Background

Migration is a challenging life transition that may be a source of various problems related to well-being and mental health. However, the psychological adaptation of migrants may be potentially facilitated by social self-efficacy—the beliefs in one's ability to initiate and maintain interpersonal relationships. Previous research suggests that social self-efficacy is positively related to adjustment and negatively related to loneliness, depression, and psychological distress. Research also confirms that self-efficacy beliefs can be effectively enhanced using Internet-based interventions. These results served as a background for creating the New in Town, a self-help Internet-based intervention for internal migrants in Poland that aims at increasing social self-efficacy. Exercises in the intervention are based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and relate to sources of self-efficacy beliefs: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasions, and emotional and physiological states. Users complete increasingly challenging tasks that encourage them to interact with their environment. The aim of this trial was to investigate the efficacy of the New in Town intervention.

Methods

The efficacy of the New in Town intervention will be tested in a two-arm randomized controlled trial with a waitlist control group. Social self-efficacy will be the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes will include loneliness, perceived social support, and satisfaction with life. Additionally, we will measure user experience among participants allocated to the experimental group. We aim to recruit a total of N = 280 participants aged at least 18 years who have changed their place of residence in the last 6 months and have an Internet connection. Participants will be assessed at baseline, 3-week post-test, and 8-week follow-up.

Discussion

The trial will provide insights into the efficacy of Internet-based self-help interventions in increasing social self-efficacy. Given that the intervention works, New in Town could provide an easily accessible support option for internal migrants in Poland.

Trial registration

The trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT04088487) on 11th September 2019.

中文翻译：

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基于互联网的自助干预旨在提高波兰境内移民的社会自我效能：一项随机对照试验的研究方案。

背景

移民是一个具有挑战性的生活转变，可能是与福祉和心理健康相关的各种问题的根源。然而，社会自我效能感可能会促进移民的心理适应，即对个人建立和维持人际关系的能力的信念。先前的研究表明，社会自我效能感与适应呈正相关，与孤独、抑郁和心理困扰呈负相关。研究还证实，使用基于互联网的干预措施可以有效地增强自我效能信念。这些结果为创建 New in Town 提供了背景，这是一项针对波兰境内移民的基于互联网的自助干预，旨在提高社会自我效能。干预中的练习基于认知行为疗法的原则，并与自我效能信念的来源有关：掌握经验、替代经验、口头说服以及情绪和生理状态。用户完成越来越具有挑战性的任务，鼓励他们与环境进行交互。本试验的目的是调查 New in Town 干预措施的效果。

方法

New in Town 干预措施的有效性将在一个等候名单对照组的两臂随机对照试验中进行测试。社会自我效能感将是主要结果。次要结果将包括孤独感、感知到的社会支持和对生活的满意度。此外，我们将测量分配到实验组的参与者的用户体验。我们的目标是招募总共N  = 280 名至少 18 岁的参与者，他们在过去 6 个月内改变了居住地并拥有互联网连接。参与者将在基线、3 周后测试和 8 周随访时进行评估。

讨论

该试验将提供有关基于互联网的自助干预在提高社会自我效能方面的功效的见解。鉴于干预措施奏效，New in Town 可以为波兰境内的移民提供一个容易获得的支持选择。

试用注册

该试验于 2019 年 9 月 11 日在 ClinicalTrials.gov（标识符：NCT04088487）注册。