Momentary Coping Prompts and Hair Steroids in College Students

This study looks at the moments when college students feel a strong emotional swing, and how those moments relate to reacting online when upset, drinking alcohol, and eating in response to emotions. Participants wear a wrist device and answer brief check-ins on their phone several times a day for about five weeks. During part of that time, a study app sometimes sends a short coping message at moments when the wrist device and check-ins suggest emotions are shifting quickly. Whether a message is sent at any given moment is decided at random, and the study compares what participants do in the short window afterward. An optional part of the study collects one small hair sample, which is tested for two hormones related to stress and to status-linked behavior, so the researchers can see whether longer-term hormone levels relate to how people respond in the moment. The study is a pilot designed to test whether the approach works and to estimate how large its effects are.

Inclusion Criteria: * Currently enrolled University of Florida student * Age 18 years or older * Owns a smartphone used daily * Willing to wear a wrist-worn device and complete brief check-ins several times daily for approximately five weeks * For the optional hair biomarker sub-study only: at least approximately 1 cm of hair at the posterior vertex, no scalp wound, rash, or dermatologic treatment at the collection site, and natural hair growth accessible at the collection site Exclusion Criteria: * Varsity student-athlete governed by the university athletic association * Unable to complete study procedures in English