Aging WellNCT06842628
Savor-Aging: the Art of Savoring Positive Emotions
A study testing Savoring and Positive Emotional Induction in people with Aging Well and Positive Affect, run by Catholic University of the Sacred Heart at 1 site in Italy.
Trial summary
This study is part of the larger project to promote positive aging (PNRR Age-IT Project) in the elderly through the amplification of positive experiences and emotions. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effects in terms of effectiveness of the "Savoring: the art of savoring positive emotions… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 60 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Aging Well, Positive Affect
- What is being tested?
- Savoring and Positive Emotional Induction
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 46 participants
- Where
- 1 siteItaly
- Study dates
- 24 Feb 2025to 30 Jun 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 60 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Age over 60
- Adequate understanding of the Italian language
- Possession of a technological tool to be able to access the Internet
Who cannot join
- Having a score below 26 on the MMSE that will be administered by telephone (Itel-MMSE) before division into the two groups. The Itel-MMSE scores will be converted into MMSE scores.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Promoting Positive Emotions and Savoring in the Elderly Through an Online Self-help Intervention: a Controlled Study.
This study is part of the larger project to promote positive aging (PNRR Age-IT Project) in the elderly through the amplification of positive experiences and emotions. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effects in terms of effectiveness of the "Savoring: the art of savoring positive emotions project", which is a self-help e-savoring training aimed at increasing psychological and subjective well-being in elderly participants. As secondary goals, this study aims to decrease depression and feelings of loneliness. An additional objective is to investigate user experience regarding the online protocol. A between-subjects design will be used.
- Conditions
- Aging Well, Positive Affect
- Being tested
- Savoring, Positive Emotional Induction
- Keywords
- Savoring, Positive Aging, Positive Emotions, Positive Technology, Self-help
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
SavoringOther
Participants will follow an e-savoring training for 3 weeks. The first week will be focused on savoring past positive experiences (positive reminiscence and life lessons); the second week will be focused on savoring the present (absorption during an activity and writing a letter of gratitude to a significant person); and the third week will be focused on savoring the future (anticipating positive future events and making kind gestures to a significant person). After each activity, they will be guided to reflect and savor the positive emotions that emerge from the activity.
The participants will complete some questionnaires at baseline, post-intervention, and in the one-month follow-up.
Positive Emotional InductionOther
Participants will follow a positive emotional induction training for 3 weeks, with 2 exercises per week.
The first week, they will listen to a piece of music and watch a video that elicits positive emotions; the second week, they will do an activity that they particularly enjoy in solitude and listen to a narrative about gratitude; the third week, they will listen to a narrative about hope and carry out an activity they like with a loved one. The participants will complete some questionnaires at baseline, post-intervention, and in the one-month follow-up.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| E-Savoring Group | Experimental | Participants will complete the online savoring training for 3 weeks, by doing 2 activities per week. The exercises will be focused on savoring past, present and future time. Receives: Other: Savoring |
| Emotional Induction group | Active comparator | Participants will complete six emotional induction exercises. Receives: Other: Positive Emotional Induction |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)
This scale was designed by Diener and colleagues (1985; Italian version: Di Fabio \& Busoni, 2009) to investigate life satisfaction and consists of 5 items that can be answered through a 7-step Likert scale ranging from 1 "strongly disagree" to 7 "strongly agree."
Measured: This questionnaire will be administered in T0 (baseline), T1 (post intervention - after 3 weeks) and T2 (one-month follow up).
Scale of Positive and Negative Experiences (SPANE)
This self-report scale consists of 12 items and was developed by Diener and colleagues (2010; Italian version: Corno, Molinari, \& Baños, 2016) to measure positive and negative affect. It is composed of two sub-scales: the first refers to positive emotions (6 items: positive, good, pleasant, happy, joyful, satisfied) and the second to negative emotions (6 items: negative, bad, unpleasant, sad, fearful, angry). It can be answered through a 5-step Likert scale where 1 means "very rarely or never" and 5 means "very often or always."
Measured: This questionnaire will be administered in T0 (baseline), T1 (post-intervention - after 3 weeks) and T2 (one-month follow-up).
