TU Tough: Mental Toughness Training for College Success

Summary

Participation Requirements

Description

Part 1 will consist of an online survey, sent by email. This email will be sent through the TU (University of Tulsa) Student Affairs office to all incoming freshman students and will also be sent by study personnel to students who indicate interest in the study through the other recruitment efforts ...

Part 1 will consist of an online survey, sent by email. This email will be sent through the TU (University of Tulsa) Student Affairs office to all incoming freshman students and will also be sent by study personnel to students who indicate interest in the study through the other recruitment efforts (i.e., flyers on campus). This survey will also allow students to indicate whether or not they would be interested in being involved in future research regarding mental toughness and strategies for college success. The second aim will be accomplished via Part 2 of the study. Part 2 is the longitudinal portion that assesses students' well-being (i.e., happiness, distress, anxiety, satisfaction, etc.) and academic success (i.e., retention at TU, GPA, etc.) before and after completion of either mental toughness training or "college as usual". These participants will be selected from the group of participants who complete Part 1 and/or via ongoing courses within each college at the university (see recruitment section). Part 2 will enroll a maximum of 300 participants/year for the first 3 years, each of whom will then be asked to remain in the study for 5 years. These participants will be contacted via phone, text message, or email to determine whether they are interested and meet criteria. Those who meet criteria will be scheduled for an in-person session at TU (Part 2) to complete written informed consent, provide the saliva sample, obtain instructions regarding the completion of survey sessions and the training protocol. Those who enroll in this study will then be asked to complete survey sessions repeatedly over the next 5 years: (1) During the first semester, Part 2 participants will be asked to complete three survey sessions, one pre- and one post- training phase, and one during finals week. (2) During the Spring semester of the first year, each participant would complete three surveys (within the first two weeks; mid semester; and during finals week), followed by one survey mid-Summer. (3) For Years 2-5, survey sessions would occur once per semester (Fall, Spring, Summer), allowing examination of how training may impact longer-term trajectories of academic success and psychological well-being. Each online surveys will assess for psychological well-being, demographics and medical history, and academic activities. For those who provide consent for us to access limited information from academic records (as specified in the consent and in the research protocol section of this document), the information will be combined with the collected survey data. For Part 3, data will be collected from a subset of participants during two neuroimaging sessions at LIBR (Laureate Institute for Brain Research). The first neuroimaging session will be completed within one month of beginning the training phase (mental toughness or "college as usual") and the second will be completed within one month of the end of the training phase. Each neuroimaging session will last approximately 3-4 hours and will involve completion of self-report measures regarding current affective state, a behavioral measure of exploratory behavior, and a functional MRI session during which participants will complete tasks related to processing of emotional faces, emotional images, and reward. The fourth aim will also be accomplished via Part 2 of the study, which involves the collection of DNA saliva collection once during the first semester of their first year. Samples will be collected in-person at their first baseline session, after written informed consent is obtained. This data will be used to assess any genetic markers of resiliency that exist in college populations and to determine if there are genetic markers that interact with the impact of mental toughness training (i.e., if individuals with specific genetic markers do better or worse with training).

Tracking Information