School-based Group Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Adolescents

Thriving Through the Storms: A School-based Mental Health Promotion Program for Building Psychological Flexibility and Resilience

The objective of the investigators' mental health promotion intervention premised on the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) framework in secondary school settings aims to enhance young people's psychological flexibility and reduce their emotional distress. ACT is an evidence-based approach that encourages individuals to act in alignment with their identified values. The investigator's team will employ an ACT protocol for adolescents developed by Louise Hayes and Joseph Ciarrochi. The study includes a single-group study design. The investigator will compare the pre- and post-intervention data to assess the feasibility and potential effectiveness of the group intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Stress; Anxiety; Depressive Symptoms
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Acceptance and commitment therapy

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 61
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Hong Kong
  • Shatin, Hong Kong
    • Department of Educational Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Eligible participants are adolescents who reported mild to moderate severity of psychological distress, including those who report:

• a score of 5-19 on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), or
• a score of 5-14 on the General Anxiety Disorder-7, or
• a score ≥14 on the Perceived Stress Scale.

Exclusion Criteria:

Adolescents will be excluded if they exhibit or report:

• violent or aggressive behavior, or
• active self-injurious or suicidal thought, or
• active psychotic symptom.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention group	Behavioral: Acceptance and commitment therapy; Four sessions of group acceptance and commitment therapy, with each session lasting for 1.5 hours.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Acceptance and Action Questionnaire - II	Baseline and 4 weeks
The 14-item Resilience Scale	Baseline and 4 weeks
Patient Health Questionnaire - 9	Baseline and 4 weeks
General Anxiety Disorder - 7	Baseline and 4 weeks
Perceived Stress Scale	Baseline and 4 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Satisfaction with Life Scale	Baseline and 4 weeks
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index	Baseline and 4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Chinese University of Hong Kong

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 30, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): August 31, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 9, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 9, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): September 15, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 17, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 14, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Anxiety Disorders; Depression; Behavior Therapy; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
• Other Study ID Numbers: KPF23GWP12

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