Improving Mental Health of Chinese University Students in Hong Kong: Adventure-based Cognitive Behavioural Intervention

Hong Kong Baptist University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Adventure-based Cognitive Behavioral Intervention

Treatments: Other: adventure-based cognitive behavioral intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04998890

HKBU 22603717

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study delivered an adventure-based cognitive behavioral intervention program to a group of Hong Kong university students. The program effectiveness was evaluated by a randomized controlled trial in reducing psychological distress and improving mental health of these 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. Randomized controlled trial (RCT) 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: 458 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No 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: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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458 participants in 2 patient groups

Adventure-based cognitive behavioral intervention

Experimental group

Description:

An adventure-based cognitive behavioral intervention program A 13-session adventure-based cognitive behavioral intervention program, including 6 lectures, 5 workshops and adventure training (one adventure day camp (2 sessions) and adventure activities in the beginning of each workshop). One session per week, 3 hours for each session. A variety of cognitive behavioral skills were taught in lectures and these skills were 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. Skill briefing, case demonstration and debriefing, group sharing and discussion, in-class exercise and homework were used in the intervention program.

Treatment:

Other: adventure-based cognitive behavioral intervention

Control group

No Intervention group

Description:

No intervention of the adventure-based cognitive behavioral program