ACT-based EMI in College Students

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

ACT-based ecological momentary intervention: The intervention is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and includes the six core processes (being present, acceptance, defusion, self-as-content, values, and taking action). It is delivered in the form of an ecological momentary intervention (EMI), lasting for 7 days with two sessions per day. The intervention aims to enhance mental health, well-being, and psychological flexibility.

Mood monitoring: Participants do not receive any intervention. During the intervention period, they only need to complete ecological momentary assessments twice a day.

Study summary

This study aims to evaluate the acceptability and effectiveness of a transdiagnostic, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based ecological momentary intervention (EMI) among college students. A mixed-methods pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted to assess its impact on psychological flexibility, well-being and mental health outcomes.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Overall mental health — Baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (1 week after baseline); 1-month follow-up (1 month after intervention)
  Overall mental health will be measured using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Each item is rated on a 4-point Likert scale, with total scores ranging from 0 to 36. Higher scores indicate greater mental health difficulty.
• Psychological distress — Baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (1 week after baseline); 1-month follow-up (1 month after intervention)
  Psychological distress will be measured using the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. They ask about depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and general stress symptoms. Each item is rated on a 4-point Likert scale from 0 (did not apply to me at all) to 3 (applied to me very much or most of the time). Higher scores indicate more psychological distress
• Mental well-being — Baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (1 week after baseline); 1-month follow-up (1 month after intervention)
  The 14-item Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) will be used to measure mental well-being during the past month. This scale has 3 dimensions: emotional well-being (EWB), psychological well-being (PWB), and social well-being (SWB). Each item is rated on a 6-point scale from 0 (never) to 5 (every day), with a higher score indicating greater well-being.
• Psychological flexibility and inflexibility — Baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (1 week after baseline); 1-month follow-up (1 month after intervention)
  The multidimensional psychological flexibility inventory short form (MPFI-24) is a 24-item scale assessing psychological flexibility. The scale consists of a flexibility subscale and an inflexibility subscale, divided into 12 dimensions, with 2 entries for each dimension, a total of 24 entries, and scored at levels 1 (never true) to 6 (always true).
• Acceptability — post-intervention (one week after baseline)
  The 8-item Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8) is employed to measure client satisfaction. Each item is rated on a 4-point Likert scale. Higher scores reflect better client satisfaction.

Trial sites (1)

More The Hong Kong Polytechnic University trials in China

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