Improving Emotional Regulation Skills of Children in Difficulty in Shenzhen

The study aims to 1) improve the emotional regulation strategies of children in difficulty in Shenzhen, and 2) develop and publish a set of evidence-based intervention manuals for professional use. Based on the intervention manual design of the researchers' previous study conducted in Hong Kong, the current research revised the intervention manual to adapt to the context of mainland China. This study adopts a randomized wait-list control trial design. The researchers aim to recruit 200 children in difficulty aged 8 to 14 as participants and randomly assign them to an experimental and a wait-list control group with a ratio of 3:2. Each participant will attend four sessions of intervention and one booster session, and each session requires around 1.5 to 2 hours to complete. The participants will complete assessments before the first session of the intervention (T1), immediately after the fourth session of the intervention (T2), and one month after the completion of the intervention (T3). A qualitative assessment will also be conducted after the booster session.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Parent-Child Relations; Happiness; Emotion Regulation; Positive Affect
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Emotion regulation

Detailed Description

1. Context of study

   The target population of this study is children in difficulty, which is defined as children who come from one of the following three groups: (1) single-parent families, (2) low-income families, and (3) left-behind children. Children in difficulty are constantly exposed to multiple sources of stress, including parental psychological neglect, unstable family life, limited school-based social activities, and stereotypes. These factors can bring emotional fluctuations in children. If they are not handled properly, it may lead to bullying, family conflicts, and even suicide.

2. Target of emotional regulation

   There are still challenges and deficiencies in the coverage, quality, and synergy of emotional assistance services for children in need. This study helps children acquire emotional concepts and management skills and offers an evidence-based intervention framework for service providers.

3. Cultural and contextual considerations in the intervention feature

   The current research revised the intervention manual, which was developed in the context of Hong Kong to adapt to mainland China.

4. Procedure

The researchers aim to recruit 200 children in difficulty to participate in the study. The age range of the participants is between 8 and 14. The participants will be randomly assigned to an experimental or wait-list control group with a 3:2 ratio. Each participant will attend four intervention sessions. Each session requires around 1.5 to 2 hours to complete. The pre-test, post-test, and follow-up survey each requires around 30 minutes to complete. The surveys are conducted to assess the effectiveness of the emotional management intervention on children's emotional management skills and its correlation with mental health and family functioning among the participants.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 183
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Hong Kong, China
    • City University of Hong Kong

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• single-parent families
• low-income families
• left-behind children

Exclusion Criteria:

• a history of severe psychotic symptoms
• have previously participated in a similar intervention program

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 arm; The intervention arm aims at improving children's emotional regulation skills.	Behavioral: Emotion regulation; Each participant will attend four intervention sessions. They will also be invited to a booster Session, where they will be invited for interviews to share what they have gained from the sessions. The contents of the intervention and the booster session are as follows: (1) understand emotions, (2) attention and positivity, (3) emotional regulation, (4) connectedness and intimacy, and (5) review and sharing.
No Intervention: Control Arm; The control arm participants will not receive any interventions.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
10-item Emotional Management Strategy Questionnaire	Emotional management strategy questionnaire is a 10-item scale assessing parents' and children's emotional management strategy. Possible scores for each item range from 1 (not at all) to 6 (everyday). Higher scores indicate more frequent use of emotional management strategy.	Baseline, week 4, week 8
10-item Positive and Negative Affect Schedule	Positive and negative affect schedule is a 10-item scale assessing parents' and children's positive and negative affect. Possible scores for each item range from 1 (not at all) to 6 (everyday). Higher scores indicate more positive or negative affect.	Baseline, week 4, week 8
Patient Health Questionnaire-9	Patient health questionnaire assesses the depressive symptoms among parents and children. Possible scores for each item range from 1 (not at all) to 4 (everyday). Higher scores indicate more depressive symptoms.	Baseline, week 4, week 8
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale	Generalized anxiety disorder questionnaire assesses the anxiety symptoms among parents and children. Possible scores for each item range from 1 (not at all) to 4 (everyday). Higher scores indicate more anxiety symptoms.	Baseline, week 4, week 8
Subjective Happiness Scale	Subjective happiness scale is a 4-item scale assessing parents' and children's subjective happiness. Possible scores for each item range from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Higher scores indicate more subjective happiness.	Baseline, week 4, week 8
Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 10-Item	Connor-Davidson resilience scale assesses the individual resilience among parents and children. Possible scores for each item range from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Higher scores indicate greater resilience.	Baseline, week 4, week 8
Child-Parent Relationship Scale	Child-parent relationship scale is a 4-item scale assessing the relationship between parents and children. Possible scores for each item range from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 6 (very satisfied). Higher scores indicate better satisfaction with parents.	Baseline, week 4, week 8
Family Harmony Scale	Family harmony scale is an 8-item scale assessing the family harmony. Possible scores for each item range from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Higher scores indicate better family harmony.	Baseline, week 4, week 8

