studies have mainly focused on the effects of smartphone separation phases lasting several hours or even days As these are rather unrealistic settings future interventions should be designed in ways that integrate pauses from smartphone use into peoples everyday life
Consequently the present study aims at investigating the effectiveness of an intervention in which students are to develop action plans BCT 14 as well as coping plans BCT 12 allowing them to study without smartphone interferences Planning is a very simple strategy with impressive effects as indicated by medium to large effect sizes on behavior observed across various populations and behaviors During a planning intervention an individual is linking a situational cue whenwhere to an intended behavioral response how by mental simulation of anticipated situations Thus the goal is to link a specific cue to an intended action in order to translate goal intentions into behavior In addition planning is often complemented by coping planning anticipation of barriers and the formation of plans on how to overcome them In this study individuals are to complete a planning sheet that contains both action and coping plans to restrict their own smartphone use during learning periods
The measured outcomes include a variety of performance- ie ability to concentrate perceived learning achievement exam grade exam-related stress and well-being-related variables eg positive and negative affect anxiety subjective well-being Furthermore in this study the mediating role of variables sought to be promoted through the intervention ie decreased daily smartphone use decreased daily use of social media applications increased exam preparation-related flow and possible moderators ie smartphone addiction FoMO are also investigated
The aims of the present study are threefold First the effectiveness of planning a separation from the smartphone during an exam phase is compared against a control group on a device-based assessment of smartphone use Besides this first main aim it is also aimed at specifically comparing the effectiveness of the planning intervention to a control group on academic performance and well-being among students Third this study examines the assumed underlying mechanisms as well as possible moderators of the planning intervention
Research questions and hypotheses
Research question 1 Is planning an effective strategy to reduce smartphone use among students during an exam period
Hypotheses 1a - 1b Students in the planning intervention group will display a shorter overall smartphone use b decreased use of social media applications than students in the control group
Research question 2 What are the underlying mechanisms of the planning intervention in students regarding smartphone use reduction
Hypotheses 2a - 2b The effect of planning on smartphone use reduction is mediated by a individual action planning and b individual coping planning
Research question 3 Does the planning intervention result in higher academic performance
Hypotheses 3a - 3d Students in the planning intervention group will a display greater ability to concentrate b experience lower study-related stress c evaluate their perceived learning achievement more positively and d achieve better exam grades than students in the control group
Research question 4 What are possible moderators of the relationship between the planning intervention and academic performance
Hypotheses 4a - 4b The effect of the intervention on students academic performance will be moderated by their levels of a fear of missing out and b smartphone addiction
Research question 5 What are the underlying mechanisms of the planning intervention regarding academic performance in students
Hypotheses 5a - 5d The effect of the planning intervention on students academic performance will be mediated by a shorter overall smartphone use b decreased use of social media applications and c enhanced exam preparation-related flow
Research question 6 Does the planning intervention result in more well-being in students
Hypotheses 6a - 6d Students in the planning intervention group will a display higher levels of positive affect b lower levels of negative affect c less anxiety and d higher subjective well-being than students in the control group
Research question 7 What are possible moderators of the relationship between the planning intervention and well-being in students
Hypotheses 7a - 7b The effect of the intervention on students well-being will be moderated by their levels of a fear of missing out and b smartphone addiction
Research question 8 What are the underlying mechanisms of the planning intervention in students regarding well-being
Hypotheses 8a - 8d The effect of the planning intervention on students well-being will be mediated by a shorter overall smartphone use and b decreased use of social media applications
Study Design
The present study utilizes an online longitudinal randomized control trial conducted at nationwide universities in Germany over a course of 3 months per data collection period Assessments will be conducted in a student sample weekly before the examination phase t1-t3 after the first exam t4 and after the exam grades have been announced t5 Students will be randomly assigned to an intervention and a control group
First interested individuals have to fill in a prescreening questionnaire In case all inclusion criteria are met students have to fill in the Baseline assessment At the end of the Baseline measurement all students will be given general advice on how to organize their study environment and behavior to improve their overall learning performance eg organization of materials for exam preparation pauses during exam preparation Participants in the intervention group will also be instructed to develop individual action and coping plans to decrease smartphone interferences when studying Students in the control group have to fill out questionnaires on general health behavior instead Students in both groups will also be asked to install a mobile application on their smartphones which objectively measures each participants daily smartphone use screen activations and specific application usage The application will not inform participants about their smartphone use but log the data in the background Participants will be instructed to not uninstall the application before the measurement time point t4
