What SSI Duration is Most Effective? An Online Experiment With American Adults

How Long Should a Behavioral Activation Single-session Intervention be? A Four-armed Trial Comparing Effectiveness by Intervention Duration

In a previous study (https://osf.io/qdznc), the research team found that an 8-minute version of a single-session intervention for loneliness was more effective than a 23-minute version of it. The present work aims to further explore the relationship between intervention duration and effectiveness.

In this online trial, participants will be randomized to a 15-minute single-session depression intervention called the Action Brings Change (ABC) Program, a 10-minute version of it, a 6-minute version of it, or a 2-minute version of it. The main analysis will evaluate how change in depressive symptoms over eight weeks differs across conditions.

Inclusion Criteria: Participants must be:

• Located in the United States
• At least 18 years old
• Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) score of at least 10 (moderate or more severe) at screener.
• Able to read and speak fluent English
• Able to access to the internet via a computer, tablet or smartphone for the next eight weeks

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participants who have completed the first session of the study before or completed another study testing a depression intervention from our laboratory via the same participant recruitment platform in the past two months.