Helping Saudi Grade 12 students build healthier digital habits
Improving Digital Wellbeing in Saudi Adolescents: Cluster-randomized Trial
This project tests whether a school-based digital wellbeing curriculum, delivered to Grade 12 students with or without parent WhatsApp engagement and online teacher training, helps adolescents use social media and games more healthily and improves their wellbeing.
Quick facts
| Phase | Not applicable |
|---|---|
| Study type | Interventional |
| Enrollment | 2500 (estimated) |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Buraidah) |
| Trial ID | NCT07344142 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
Building on national surveys, stakeholder interviews, and pilot work, this cluster randomized controlled trial compares a student curriculum alone to the same curriculum plus a parent-focused WhatsApp component across participating high schools. Schools are randomized by cluster; Grade 12 students receive the classroom Digital Wellbeing Unit, teachers complete online training, and parents in the enhanced arm are invited to join WhatsApp groups. Primary outcomes are student digital literacy, technology use behaviors, and psychosocial wellbeing, with secondary outcomes including parent-child communication and parental behaviors. The intervention is delivered in-school for students and remotely for parents and teachers to test a scalable, school-centered approach in the Saudi context.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Ideal participants are Grade 12 students enrolled at participating high schools in the study area and, for the enhanced arm, their parents or legal guardians who provide consent or assent.
Not a fit: Students not in Grade 12, those who do not attend participating schools or do not consent/assent, and adolescents with severe clinical internet or gaming disorders requiring specialized treatment may not benefit from this school-based program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the program could reduce problematic social media and gaming use, improve students' mental wellbeing, and provide a scalable school-based way to promote healthier technology habits.
How similar studies have performed: Previous school-based and parent-involved digital wellbeing programs have shown modest improvements in digital literacy and reductions in problematic use, but rigorous cluster randomized trials in Saudi adolescents are limited.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * The study will include students enrolled in Grade 12 at participating high schools that are randomly assigned to one of the study arms. * In addition, parents or legal guardians of these students will be eligible to participate in the parent-focused component of the intervention if the student is assigned to the enhanced curriculum group. Exclusion Criteria: * Students and parents will be excluded from the study if the students and parents do not provide assent or consent to participate, in accordance with ethical guidelines.
Where this trial is running
Buraidah
- Sulaiman Al Rahji University — Buraidah, Saudi Arabia (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Johannes Thrul — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Johannes Thrul
- Email: jthrul@jhu.edu
- Phone: +14433186633
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.