Online MBCT Program for University Students

November 24, 2025 updated by: Yun-Ling Chen, Chung Shan Medical University

Efficacy of an Online Mindfulness-based Cognitive Skills Program on Depressive Symptoms and Quality of Life in University Students

The goal of this interventional study is to examine the efficacy of the online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy program(MBCT) in youth (18-25 years old) with depressive symptoms. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Whether the program could reduce depressive symptoms in university students.
  • Whether the program could increase quality of life in university students.
  • The effectiveness, acceptance, and practicability of the program for university students.

Participants in the experimental group would be arranged to attend online mindfulness-based cognitive programs for eight weeks. The control group would be educated the knowledge of mental health to manage their negative emotions.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted to examine the efficacy of the online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy program(MBCT) in youth (18-25 years old) with depressive symptoms. The investigators expect the online MBCT program could assist university students in reducing their depressive mood and facilitating quality of life. The investigators also discussed the effectiveness, acceptance, and practicability of the online MBCT program to the subjects.

Participants in the experimental group would be arranged to attend online mindfulness-based cognitive programs for eight weeks. Each week was divided into 3 parts: detailed skill training with pictures or short videos, techniques application in different scenarios, and concepts consolidation through a web-based assignment. Participants were requested to complete the 3 parts above, which would take approximately 15 minutes in total per week. The content of the online intervention includes 8 chapters reflecting multiple topics (e.g. explaining MBCT, automatic pilot, awareness of mood, accentedness, staying with the present experience, linking habitual reactions to the unpleasant event, using breathing and body as an anchor, and planning to continue mindfulness practice) which were delivered to subjects each week by the research team.

Participants in the control group would acquire knowledge of mental health to manage their negative emotions. There would be 2 times of mental health education and one web-based assignment including writing feedback to ensure learning effectiveness each week. The content for 8 weeks would include knowledge about depression, recognition of depression and depressive mood, symptom management, adaptation skills and coping skills, myths of depression, depression prevention, and referral information for mental health.

The investigators would evaluate the effectiveness of the two groups using the outcome assessment of BDI-II, WHOQOL-BREF, BAI, OSA, and COPM 1 week before intervention (pre-test) and 1 week after intervention (post-test).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

69

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
    • Taichung
      • Taichung, Taichung, Taiwan, 402
        • Chung Shan Medical University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 25 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age of 18 and 25
  • Has Beck Depression Inventory-2 (BDI-II) score of at least mild severity, with no upper limit
  • Able to communicate through LINE app
  • Able to read Chinese and willing to participate in research

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Meets the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V, such as schizophrenia, substance abuse, and Bipolar disorder
  • Has ever been diagnosed as any significant physical illness, such as cancer, organ damage, and stroke
  • Refuse to be assigned to different groups randomly

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy program
The online mindfulness-based cognitive program was delivered on the platform of LINE to the experimental group 3 times a week for 8 weeks
Behavioral: mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
Participants in the experimental group would be arranged to attend online mindfulness-based cognitive programs for eight weeks. Each week was divided into 3 parts, which were detailed mindfulness-based skills training with pictures or short videos, techniques application in different scenarios, and concepts consolidation through a web-based assignment.
Placebo Comparator: mental health education
The mental health education was delivered on the platform of LINE to the control group 3 times a week for 8 weeks
Other: Mental health education
The mental health education was delivered on the platform of LINE to the control group 3 times a week for 8 weeks

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
BDI-II -Pretest
Time Frame: BDI-II score at pre-test (1week before intervention)
The Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) is a 21-item self-report questionnaire designed to measure the level of severity of disorders of depression. Items are scored from 0 to 3; higher scores indicate greater symptom severity. In the BDI-II values below 13 points are regarded as no or minimal depressive symptoms. Values between 14 and 19 points indicate a mild expression of depressive symptoms, values between 20 and 28 points a moderate severity. Scores between 29 and 63 are regarded as evidence of severe depressive disorder.
BDI-II score at pre-test (1week before intervention)
BDI-II -Posttest
Time Frame: 1 week after the intervention, corresponding to Week 9
The Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) is a 21-item self-report questionnaire designed to measure the level of severity of disorders of depression. Items are scored from 0 to 3; higher scores indicate greater symptom severity. In the BDI-II values below 13 points are regarded as no or minimal depressive symptoms. Values between 14 and 19 points indicate a mild expression of depressive symptoms, values between 20 and 28 points a moderate severity. Scores between 29 and 63 are regarded as evidence of severe depressive disorder.
1 week after the intervention, corresponding to Week 9
WHOQOL-BREF-TW -Pretest
Time Frame: WHOQOL-BREF-TW score at pre-test (1week before intervention)

The World Health Organization Quality-of-Life Scale (WHOQOL-BREF) is a 28-item self-report questionnaire with a five point rating scale for each item (from 1 to 5). There are four domains in WHOQOL-BREF, including physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment. The Physical Health domain consists of 7 items, with a total score range of 7 to 35; the Psychological domain includes 6 items, ranging from 6 to 30; the Social Relationships domain comprises 4 items, with scores ranging from 4 to 20; and the Environment domain contains 9 items, with a range of 9 to 45.