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: City University of Hong Kong
• Collaborators: International Social Service Hong Kong Branch
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Nancy YU, Dr., City University of Hong Kong

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Watson D, Clark LA, Tellegen A. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988 Jun;54(6):1063-70. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.54.6.1063.
• Connor KM, Davidson JR. Development of a new resilience scale: the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Depress Anxiety. 2003;18(2):76-82. doi: 10.1002/da.10113.
• Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, Lowe B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006 May 22;166(10):1092-7. doi: 10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092.
• Campbell-Sills L, Stein MB. Psychometric analysis and refinement of the Connor-davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC): Validation of a 10-item measure of resilience. J Trauma Stress. 2007 Dec;20(6):1019-28. doi: 10.1002/jts.20271.
• Yu X, Tam WW, Wong PT, Lam TH, Stewart SM. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for measuring depressive symptoms among the general population in Hong Kong. Compr Psychiatry. 2012 Jan;53(1):95-102. doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2010.11.002. Epub 2010 Dec 28.
• Fabrizio CS, Lam TH, Hirschmann MR, Pang I, Yu NX, Wang X, Stewart SM. Parental emotional management benefits family relationships: A randomized controlled trial in Hong Kong, China. Behav Res Ther. 2015 Aug;71:115-24. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2015.05.011. Epub 2015 Jun 4.
• Driscoll, K., & Pianta, R. C. (1992). Child-Parent Relationship Scale. Journal of Early Childhood and Infant Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/t16909-000
• Kroenke, K., & Spitzer, R. L. (2002). The PHQ-9: A New Depression Diagnostic and Severity Measure. Psychiatric Annals, 32(9), 509-515. https://doi.org/10.3928/0048-5713-20020901-06
• Lyubomirsky, S., Lepper, H.S. A Measure of Subjective Happiness: Preliminary Reliability and Construct Validation. Social Indicators Research, 46, 137-155 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006824100041
• Yu, N. X., Kam-fung Liu, I., & Bu, H. (2021). Enhancing resilience in cross boundary families: A parent-child parallel group intervention. Journal of Social Work, 21(4), 651-675. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468017320919103
• Zhang C, Wang T, Zeng P, Zhao M, Zhang G, Zhai S, Meng L, Wang Y, Liu D. Reliability, Validity, and Measurement Invariance of the General Anxiety Disorder Scale Among Chinese Medical University Students. Front Psychiatry. 2021 May 19;12:648755. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.648755. eCollection 2021.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 6, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 26, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): June 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 2, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 24, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): March 26, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 27, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 24, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: children in need; teenagers from low socioeconomic family; randomized wait-list control trial
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Social Behavior; Self-Control; Emotional Regulation
• Other Study ID Numbers: Shenzhen Project

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: We will not make individual participant data available to other researchers.

Drug and device information, study documents

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