Boosting Positive Mood During Stress: A Daily Coping Toolkit Replication in College Undergraduates

College students today face significant challenges. Evidence suggests mental-health burdens are substantial and resources limited. We sought to replicate prior evidence supporting a one-time daily ambulatory intervention to facilitate adaptive regulation of negative emotion and increase generation of positive emotions. The Daily Coping Toolkit (DCT) was developed at the outset of the COVID-19 Pandemic and was effective in boosting mood in front-line medical personnel (Coifman et al., 2021). This investigation aimed to replicate against a valid control condition in college students returning to campus in 2021. N = 125 college students were randomized to one of two experimental conditions (high v. low dose) or the control condition. Data analyses was pre-registered. Results indicated students in experimental groups experienced significant decreases in negative and increases in positive emotion when compared to controls, providing evidence of efficacy. This was notable because a high proportion of participants reported prior mental illness. Although, there was no difference by dose (high v. low) on emotional reports, there was preliminary evidence that low-dose condition was associated with greater adaptive coping (e.g., exercise, social support seeking). Overall, the results suggest the DCT is an efficacious emotion-regulation intervention that can boost mood during high stress.