ACT-based EMI in College Students

NCT06843395 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: HSEARS20250214003
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief 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.

Conditions

Healthy Participants Study

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• Overall mental health

  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.

  Baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (1 week after baseline); 1-month follow-up (1 month after intervention)

• Psychological distress

  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

  Baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (1 week after baseline); 1-month follow-up (1 month after intervention)

• Mental well-being

  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.

  Baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (1 week after baseline); 1-month follow-up (1 month after intervention)

• Psychological flexibility and inflexibility

  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).

  Baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (1 week after baseline); 1-month follow-up (1 month after intervention)

• Acceptability

  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.

  post-intervention (one week after baseline)

Secondary Outcomes (9)

• State anxiety and depression

  During the 7-day intervention period, measurements are conducted twice per day.

• State stress

  During the 7-day intervention period, measurements are conducted twice per day.

• State well-being

  During the 7-day intervention period, measurements are conducted twice per day.

• State subjective happiness

  During the 7-day intervention period, measurements are conducted twice per day.

• State affect

  During the 7-day intervention period, measurements are conducted twice per day.

Study Arms (2)

Mood monitoring condition

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Only pre- and post-assessments and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) measurements are conducted.

Other: Mood monitoring

ACT-based EMI group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants are required to complete a 7-day ecological momentary intervention (EMI).

Behavioral: ACT-based ecological momentary intervention

Interventions

ACT-based ecological momentary intervention BEHAVIORAL

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.

ACT-based EMI group

Mood monitoring OTHER

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

Mood monitoring condition

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Participants in our study are healthy college students
• have smartphone, and have access to the internet

You may not qualify if:

• currently participating in another research
• have significant cognitive impairment that prevents participation in the research

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University: lead

Study Sites (1)

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Hong Kong, China

Location

Central Study Contacts

Tao Zhang

CONTACT

+85294233827; tao-t.zhang@connect.polyu.hk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 20, 2025
• First Posted: February 25, 2025
• Study Start: April 15, 2025
• Primary Completion: August 1, 2025
• Study Completion: December 31, 2025
• Last Updated: March 11, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-02

Locations

CN (1)