This assignment started off by reading an article about randomized controlled trials, and why they are considered the “gold standard” for intervention research. After this, we got to browse a list of internet-based therapy studies, and choose one to read in full. After reading, I made a discussion board post, including what the internet-based intervention was, how the internet-based intervention was conducted, who the participants were, what the control condition was, the results, what I think contributed to the success of the internet-based intervention, and if I have personal experience with the area the intervention wanted to treat.
From the article about randomized controlled trials, it first discusses that it is a type of experiment that tries to reduce bias when a new treatment is being tested. Randomization lowers selection bias, and can allow for information about adverse effects to be provided. After the randomization happens, both groups are tracked in the same way. It is important to note that randomized controlled trials are different from randomized trials, randomized clinical trials, and randomized comparative trials.
Moving into the study I read, my discussion board post provides a detailed representation about what the study was about, how it was conducted, and what it found.
I chose to read Peters et al.’s (2017) study, called “Happy Despite Pain- A Randomized Controlled Trial of an 8-Week Internet-delivered Positive Psychology Intervention for Enhancing Well-being in Patients With Chronic Pain”. In this study, one internet-based intervention was positive psychology, and another condition relied on a cognitive-behavioral program. They were both designed to treat people with chronic pain.
These forms of intervention were conducted in the same format, each having 8 online modules, one available per week, which included practical assignments and information about the topic for the week, and they also received telephone and email support. More specifically, the cognitive behavioral program wanted to teach participants how to actively manage their pain, through exercises about relaxation, stretching, and relapse prevention. The positive psychology condition focused on positive behaviors, emotions, and thoughts through activities such as a self-compassion diary and focusing on raising awareness for the good things in life.
The participants had to be “above 18 years, having musculoskeletal pain for longer than 3 months, either generalized pain (ie, fibromyalgia) or localized in back, neck or shoulders, good command of Dutch, and having access to the internet”. After excluding some people for not meeting requirements or not returning their consent, the sample was 284 people.
I already mentioned the comparison condition of cognitive-behavioral therapy, but there was also a control condition. In this control condition, the members were given access to the pre-treatment surveys, and after an 8 week waiting period, they were asked to complete post measurements. They were classified as a “waitlist control”.
The study found that both the positive psychology and cognitive behavioral programs lead to increased happiness and decreased depression. There were no significant differences in physical impairments between the control group and the treatment groups. One more important result to note is that for higher educated patients, they tended to benefit more from the positive psychology treatment than the cognitive behavioral treatment.
I think there are many reasons that could contribute to the success of both programs, for example, for the positive psychology program, I mentioned that they focused on things such as raising the awareness for the good things in life, and if someone realizes how many great things they have in their life, it makes sense that they would report higher levels of happiness. Similarly, the topics for the cognitive-behavioral program focused on things such as relaxation, which can be related to blocking out the bad things such as pain and sadness, and bringing in happy, peaceful thoughts. One more reason I think the programs were successful was that the phone calls and emails they received throughout the study included many thank you’s and optimism about continuing with the program. This may have made the participants feel like they were cared for and appreciated, which could make them happy.
In terms of personal experience with the interventions, I have learned about both positive psychology and cognitive-behavioral therapy in various courses throughout college. However, I have not done my own research surrounding them, and have not been through any of these treatments myself. Additionally, I have luckily never dealt with chronic pain, which the intervention was designed to treat.
Reflecting on this assignment, it was nice to start off by reading an article providing information on randomized controlled trials. I had heard of them before and thought I knew what they were, but it was nice to refresh my memory and confirm my thoughts. It is always good to provide background information about certain types of research before diving into actual research articles.
Additionally, I have said it before and I will say it again, I really appreciated the choice we got in this assignment. We got to decide which of the 15 research articles we wanted to read. This allowed me to choose a topic I am interested in (Positive psychology), which in-turn made me more engaged when reading the article and completing the discussion board post. Giving a choice may not seem like a big deal, but it is much appreciated to me.
The discussion board post included a lot of different things to explain from the study, but I felt that this made me more focused on the details of the assignment. It allowed me to think critically about the study, what happened in it, and how this can relate to my own life. So, doing the extra work paid off in the long run, because it led to a greater understanding and appreciation of the research.
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