A Multi-Institutional Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Trial of Student Well-Being Using the Flourish App

What this Trial Is About

This research investigates how a mobile app called Flourish may affect the well-being of students. It aims to understand whether access to the Flourish app increases positive feelings, reduces loneliness, and improves a sense of belonging. The study compares three groups to evaluate if the app alone or combined with a human buddy leads to better well-being outcomes over existing school resources. Participants are randomly assigned to one of three groups a waitlist control group continuing with regular school resources and given external mental health information a group using the Flourish app twice weekly for six weeks and a group using the app twice weekly while also engaging with a buddy. The Flourish app includes a science-based digital toolkit and an AI chatbot designed to support student well-being. During the six-week period, participants complete four brief online surveys measuring mood, loneliness, social support, mindfulness, resilience, life satisfaction, and relationships with the Flourish buddy if applicable. These assessments occur at the start, throughout, and at the end of the study. Researchers monitor well-being changes and enrollment intentions to understand how the app and social support influence student flourishing.

Study of Student Flourishing