Improv Comedy to Reduce Anxiety and Improve Mental Well-Being in Young Chinese Adults in Hong Kong

The University of Hong Kong (HKU)

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Anxiety; Mental Health

Treatments: Behavioral: Improv Against Anxiety (IAA)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07737821

EA260474

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if improv comedy helps reduce anxiety symptoms and improve mental well-being in Chinese young adults in Hong Kong. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Does improv comedy reduce anxiety symptoms?
2. Does improv comedy improve mental well-being?

Researchers will compare participants who join the improv comedy workshops to participants who are placed on a waiting list to receive the workshops later, to see if improv comedy reduces anxiety and improves mental well-being.

Participants will:

1. Attend weekly three-hour improv comedy workshops for 4 consecutive weeks
2. Complete four assessments and brief reflections during or around the workshop sessions
3. Take part in up to two individual interviews (optional)

Enrollment: 150 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 29 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Ethnic Chinese, fluent in spoken Mandarin and able to read Chinese
• Never married and without children
• No current or past diagnosis of any mental disorder (e.g. anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders)
• Mild to moderate anxiety symptoms (defined as a GAD-7 total score between 5 and 14)
• No prior experience of formal performance training in drama
• Availability to attend at least 3 out of 4 weekly sessions over the 4-week intervention period upon enrolment

Exclusion criteria

• Unstable or severe chronic physical illness that would contraindicate participation in group activities or light-to-moderate physical movement (e.g., uncontrolled hypertension, severe asthma, acute cardiovascular events within the past 6 months)
• Moderately severe to severe depression symptoms (defined as a PHQ-9 total score greater than 14)
• Suicidal ideation (defined as a score greater than 0 on item 9 of the PHQ-9)
• Potential risky drinking behavior (defined as AUDIT-C total score greater than 4)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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150 participants in 2 patient groups

Improv Against Anxiety (IAA)

Experimental group

Description:

Improv Against Anxiety (IAA) is a structured, group-based improv comedy program consisting of four weekly 3-hour sessions. Sessions use established improv comedy games and exercises to reduce anxiety symptoms and enhance mental well-being.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Improv Against Anxiety (IAA)

Waitlist Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants assigned to the waitlist control arm do not receive the IAA intervention during the main study period but complete the same assessment schedule as the experimental arm. During the wait period, they may seek or continue usual care from mental health professionals (treatment as usual). After all primary outcome assessments are completed, they are offered the opportunity to participate in the IAA intervention.