One week after the Baseline measurement and the intervention participants receive the online questionnaire t2 and two weeks after the Baseline measurement questionnaire t3 follows After the first exam which was asked for in the Baseline assessment participants will receive questionnaire t4 Two month later participants will receive a short questionnaire t5 that ask for the exam grades All participants will be debriefed at the end of the study Through their participation students can participate in a voucher raffle this information is provided before study participation and again at the end of each questionnaire
Additional analyses according to the COVID-19 pandemic
During data collection of the originally planned study Study Smart the global pandemic COVID-19 occurred Because this gives us data from students across different phases of the pandemic we plan to conduct additional analyses of the data as described below
In this additional analyses we compare the emotional well-being ie positive and negative affect general well-being and perceived stress and academic functioning ie academic well-being encompassing study-related stress and test anxiety academic self-perception encompassing students academic self-concept and perceived study-related self-efficacy academic motivation encompassing students achievement motivation and study-related flow and academic self-regulation encompassing students concentration frequency of study activities and procrastination of three student cohorts The first student cohort was assessed before the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore represents a pre-pandemic control group The second cohort was assessed after the first lockdown in Germany These students experienced emergency remote learning and eased lockdown measures The third student cohort was assessed during the second lockdown in Germany when coronavirus cases dramatically increased These students experienced both emergency remote learning and social detriments from rigorous lockdown measures
Students general emotional well-being
Research indicates that COVID-19-related lockdown measures engender affective detriments in students eg negative emotions stress and depression However research also shows that students general emotional well-being appears to rapidly improve to pre-pandemic levels when lockdown measures are eased In line with this for students general emotional well-being H1 we hypothesize the following
H11 The third student cohort will report a less positive and b more negative affect c less general well-being and d higher perceived stress than the first cohort
H12 The third student cohort will report a less positive and b more negative affect c less general well-being and d higher perceived stress than the second cohort
H13 The second student cohort will report similar levels of a positive and b negative affect c general well-being and d perceived stress to the first cohort
Students academic functioning
Research also indicates that COVID-19-related lockdown measures can impair students academic functioning Furthermore the transition to emergency remote learning can result in academic detriments We therefore assume that the student cohort assessed during the second lockdown in Germany ie students experiencing both emergency remote learning and social detriments from rigorous lockdown measures will exhibit a severe decline in their academic functioning compared to the pre-pandemic cohort Yet the student cohort assessed after the first lockdown ie students experiencing emergency remote learning and eased lockdown measures should also be affected in their academic functioning due to remaining emergency remote learning albeit not as pronounced as those students assessed during the second lockdown Therefore as for students academic functioning encompassing academic well-being H2 academic self-perception H3 academic motivation H4 and academic self-regulation H5 we hypothesize the following
H21 The third student cohort will report a more study-related stress and b more test anxiety than the first cohort
H22 The third student cohort will report a more study-related stress and b more test anxiety than the second cohort
H23 The second student cohort will report a more study-related stress and b more test anxiety than the first cohort
H31 The third student cohort will report a a lower academic self-concept and b less study-related self-efficacy than the first cohort
H32 The third student cohort will report a a lower academic self-concept and b less study-related self-efficacy than the second cohort
H33 The second student cohort will report a a lower academic self-concept and b less study-related self-efficacy than the first cohort
H41 The third student cohort will report a less study-related motivation and b less study-related flow than the first cohort
H42 The third student cohort will report a less study-related motivation and b less study-related flow than the second cohort
H43 The second student cohort will report a less study-related motivation and b less study-related flow than the first cohort
H51 The third student cohort will report a less concentration and b lower frequency of study activities and c more procrastination than the first cohort
H52 The third student cohort will report a less concentration and b lower frequency of study activities and c more procrastination than the second cohort
H53 The second student cohort will report a less concentration and b lower frequency of study activities and c more procrastination than the first cohort
The overall goal of all institutions of higher education must be the promotion of students academic success as well as students well-being as these two interrelated factors act as important predictors for both individual and public health and functioning Consequently while it is valuable to examine the negative effects of smartphone use on performance and well-being in academic contexts and understand their underlying processes it is just as important to explore possible interventions to mitigate such negative outcomes Here it is necessary to answer questions regarding the effectiveness of such interventions eg smartphone abstinence on a variety of outcome variables and incorporate possible mediating or moderating influences relevant to the effects of such interventions on students performance and well-being Unfortunately intervention studies in this regard are scarce Yet existing research indicates inconsistent findings In fact there is some evidence that short separation phases from smartphones result in higher anxiety levels Moreover phases of smartphone and social media abstinence appear