Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy for University Students

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Cognitive Behavioral Group Prevention Program for Mainland Chinese University Students in Hong Kong

This study developed a culturally appropriate cognitive behavioral group prevention program for Mainland Chinese university students in Hong Kong. The effects of the group prevention program on psychological distress, acculturative stress, cognitions, emotions, and post-migration growth were examined.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cognitive Behavior Group Therapy
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: cognitive behavioral group therapy

Detailed Description

Detailed description:

Previous research has found the effectiveness of group cognitive behavioral therapy in improving international students' mental health and facilitating their psychological adaptation. However, this kind of research in Chinese societies is scant and previous studies lack control group in study design. This study developed an 8-session culturally appropriate cognitive behavioral group prevention program for Mainland Chinese university students in Hong Kong. Research design of randomized controlled trial was adopted. Program effectiveness was evaluated at both cognitive and emotional levels, including psychological distress, acculturative stress, emotions, automatic thoughts, sense-making coping, core belief re-examination and post-migration growth.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 74
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong, Hong Kong
    • Jiayan Pan

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Chinese students from Mainland China who were studying at local universities in Hong Kong
• GHQ-12 score of 2 or above (0-0-1-1)
• Willingness to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• GHQ-12 score of 11 or above (0-0-1-1)
• One or more psychotic disorders
• Severe depression diagnosed by professionals with suicidal attempts/ideation in the past 3 months

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: cognitive behavioral group therapy; A cognitive behavioral group prevention program An 8-session, cognitive behavioral group prevention program, featuring cultural appropriateness. One session per week, 3 hours for each session. The program contents include psychoeducation, cognitive skills training to identify and challenge maladaptive cognitions, and behavioral skills training. Each session contains mood check and homework. Participants' own examples are used in the group to demonstrate the CBT skills.	Other: cognitive behavioral group therapy; A 8-session cognitive behavior group intervention tailor-made for Mainland Chinese university students in Hong Kong
No Intervention: Wait-list control group; No immediate intervention No intervention was provided when the experimental group was receiving services, but the same cognitive behavioral group prevention program was delivered to the wait-list control group after that.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12)	12 item rating scale measuring psychological distress, scale score ranges from 0-12, with a higher score indicating a higher level of psychological distress	pre-test at intake interview
General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12)	12 item rating scale measuring psychological distress, scale score ranges from 0-12, with a higher score indicating a higher level of psychological distress	post-test at the end of the last session of the CBT group (for the experimental group), and when the experimental group finished the intervention (for the waitlist control group), respectively.
General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12)	12 item rating scale measuring psychological distress, scale score ranges from 0-12, with a higher score indicating a higher level of psychological distress	3-month follow-up test three months after completing the intervention
Acculturative Stress Scale for Chinese Students (ASSCS)	35-item rating scale measuring acculturative stress, scale score ranges from 0-3, with a higher score indicating a higher level of acculturative stress	pre-test at intake interview
Acculturative Stress Scale for Chinese Students (ASSCS)	35-item rating scale measuring acculturative stress, scale score ranges from 0-3, with a higher score indicating a higher level of acculturative stress	post-test at the end of the last session of the CBT group (for the experimental group), and when the experimental group finished the intervention (for the waitlist control group), respectively.
Acculturative Stress Scale for Chinese Students (ASSCS)	35-item rating scale measuring acculturative stress, scale score ranges from 0-3, with a higher score indicating a higher level of acculturative stress	3-month follow-up test three months after completing the intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Chinese Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (CATQ)	14-item rating scale measuring automatic thoughts, subscale score ranges from 1-5 for the positive thought subscale and negative thought subscale	pre-test at intake interview
Chinese Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (CATQ)	14-item rating scale measuring automatic thoughts, subscale score ranges from 1-5 for the positive thought subscale and negative thought subscale	post-test at the end of the last session of the CBT group (for the experimental group), and when the experimental group finished the intervention (for the waitlist control group), respectively.
Chinese Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (CATQ)	14-item rating scale measuring automatic thoughts, subscale score ranges from 1-5 for the positive thought subscale and negative thought subscale	3-month follow-up test three months after completing the intervention
Post-migration Growth Scale (PMGS)	14-item rating scale measuring personal growth after migration, scale score ranges from 1-6, with a higher score indicating a higher level of post-migration growth	pre-test at intake interview
Post-migration Growth Scale (PMGS)	14-item rating scale measuring personal growth after migration, scale score ranges from 1-6, with a higher score indicating a higher level of post-migration growth	post-test at the end of the last session of the CBT group (for the experimental group), and when the experimental group finished the intervention (for the waitlist control group), respectively.
Post-migration Growth Scale (PMGS)	14-item rating scale measuring personal growth after migration, scale score ranges from 1-6, with a higher score indicating a higher level of post-migration growth	3-month follow-up test three months after completing the intervention
Chinese Making Sense of Adversity Scale (CMSAS)	12-item rating scale measuring sense-making coping strategies of Chinese people, scale score ranges from 1-6, with higher scores indicating a greater tendency to use the sense-making coping	pre-test at intake interview
Chinese Making Sense of Adversity Scale (CMSAS)	12-item rating scale measuring sense-making coping strategies of Chinese people, scale score ranges from 1-6, with higher scores indicating a greater tendency to use the sense-making coping	post-test at the end of the last session of the CBT group (for the experimental group), and when the experimental group finished the intervention (for the waitlist control group), respectively.
Chinese Making Sense of Adversity Scale (CMSAS)	12-item rating scale measuring sense-making coping strategies of Chinese people, scale score ranges from 1-6, with higher scores indicating a greater tendency to use the sense-making coping	3-month follow-up test three months after completing the intervention
Core Belief Inventory (CBI)	9-item rating scale measuring core belief re-examination, scale score ranges from 0-5, with a higher score indicating a higher level of core belief re-examination	pre-test at intake interview
Core Belief Inventory (CBI)	9-item rating scale measuring core belief re-examination, scale score ranges from 0-5, with a higher score indicating a higher level of core belief re-examination	post-test at the end of the last session of the CBT group (for the experimental group), and when the experimental group finished the intervention (for the waitlist control group), respectively.
Core Belief Inventory (CBI)	9-item rating scale measuring core belief re-examination, scale score ranges from 0-5, with a higher score indicating a higher level of core belief re-examination	3-month follow-up test three months after completing the intervention
Chinese Affect Scale (CAS)	20-item rating scale measuring trait and state affect of Chinese-speaking people, subscale scores range from 1-6, with a higher score indicating a higher level of positive/negative emotion	pre-test at intake interview
Chinese Affect Scale (CAS)	20-item rating scale measuring trait and state affect of Chinese-speaking people, subscale scores range from 1-6, with a higher score indicating a higher level of positive/negative emotion	post-test at the end of the last session of the CBT group (for the experimental group), and when the experimental group finished the intervention (for the waitlist control group), respectively.
Chinese Affect Scale (CAS)	20-item rating scale measuring trait and state affect of Chinese-speaking people, subscale scores range from 1-6, with a higher score indicating a higher level of positive/negative emotion	3-month follow-up test three months after completing the intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Hong Kong Baptist University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 1, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): September 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 19, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 19, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): June 23, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 28, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 24, 2020
• Last Verified: September 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: mental health; Chinese university student
• Other Study ID Numbers: 12607815

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No