Flourishing Scale (FS)
This scale, developed by Ryan and Deci (2001; Italian version Di Fabio, 2010), aims to investigate the elements that make up psychological well-being, including relationships, self-esteem, life purpose and optimism. It consists of 8 items and each is positively worded and responses are measured on a 7-step Likert scale, where 1 means "strongly disagree" and 7 means "strongly agree." The score range is from 8 to 56.
Measured: his questionnaire will be administered in stages T0 (baseline), T1 (post-intervention - after 3 weeks) and T2 (one-month follow-up)
Secondary outcomes (7)
DeJong Gierveld Loneliness Scale
This self-report scale, developed by Jong-Gierveld and van Tilburg (2006), assesses through 6 items social loneliness, which occurs when an individual lacks a larger social network, and emotional loneliness, caused by the lack of more intimate relationships. For each statement, the participant must express his or her degree of agreement on a 5-point Likert scale, where 0 means "Absolutely true" and 4 means "Absolutely not true" A higher score corresponds to a lower perception of social and emotional loneliness. For the purpose of this study, the items were translated into Italian from the original 6-item English version.
Measured: This instrument will be administered in T0 (baseline), T1 (post-intervention - after 3 weeks) and T2 (one-month follow-up).
Center for Epidemiologic Studies- Depression Scale (CES-D)
Developed by Radloff (1977), it is a 20-item self-report scale used as a screening tool for depression in the elderly. For the purpose of this study, the 10-item short version, validated by Andersen and colleagues in 1994, will be used. Participants will be asked to indicate on a 5-step Likert scale, where 0 corresponds to "never or almost never" (less than 1 day), 1 corresponds to "sometimes or infrequently" (1-2 days), 2 corresponds to "occasionally or for a moderate amount of time" (3-4 days), and 4 corresponds to "most of the time or all of the time" (5-7 days), how they have been feeling in recent weeks. For the purpose of this study, the items have been translated into Italian.
Measured: This scale will be administered in T0 (baseline), T1 (post-intervention - after 3 weeks) and T2 (one-month follow up).
Perceived Usefulness and Pleasantness of the Exercises
- Item ad hoc to investigate perceived usefulness and pleasantness of the exercise just done. After each activity of the training, participants will be asked to rate perceived usefulness and pleasantness through a 7-step Likert scale where 1 corresponds to "very little" and 7 to "very much."
Measured: Immediately after each of the 6 activities of the training
User Experience
A 5-item questionnaire, scored on a 7-step Likert scale, where 1 corresponds to "not at all" and 7 to "very much," will be proposed, aimed at investigating the subject's experience of using the website. In particular, the degree of aesthetic pleasantness of the website, its functionality, and the ability to engage the user will be investigated.
Measured: This questionnaire will be administered at T1 (post-intervention - after 3 weeks from baseline).
Perceived Usefulness of the Training
The perceived usefulness of the training will be measured through a single item ("Referring to the entire training, how useful do you think it was for you?") that can be answered through a 7-step Likert scale where 1 corresponds to "very little" and 7 to "very much." In addition, there will be a section where it will be possible to express a reflection regarding the evaluation provided.
Measured: This questionnaire will be administered at T1 (post-intervention - after 3 weeks from baseline).
Usefulness and Pleasantness of the exercises when the training is completed
Two items ad hoc will be administered to investigate which exercise they found most useful and which was the most enjoyable, specifying their reasons. In addition, they will be optionally asked to express a general reflection on the exercise they did. These ad hoc items will be differentiated according to their group. In fact, for the experimental group, reference will be made to the exercises proposed in the e-savoring training, while for the control group, positive emotion induction activities will be reported. The aim of these final items is to understand which exercises were found most useful and enjoyable overall by the participants, both in the control and experimental groups, so as to take them into account for future studies.
Measured: These items will be administered at T2 (one-month follow-up).
Frequency of Use of the exercises learned during the training
Participants will be asked about the frequency with which they have put into practice in the last month the exercises experienced during the training for both the experimental and control groups.
Measured: This item will be administred in T2 (one-month follow - up).
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted24 Feb 2025
- Study start24 Feb 2025
- Primary completion30 Jun 2025
- Study completion30 Jun 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (5)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Aging WellStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 46 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Daniela Villani, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06842628
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 128/24
- Status last verified
- Aug 2025
- First submitted
- 13 Feb 2025
- Last updated
- 22 Aug 2025
- Results posted
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Villani D, Pancini E, Pesce F, Scuzzarella L. Savoring life during pandemic: an online intervention to promote well-being in emerging adults. BMC Psychol. 2023 Jul 4;11(1):196. doi: 10.1186/s40359-023-01225-z.
