Comparing the Effectiveness of Reappraisal Strategies in Adult Participants

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn which reappraisal strategy works better to reduce sadness and anxiety in emerging adults. The main questions it aims to answer are:

What is the effect of emotion regulation strategies (reconstrual, repurposing) on short term negative emotions (anxiety, sadness)?

Does the effectiveness of these strategies vary depending on the type of emotion (anxiety vs. sadness)?

Are reconstrual and repurposing more effective compared to active and passive control conditions?

What is the effect of these strategies on short-term positive emotions (e.g., hope, happiness)?

Researchers will compare reconstrual and repurposing strategies to see which one is more effective in improving emotional outcomes.

Participants will:

be randomly assigned to one of eight conditions in a 4 (Regulation Strategy: Reconstrual, Repurposing, Active Control, Passive Control) × 2 (Emotion Type: Sadness vs. Anxiety) factorial design.

Complete online tasks and surveys about their emotions

Conditions

• Emotional Dysregulation
• Anxiety
• Sadness
• Anxiety Disorders and Symptoms
• Depressive Symptoms

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Reconstrual Strategy Training

Participants receive training in the reconstrual strategy, which involves recognizing and reinterpreting initial negative appraisals of emotionally challenging situations. The training guides participants to: Identify the situation and their initial negative interpretation. Generate alternative, balanced explanations that reduce negative emotional impact. The goal is to help participants view events from a different, realistic perspective to decrease negative emotions by modifying how they interpret situations.

BEHAVIORAL

Repurposing Strategy Training

Participants receive training in the repurposing strategy, which involves adjusting or replacing personal goals to better align with the current situation. The training guides participants to: Identify the situation and the original goal that was not met. Develop alternative, realistic goals or modify existing ones to reduce the emotional impact of unmet expectations. This approach helps participants manage negative emotions by creating meaningful, adaptable goals that fit the reality of the situation.

BEHAVIORAL

Active Control

Participants are asked to carefully copy a neutral descriptive passage without making any changes, focusing solely on transcription accuracy. This task serves as an active control by engaging participants in a cognitive task that requires attention and effort, but does not involve emotion regulation strategies. The task controls for the effects of engagement and time spent on a task without influencing participants' emotional processing.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ibn Haldun University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Ayşe ALTAN-ATALAY, Assoc. Prof. Dr · Kadir Has University

• Burcu UYSAL, Assoc. Prof. Dr · Ibn Haldun University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

30 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-09-21

Primary Completion

2026-01-05

Completion

2026-01-10

Countries

• Turkey (Türkiye)

Study Locations