CClinicalTrials.gg
Not yet recruitingNCT07588451Updated May 14, 2026

Effectiveness of a Brief Gratitude Writing Intervention on State Optimism, State Gratitude, and Psychological Distress

An interventional study of Gratitude Writing Intervention and Expressive Writing in Psychological Distress, sponsored by Kinnaird College for Women. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Pakistan. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 25 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-14.

Sponsored by Kinnaird College for Women · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
96
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 25 Years
Sex
Female
01

Study 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. 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.

02

Conditions studied

  • Psychological Distress

Keywords

  • gratitude writing
  • expressive writing
  • state optimism
  • state gratitude
  • psychological distress
  • brief interventions
03

In context

Lead sponsor

Kinnaird College for Women is the lead sponsor of 4 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 25 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Female undergraduate students
  • Students scoring mild to moderate distress on Kessler Psychological Distress scale

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Female university students enrolled in psychology programs
  • Students with physical disability
  • Students who are already in therapy
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
96 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Gratitude Writing

    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.

    Other: Gratitude Writing Intervention

  • Active comparator
    Expressive Writing

    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.

    Other: Expressive Writing

  • Sham comparator
    Control

    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

    Other: Neutral writing

Interventions

  • OtherGratitude Writing Intervention

    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.

  • OtherExpressive Writing

    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.

  • OtherNeutral writing

    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

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. 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.

    Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the intervention

Secondary outcomes

  1. 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.

    Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the intervention

  2. 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.

    Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the intervention

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Kinnaird College For Women University
    Lahore, Punjab Province 54000, Pakistan
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 14, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07588451
Lead sponsor
Kinnaird College for Women
Responsible party
Kainat Safdar (Principal Investigator, Kinnaird College for Women) — Principal investigator
First posted
May 14, 2026
Start date
Jun 20, 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Aug 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Aug 2026 (estimated)
Last update
May 14, 2026

Study contacts

Kainat Safdar
Contact
kainat.safder@gmail.com
+923164684767

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in May 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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