PubMed 37403128Salces-Cubero IM, Ramirez-Fernandez E, Ortega-Martinez AR. Strengths in older adults: differential effect of savoring, gratitude and optimism on well-being. Aging Ment Health. 2019 Aug;23(8):1017-1024. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2018.1471585. Epub 2018 May 21.
PubMed 29781723Gaggioli A, Villani D, Serino S, Banos R, Botella C. Editorial: Positive Technology: Designing E-experiences for Positive Change. Front Psychol. 2019 Jul 9;10:1571. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01571. eCollection 2019. No abstract available.
PubMed 31338053Bryant FB, Osowski KA, Smith JL. Gratitude as a Mediator of the Effects of Savoring on Positive Adjustment to Aging. Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2021 Apr;92(3):275-300. doi: 10.1177/0091415020919999. Epub 2020 May 5.
PubMed 32370635Pancini E, Cremaschi G, Degani M, Cisotto E, Villani D. Savor-Aging: The Art of Savoring Positive Emotions in Older Adulthood-A Randomized Controlled Trial. Appl Psychol Health Well Being. 2026 Aug;18(4):e70184. doi: 10.1111/aphw.70184.
PubMed 42400304
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 22 Aug 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Promoting Positive Emotions and Savoring in the Elderly Through an Online Self-help Intervention: a Controlled Study.
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06842628
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 128/24
- Conditions
- Aging Well, Positive Affect
- Keywords
- Savoring, Positive Aging, Positive Emotions, Positive Technology, Self-help
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 46 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Catholic University of the Sacred HeartUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 24 Feb 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Jun 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 30 Jun 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 24 Feb 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study is part of the larger project to promote positive aging (PNRR Age-IT Project) in the elderly through the amplification of positive experiences and emotions. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effects in terms of effectiveness of the "Savoring: the art of savoring positive emotions project", which is a self-help e-savoring training aimed at increasing psychological and subjective well-being in elderly participants. As secondary goals, this study aims to decrease depression and feelings of loneliness. An additional objective is to investigate user experience regarding the online protocol. A between-subjects design will be used.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| E-Savoring Group | Experimental | Other: SavoringParticipants will complete the online savoring training for 3 weeks, by doing 2 activities per week. The exercises will be focused on savoring past, present and future time. |
| Emotional Induction group | Active comparator | Other: Positive Emotional InductionParticipants will complete six emotional induction exercises. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 60 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Age over 60
- Adequate understanding of the Italian language
- Possession of a technological tool to be able to access the Internet
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Having a score below 26 on the MMSE that will be administered by telephone (Itel-MMSE) before division into the two groups. The Itel-MMSE scores will be converted into MMSE scores.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| SavoringParticipants will follow an e-savoring training for 3 weeks. The first week will be focused on savoring past positive experiences (positive reminiscence and life lessons); the second week will be focused on savoring the present (absorption during an activity and writing a letter of gratitude to a significant person); and the third week will be focused on savoring the future (anticipating positive future events and making kind gestures to a significant person). After each activity, they will be guided to reflect and savor the positive emotions that emerge from the activity. The participants will complete some questionnaires at baseline, post-intervention, and in the one-month follow-up. | Other | E-Savoring Group |
| Positive Emotional InductionParticipants will follow a positive emotional induction training for 3 weeks, with 2 exercises per week. The first week, they will listen to a piece of music and watch a video that elicits positive emotions; the second week, they will do an activity that they particularly enjoy in solitude and listen to a narrative about gratitude; the third week, they will listen to a narrative about hope and carry out an activity they like with a loved one. The participants will complete some questionnaires at baseline, post-intervention, and in the one-month follow-up. | Other | Emotional Induction group |
Primary outcome
Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)
Time frame: This questionnaire will be administered in T0 (baseline), T1 (post intervention - after 3 weeks) and T2 (one-month follow up).