Two additional items are assessed separately: Question 1 evaluates an individual's overall perception of quality of life, while Question 2 assesses their overall perception of health. Each of these two items is scored on a scale from 1 to 5.

Domain scores are scaled in a positive direction, meaning that higher scores indicate better quality of life in the corresponding domain.
WHOQOL-BREF-TW score at pre-test (1week before intervention)
WHOQOL-BREF-TW -Posttest
Time Frame: 1 week after the intervention, corresponding to Week 9

The World Health Organization Quality-of-Life Scale (WHOQOL-BREF) is a 28-item self-report questionnaire with a five point rating scale for each item (from 1 to 5). There are four domains in WHOQOL-BREF, including physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment. The Physical Health domain consists of 7 items, with a total score range of 7 to 35; the Psychological domain includes 6 items, ranging from 6 to 30; the Social Relationships domain comprises 4 items, with scores ranging from 4 to 20; and the Environment domain contains 9 items, with a range of 9 to 45.

Two additional items are assessed separately: Question 1 evaluates an individual's overall perception of quality of life, while Question 2 assesses their overall perception of health. Each of these two items is scored on a scale from 1 to 5.

Domain scores are scaled in a positive direction, meaning that higher scores indicate better quality of life in the corresponding domain.
1 week after the intervention, corresponding to Week 9

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
BAI -Pretest
Time Frame: BAI score at pre-test (1week before intervention)
The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) is a 21-item self-report measure designed to reflect the severity of somatic and cognitive symptoms of anxiety over the previous week. Items are scored from 0 to 3; higher scores indicate greater symptom severity. The BAI scores are classified as minimal anxiety (0 to 7), mild anxiety (8 to 15), moderate anxiety (16 to 25), and severe anxiety (30 to 63).
BAI score at pre-test (1week before intervention)
BAI -Posttest
Time Frame: 1 week after the intervention, corresponding to Week 9
The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) is a 21-item self-report measure designed to reflect the severity of somatic and cognitive symptoms of anxiety over the previous week. Items are scored from 0 to 3; higher scores indicate greater symptom severity. The BAI scores are classified as minimal anxiety (0 to 7), mild anxiety (8 to 15), moderate anxiety (16 to 25), and severe anxiety (30 to 63).
1 week after the intervention, corresponding to Week 9
OSA -Pretest
Time Frame: OSA score at pre-test (1week before intervention)
The Occupational Self-Assessment (OSA) evaluates self-perceived occupational competence and environmental support. The questionnaire includes two sections: Self-Competence and Environment. The Self-Competence section has 21 items divided into three subscales-Skills/Performance (11 items), Habituation (5 items), and Volition (5 items)-and the Environment section has 8 items assessing perceived environmental support. Each item is rated on a 4-point scale, where 1 indicates the lowest and 4 the highest level of perceived competence or support. The possible score ranges are 11-44 for Skills/Performance, 5-20 for Habituation, 5-20 for Volition, and 8-32 for Environment. Higher scores represent greater self-perceived occupational competence and stronger environmental support.
OSA score at pre-test (1week before intervention)
OSA -Posttest
Time Frame: 1 week after the intervention, corresponding to Week 9
The Occupational Self-Assessment (OSA) evaluates self-perceived occupational competence and environmental support. The questionnaire includes two sections: Self-Competence and Environment. The Self-Competence section has 21 items divided into three subscales-Skills/Performance (11 items), Habituation (5 items), and Volition (5 items)-and the Environment section has 8 items assessing perceived environmental support. Each item is rated on a 4-point scale, where 1 indicates the lowest and 4 the highest level of perceived competence or support. The possible score ranges are 11-44 for Skills/Performance, 5-20 for Habituation, 5-20 for Volition, and 8-32 for Environment. Higher scores represent greater self-perceived occupational competence and stronger environmental support.
1 week after the intervention, corresponding to Week 9
COPM -Pretest
Time Frame: COPM score at pre-test (1week before intervention)
The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) is an individualized measure designed for use by occupational therapists to detect self-perceived change in occupational performance problems over time. The therapist calculates an average COPM performance score and satisfaction score. These typically range between 1 and 10, where 1 indicates poor performance and low satisfaction, respectively, while 10 indicates very good performance and high satisfaction.
COPM score at pre-test (1week before intervention)
COPM -Posttest
Time Frame: 1 week after the intervention, corresponding to Week 9
The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) is an individualized measure designed for use by occupational therapists to detect self-perceived change in occupational performance problems over time. The therapist calculates an average COPM performance score and satisfaction score. These typically range between 1 and 10, where 1 indicates poor performance and low satisfaction, respectively, while 10 indicates very good performance and high satisfaction.
1 week after the intervention, corresponding to Week 9

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Chung Shan Medical University

Investigators

  • Study Director: Yun-Ling Chen, Doctor, Chung Shan Medical University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 20, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 5, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 5, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 6, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

April 7, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

December 10, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 24, 2025

Last Verified

November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CS1-22150

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

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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