to go along with smartphone cravings and potential overuse after the intervention is over However some studies found promising effects of separation phases on well-being life satisfaction procrastination perceived stress or depression A first study that investigated separation phases from smartphones among students revealed positive effects on individual well-being and performance by enhancing personal lifestyle health and academic management and reducing smartphone overuse Yet such intervention studies are extremely limited and need to be studied more rigorously Especially moderating or mediating variables need to be taken into account to explain the effectiveness of smartphone abstinence interventions In this light smartphone addiction and fear of missing out FOMO seem to play an important role concerning the detrimental effect of smartphone abstinence on well-being Finally existing studies have mainly focused on the effects of smartphone separation phases lasting several hours or even days As these are rather unrealistic settings future interventions should be designed in ways that integrate pauses from smartphone use into peoples everyday life
Consequently the present study aims at investigating the effectiveness of an intervention in which students are to develop action plans BCT 14 as well as coping plans BCT 12 allowing them to study without smartphone interferences Planning is a very simple strategy with impressive effects as indicated by medium to large effect sizes on behavior observed across various populations and behaviors During a planning intervention an individual is linking a situational cue whenwhere to an intended behavioral response how by mental simulation of anticipated situations Thus the goal is to link a specific cue to an intended action in order to translate goal intentions into behavior In addition planning is often complemented by coping planning anticipation of barriers and the formation of plans on how to overcome them In this study individuals are to complete a planning sheet that contains both action and coping plans to restrict their own smartphone use during learning periods
The measured outcomes include a variety of performance- ie ability to concentrate perceived learning achievement exam grade exam-related stress and well-being-related variables eg positive and negative affect anxiety subjective well-being Furthermore in this study the mediating role of variables sought to be promoted through the intervention ie decreased daily smartphone use decreased daily use of social media applications increased exam preparation-related flow and possible moderators ie smartphone addiction FoMO are also investigated
The aims of the present study are threefold First the effectiveness of planning a separation from the smartphone during an exam phase is compared against a control group on a device-based assessment of smartphone use Besides this first main aim it is also aimed at specifically comparing the effectiveness of the planning intervention to a control group on academic performance and well-being among students Third this study examines the assumed underlying mechanisms as well as possible moderators of the planning intervention
Research questions and hypotheses
Research question 1 Is planning an effective strategy to reduce smartphone use among students during an exam period
Hypotheses 1a - 1b Students in the planning intervention group will display a shorter overall smartphone use b decreased use of social media applications than students in the control group
Research question 2 What are the underlying mechanisms of the planning intervention in students regarding smartphone use reduction
Hypotheses 2a - 2b The effect of planning on smartphone use reduction is mediated by a individual action planning and b individual coping planning
Research question 3 Does the planning intervention result in higher academic performance
Hypotheses 3a - 3d Students in the planning intervention group will a display greater ability to concentrate b experience lower study-related stress c evaluate their perceived learning achievement more positively and d achieve better exam grades than students in the control group
Research question 4 What are possible moderators of the relationship between the planning intervention and academic performance
Hypotheses 4a - 4b The effect of the intervention on students academic performance will be moderated by their levels of a fear of missing out and b smartphone addiction
Research question 5 What are the underlying mechanisms of the planning intervention regarding academic performance in students
Hypotheses 5a - 5d The effect of the planning intervention on students academic performance will be mediated by a shorter overall smartphone use b decreased use of social media applications and c enhanced exam preparation-related flow
Research question 6 Does the planning intervention result in more well-being in students
Hypotheses 6a - 6d Students in the planning intervention group will a display higher levels of positive affect b lower levels of negative affect c less anxiety and d higher subjective well-being than students in the control group
Research question 7 What are possible moderators of the relationship between the planning intervention and well-being in students
Hypotheses 7a - 7b The effect of the intervention on students well-being will be moderated by their levels of a fear of missing out and b smartphone addiction
Research question 8 What are the underlying mechanisms of the planning intervention in students regarding well-being
Hypotheses 8a - 8d The effect of the planning intervention on students well-being will be mediated by a shorter overall smartphone use and b decreased use of social media applications
Study Design
The present study utilizes an online longitudinal randomized control trial conducted at nationwide universities in Germany over a course of 3 months per data collection period Assessments will be conducted in a student sample weekly before the examination phase t1-t3 after the first exam t4 and after the exam grades have been announced t5 Students will be randomly assigned to an intervention and a control group