This scale was designed by Diener and colleagues (1985; Italian version: Di Fabio \& Busoni, 2009) to investigate life satisfaction and consists of 5 items that can be answered through a 7-step Likert scale ranging from 1 "strongly disagree" to 7 "strongly agree."
Scale of Positive and Negative Experiences (SPANE)
Time frame: This questionnaire will be administered in T0 (baseline), T1 (post-intervention - after 3 weeks) and T2 (one-month follow-up).
This self-report scale consists of 12 items and was developed by Diener and colleagues (2010; Italian version: Corno, Molinari, \& Baños, 2016) to measure positive and negative affect. It is composed of two sub-scales: the first refers to positive emotions (6 items: positive, good, pleasant, happy, joyful, satisfied) and the second to negative emotions (6 items: negative, bad, unpleasant, sad, fearful, angry). It can be answered through a 5-step Likert scale where 1 means "very rarely or never" and 5 means "very often or always."
Flourishing Scale (FS)
Time frame: his questionnaire will be administered in stages T0 (baseline), T1 (post-intervention - after 3 weeks) and T2 (one-month follow-up)
This scale, developed by Ryan and Deci (2001; Italian version Di Fabio, 2010), aims to investigate the elements that make up psychological well-being, including relationships, self-esteem, life purpose and optimism. It consists of 8 items and each is positively worded and responses are measured on a 7-step Likert scale, where 1 means "strongly disagree" and 7 means "strongly agree." The score range is from 8 to 56.
7 secondary outcomes
DeJong Gierveld Loneliness Scale
Time frame: This instrument will be administered in T0 (baseline), T1 (post-intervention - after 3 weeks) and T2 (one-month follow-up).
Center for Epidemiologic Studies- Depression Scale (CES-D)
Time frame: This scale will be administered in T0 (baseline), T1 (post-intervention - after 3 weeks) and T2 (one-month follow up).
Perceived Usefulness and Pleasantness of the Exercises
Time frame: Immediately after each of the 6 activities of the training
User Experience
Time frame: This questionnaire will be administered at T1 (post-intervention - after 3 weeks from baseline).
Perceived Usefulness of the Training
Time frame: This questionnaire will be administered at T1 (post-intervention - after 3 weeks from baseline).
Usefulness and Pleasantness of the exercises when the training is completed
Time frame: These items will be administered at T2 (one-month follow-up).
Frequency of Use of the exercises learned during the training
Time frame: This item will be administred in T2 (one-month follow - up).
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 22 Aug 2025.
- Results publication: PubMed 37403128Villani D, Pancini E, Pesce F, Scuzzarella L. Savoring life during pandemic: an online intervention to promote well-being in emerging adults. BMC Psychol. 2023 Jul 4;11(1):196. doi: 10.1186/s40359-023-01225-z.
- Results publication: PubMed 29781723Salces-Cubero IM, Ramirez-Fernandez E, Ortega-Martinez AR. Strengths in older adults: differential effect of savoring, gratitude and optimism on well-being. Aging Ment Health. 2019 Aug;23(8):1017-1024. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2018.1471585. Epub 2018 May 21.
- Results publication: PubMed 31338053Gaggioli A, Villani D, Serino S, Banos R, Botella C. Editorial: Positive Technology: Designing E-experiences for Positive Change. Front Psychol. 2019 Jul 9;10:1571. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01571. eCollection 2019. No abstract available.
- Results publication: PubMed 32370635Bryant FB, Osowski KA, Smith JL. Gratitude as a Mediator of the Effects of Savoring on Positive Adjustment to Aging. Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2021 Apr;92(3):275-300. doi: 10.1177/0091415020919999. Epub 2020 May 5.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 42400304Pancini E, Cremaschi G, Degani M, Cisotto E, Villani D. Savor-Aging: The Art of Savoring Positive Emotions in Older Adulthood-A Randomized Controlled Trial. Appl Psychol Health Well Being. 2026 Aug;18(4):e70184. doi: 10.1111/aphw.70184.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Savoring and Positive Emotional Induction in people with Aging Well and Positive Affect, run by Catholic University of the Sacred Heart at 1 site in Italy.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 22 Aug 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Italy. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) (time frame: This questionnaire will be administered in T0 (baseline), T1 (post intervention - after 3 weeks) and T2 (one-month follow up).). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06842628, which also lists 5 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 22 Aug 2025.