Comparing the Effects of Indoor vs. Outdoor Horticultural Therapy on College Students

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

outdoor-horticultural therapy: Students are randomly assigned to the Outdoor Horticultural Therapy group, where they will receive outdoor horticultural therapy for eight weeks

indoor-Horticultural Therapy group: Students are randomly assigned to the indoor horticultural therapy group, where they will receive indoor horticultural therapy for 8 weeks

General Psychological Group Counselling Team: Students were randomly assigned to general group groups to participate in an 8-week mental health group activity

Study summary

This study used a randomised controlled trial to investigate the effects of different forms of horticultural group interventions on college students' depression, anxiety and subjective well-being, and the internal mechanisms of the effects.

Participants are required to complete the following tasks:

Attend one indoor/outdoor group gardening activity per week, lasting 2 hours each session, for a total of 8 weeks.

Complete psychological scale assessments at five time points: before the activity begins, at 4 weeks after the start, upon completion of the activity, and at 1 week and 2 weeks after completion.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Depression — From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment Edit Copy Outcome
  The Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9): This scale consists of 9 items, each rated on a 4-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating more severe depressive symptoms in the subject.
• Anxiety — From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment
  Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7): This scale consists of 7 items, each rated on a 4-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating more severe anxiety symptoms in the subjects.
• Positive And Negative Affective — From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment
  Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS): This scale consists of 20 items, including 10 positive affect items and 10 negative affect items, with each item rated on a Likert five-point scale. Higher scores on the positive affect items indicate higher levels of positive affect in the participants, while higher scores on the negative affect items indicate higher levels of negative affect in the participants.
• Life satisfaction — From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment
  The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS): This scale consists of 5 items, each rated on a 7-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating greater life satisfaction among participants.

Trial sites (1)

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