Background: Anxiety is rising across the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, and social distancing mandates preclude in-person mental health care. Greater perceived control over anxiety has predicted decreased anxiety pathology, including adaptive responses to uncontrollable stressors. Evidence suggests that no-therapist, single-session interventions can strengthen perceived control over emotions like anxiety; similar programs, if designed for the COVID-19 context, could hold substantial public health value. Objective: Our registered report evaluated a no-therapist, single-session, online intervention targeting perceived control over anxiety in the COVID-19 context against a placebo intervention encouraging handwashing. We tested whether the intervention could (1) decrease generalized anxiety and increase perceived control over anxiety and (2) achieve this without decreasing social-distancing intentions. Methods: We tested these questions using a between-subjects design in a weighted-probability sample of US adults recruited via a closed online platform (ie, Prolific). All outcomes were indexed via online self-report questionnaires. Results: Of 522 randomized individuals, 500 (95.8%) completed the baseline survey and intervention. Intent-to-treat analyses using all randomized participants (N=522) found no support for therapeutic or iatrogenic effects; effects on generalized anxiety were d=–0.06 (95% CI –0.27 to 0.15; P=.48), effects on perceived control were d=0.04 (95% CI –0.08 to 0.16; P=.48), and effects on social-distancing intentions were d=–0.02 (95% CI –0.23 to 0.19; P=.83). Conclusions: Strengths of this study included a large, nationally representative sample and adherence to open science practices. Implications for scalable interventions, including the challenge of targeting perceived control over anxiety, are discussed. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04459455; https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT04459455

中文翻译：

---

基于网络的单次干预在 COVID-19 期间对焦虑的感知控制：随机对照试验

背景：在 COVID-19 大流行期间，美国各地的焦虑情绪正在上升，而社交距离的要求排除了面对面的心理健康护理。对焦虑的更大感知控制预示着焦虑病理学的减少，包括对无法控制的压力源的适应性反应。有证据表明，没有治疗师的单次干预可以加强对焦虑等情绪的感知控制；如果针对 COVID-19 环境设计类似的计划，则可能具有巨大的公共卫生价值。客观的：我们的注册报告评估了针对在 COVID-19 环境中对焦虑的感知控制的无治疗师、单次在线干预与鼓励洗手的安慰剂干预。我们测试了干预是否可以（1）减少广泛性焦虑并增加对焦虑的感知控制，以及（2）在不降低社交距离意图的情况下实现这一目标。方法：我们在通过封闭在线平台（即 Prolific）招募的美国成年人的加权概率样本中使用受试者间设计来测试这些问题。所有结果均通过在线自我报告问卷进行索引。结果：在 522 名随机个体中，500 人（95.8%）完成了基线调查和干预。使用所有随机参与者（N = 522）的意向治疗分析发现不支持治疗或医源性效果；对广泛性焦虑的影响为d =–0.06（95% CI –0.27 至 0.15；P =.48），对感知控制的影响为d =0.04（95% CI –0.08 至 0.16；P =.48），对社交距离意向为d =–0.02（95% CI –0.23 至 0.19；P =.83）。结论：这项研究的优势包括具有全国代表性的大型样本和对开放科学实践的坚持。讨论了可扩展干预措施的影响，包括针对焦虑的感知控制的挑战。试验注册： ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04459455；https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT04459455