Effects of Mindfulness Training on Emotional Care Strategies

Teachers in Hong Kong are susceptible to professional stress and its associated psychosomatic illnesses. To enhance teachers' well-being, mindfulness training is conducted in local schools. The present study is a randomized controlled trial to investigate 1) the effects of mindfulness training on teachers' well-being (i.e. general health, positive affect, stress, negative affect); 2) whether decentering strategy (vs. cognitive reappraisal strategy) is nurtured by mindfulness practice; and 3) whether decentering instead of cognitive reappraisal is the mediator that explains the impact of mindfulness on well-being. Participants will be randomized to either intervention (8-week .b Foundations course) or waiting-list control condition.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Mental Health Issue
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: 8-week mindfulness program

Detailed Description

All the participants will complete an online survey before (baseline), after (post-intervention), and two-months (follow-up) after the intervention. A subset of participants (N = 30) will complete an electroencephalography (EEG) experiment.

Prior to the experiment, participants will complete an online questionnaire writing down eight recent autobiographical situations: four reflecting a neutral experience, two reflecting events that triggered anxiety, and two reflecting events that triggered sadness. After writing about each situation, participants will be asked to identify five keywords that are both unique and tightly linked to each situation.

During the experiment, participants will be reminded of the autobiographical situations in the computerized task. Participants will be asked to view the keywords (i.e. control condition); step back and view the keywords like an impartial observer, allowing whatever thoughts or emotions arise to come and go (i.e. decentering condition); and think about the keywords from different perspective to minimize negative emotions (i.e. reappraisal condition). EEG will be recorded while participants complete the task. Participants will receive $200 Hong Kong dollars each time as a remuneration for the time to participate in the experiment.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 328
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong, Hong Kong
    • Jockey Club "Peace and Awareness" Mindfulness Culture in Schools Initiative, Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong

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:

• Aged 18 years old or above
• Working in local schools or education institutions
• Willing to participate in mindfulness training voluntarily

Exclusion Criteria:

• Have history of neurological or psychiatric disorder, brain injury, birth complications, or significant sensory impairment
• Currently under medications that are known to affect the brain (e.g. anti-depressants, epileptica, tranquilizer, sleep medication, psychotropics, ritalin, concerta, etc.)
• Experiencing severe or unstable mental health condition currently
• Completed 8-week mindfulness training previously
• Unwilling to go by random assignment

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention group; 8-week mindfulness program	Behavioral: 8-week mindfulness program; The .b Foundations course is an 8-week mindfulness program developed by Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) for school teachers and personnel. It includes a taster session and 8 weekly sessions. Each session lasts for 1.5 hours with a specific theme (e.g. Lesson 1 waking up from autopilot). Formal and informal mindfulness practices (e.g. mindful eating, body scan, mindful walking, habit releaser etc.), psychoeducation, cognitive exercises, inquiry, and home practice are involved.
No Intervention: Wait-list control; Participants in wait-list control group will receive the same intervention, two months after experimental group completed the intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in General Health	General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), 12 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always)	Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention
Change in Stress	Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), 10 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always)	Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Positive affect	Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), 4 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always)	Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention
Change in Negative affect	Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), 4 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always)	Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention
Change in Mindfulness	Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (CAMS-R), 12 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always)	Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention
Change in Decentering	Non Reactivity Subscale of Chinese Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-C), 4 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always)	Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention
Change in Reappraisal	Reappraisal subscale of Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), 6 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always)	Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention
Change in Late positive potential (LPP)	A measure of emotional reactivity in EEG experiment; the amplitude of event-related potential (ERP) time-locked to the presentation of emotional stimulus (-200ms to 6000ms).	Baseline, Immediately after intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The University of Hong Kong
• Collaborators: Chinese University of Hong Kong

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 25, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 31, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): March 31, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 8, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 15, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): September 24, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 18, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 17, 2022
• Last Verified: May 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: mindfulness; teacher mental health; mindfulness-based intervention for teachers; cognitive reappraisal; emotional care; decentering
• Other Study ID Numbers: UHongKong (JC PandA)

Drug and device information, study documents

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