Cognitive Behavioral Intervention and Adventure Training for Chinese University Students in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Baptist University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Treatments: Other: adventure-based cognitive behavioral intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04560348

FRG2/14-15/090

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study developed an adventure-based cognitive behavioral intervention program for Hong Kong university student. The program effectiveness was evaluated in reducing psychological distress and improving mental health of university students. The 3-month maintenance effect was also tested.

Full description

University students are vulnerable to mental health problems due to the various challenges they have to face in university life. However, few studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of university counseling programs in Hong Kong. This project aims at developing and systematically evaluating a culturally adapted and adventure-based cognitive behavioral intervention (aCBI) program to decrease psychological distress and improve various mental health outcomes for Chinese university students in Hong Kong. The aCBI program was delivered in a form of general education course in a university setting. Single group Pre-posttest design was adopted.The program was evaluated its effectiveness in reducing psychological distress, perceived stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms, negative thoughts and negative emotions and increasing positive thoughts and positive emotions.

Enrollment: 193 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• be of Chinese nationality
• be studying in undergraduate programs at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), as the aCBI program will be provided in the form of a general education course at this university
• have GHQ-12 scores of 2-10 (0-0-1-1) (i.e., mild to moderate levels of psychological distress)
• be willing to complete the entire process of the project.

Exclusion criteria

• have GHQ-12 scores of 0-1 (i.e., a low level of psychological distress) or 11-12 (i.e., a high level of psychological distress)
• have one or more psychosis
• have experienced severe depression with suicidal attempts/ideation in the past 3 months, as diagnosed by a psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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193 participants in 1 patient group

Adventure-based cognitive behavioral intervention

Experimental group

Description:

An adventure-based cognitive behavioral intervention program An 13-session adventure-based cognitive behavioral intervention program, including 6 lectures, 5 workshops and adventure games, and one adventure day camp (2 sessions). One session per week, 3 hours for each session. A variety of cognitive behavioral skills are taught in lectures and these skills are practiced in two groups (with appropriately 20 students in each group) in workshop to help students to apply these skills to cope with their own daily life stress. The adventure training includes a day adventure camp and five 40-minute adventure games in the beginning of each workshop. Skill briefing, case demonstration and debriefing, group sharing and discussion, in-class exercise and homework are used in the intervention program.

Treatment:

Other: adventure-based cognitive behavioral intervention