First interested individuals have to fill in a prescreening questionnaire In case all inclusion criteria are met students have to fill in the Baseline assessment At the end of the Baseline measurement all students will be given general advice on how to organize their study environment and behavior to improve their overall learning performance eg organization of materials for exam preparation pauses during exam preparation Participants in the intervention group will also be instructed to develop individual action and coping plans to decrease smartphone interferences when studying Students in the control group have to fill out questionnaires on general health behavior instead Students in both groups will also be asked to install a mobile application on their smartphones which objectively measures each participants daily smartphone use screen activations and specific application usage The application will not inform participants about their smartphone use but log the data in the background Participants will be instructed to not uninstall the application before the measurement time point t4
One week after the Baseline measurement and the intervention participants receive the online questionnaire t2 and two weeks after the Baseline measurement questionnaire t3 follows After the first exam which was asked for in the Baseline assessment participants will receive questionnaire t4 Two month later participants will receive a short questionnaire t5 that ask for the exam grades All participants will be debriefed at the end of the study Through their participation students can participate in a voucher raffle this information is provided before study participation and again at the end of each questionnaire
Additional analyses according to the COVID-19 pandemic
During data collection of the originally planned study Study Smart the global pandemic COVID-19 occurred Because this gives us data from students across different phases of the pandemic we plan to conduct additional analyses of the data as described below
In this additional analyses we compare the emotional well-being ie positive and negative affect general well-being and perceived stress and academic functioning ie academic well-being encompassing study-related stress and test anxiety academic self-perception encompassing students academic self-concept and perceived study-related self-efficacy academic motivation encompassing students achievement motivation and study-related flow and academic self-regulation encompassing students concentration frequency of study activities and procrastination of three student cohorts The first student cohort was assessed before the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore represents a pre-pandemic control group The second cohort was assessed after the first lockdown in Germany These students experienced emergency remote learning and eased lockdown measures The third student cohort was assessed during the second lockdown in Germany when coronavirus cases dramatically increased These students experienced both emergency remote learning and social detriments from rigorous lockdown measures
Students general emotional well-being
Research indicates that COVID-19-related lockdown measures engender affective detriments in students eg negative emotions stress and depression However research also shows that students general emotional well-being appears to rapidly improve to pre-pandemic levels when lockdown measures are eased In line with this for students general emotional well-being H1 we hypothesize the following
H11 The third student cohort will report a less positive and b more negative affect c less general well-being and d higher perceived stress than the first cohort
H12 The third student cohort will report a less positive and b more negative affect c less general well-being and d higher perceived stress than the second cohort
H13 The second student cohort will report similar levels of a positive and b negative affect c general well-being and d perceived stress to the first cohort
Students academic functioning
Research also indicates that COVID-19-related lockdown measures can impair students academic functioning Furthermore the transition to emergency remote learning can result in academic detriments We therefore assume that the student cohort assessed during the second lockdown in Germany ie students experiencing both emergency remote learning and social detriments from rigorous lockdown measures will exhibit a severe decline in their academic functioning compared to the pre-pandemic cohort Yet the student cohort assessed after the first lockdown ie students experiencing emergency remote learning and eased lockdown measures should also be affected in their academic functioning due to remaining emergency remote learning albeit not as pronounced as those students assessed during the second lockdown Therefore as for students academic functioning encompassing academic well-being H2 academic self-perception H3 academic motivation H4 and academic self-regulation H5 we hypothesize the following
H21 The third student cohort will report a more study-related stress and b more test anxiety than the first cohort
H22 The third student cohort will report a more study-related stress and b more test anxiety than the second cohort
H23 The second student cohort will report a more study-related stress and b more test anxiety than the first cohort
H31 The third student cohort will report a a lower academic self-concept and b less study-related self-efficacy than the first cohort
H32 The third student cohort will report a a lower academic self-concept and b less study-related self-efficacy than the second cohort
H33 The second student cohort will report a a lower academic self-concept and b less study-related self-efficacy than the first cohort
H41 The third student cohort will report a less study-related motivation and b less study-related flow than the first cohort
H42 The third student cohort will report a less study-related motivation and b less study-related flow than the second cohort
H43 The second student cohort will report a less study-related motivation and b less study-related flow than the first cohort
H51 The third student cohort will report a less concentration and b lower frequency of study activities and c more procrastination than the first cohort
H52 The third student cohort will report a less concentration and b lower frequency of study activities and c more procrastination than the second cohort
H53 The second student cohort will report a less concentration and b lower frequency of study activities and c more procrastination than the first cohort
Study Oversight
Has Oversight DMC:
None
Is a FDA Regulated Drug?:
False
Is a FDA Regulated Device?:
False
Is an Unapproved Device?:
None
Is a PPSD?:
None
Is a US Export?:
None
Is an FDA AA801 Violation?:
None