The Relationships Between Equanimity, Mindfulness, and Self-Compassion, and Mental Health Outcomes

This is an academic research study aiming to explore the relationships between equanimity, mindfulness, self-compassion, and mental health outcomes, and to examine the reliability and validity of the new measures in Hong Kong.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Mindfulness; Self-Compassion; Mental Health Outcomes
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Self-reported questionnaires

Detailed Description

The current research aims to validate two new measures, the Equanimity Scale (ES-16) and the Sussex-Oxford Compassion for the Self Scale (SOCS-S) in Hong Kong. Standard procedures of forward-backward translation of the ES-16 and SOCS-S were employed. Adults aged 18 or above will be recruited in the community to fill out a set of questionnaires two times on equanimity, mindfulness, self-compassion, and mental health outcomes (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress, wellbeing). Relationships between these variables will be explored. To assess test-retest reliability, participants will be invited to fill out the same set of questionnaires on a total of two time points: baseline and two-week post-baseline.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 500

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Hoi Chun Lok, MSocSc(CP); Phone Number: +852 3917-5889; Email: hclok@connect.hku.hk
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Amanda Kingsze Cheung, PhD; Phone Number: +852 3917-5889; Email: aksc@hku.hk

Study Locations

• Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong, Hong Kong
    • Recruiting
    • Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong
    • Contact: Hoi Chun Lok, MSocSc(CP); Phone Number: +852 3917-5889; Email: hclok@connect.hku.hk
    • Contact: Amanda Kingsze Cheung, PhD; Phone Number: +852 3917-5889; Email: aksc@hku.hk

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Community participants aged 18 or above

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• aged 18 or above
• can read and type Chinese
• have means to access online surveys

No Exclusion Criteria

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Community adults aged 18 or above; This is a single-arm study with no intervention involved. Adults aged 18 or above from the community will be invited to fill out the same set of questionnaires on a total of two time points: baseline and two-week post-baseline.	Other: Self-reported questionnaires; After participants agree to participate in this study, they will first fill out the set of questionnaires once. After two weeks, the research team will send them reminders to fill out the same set of questionnaires again.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire - 20)	The 20-item Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire - 20 (FFMQ-20) will be used to measure mindfulness. Possible score range is 20 to 100, where higher scores indicate higher mindfulness.	2-week
Equanimity (Equanimity Scale)	The 16-item Equanimity Scale (ES-16) will be used to measure equanimity. Possible score range is 16 to 80, where higher scores indicate higher equanimity.	2-week
Self-compassion (Sussex-Oxford Compassion for the Self Scale)	The 20-item Sussex-Oxford Compassion for the Self Scale (SOCS-S) will be used to measure self-compassion. Possible score range is 20 to 100, where higher scores indicate higher self-compassion.	2-week
Depression (Patient Health Questionnaire - 9)	The nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 (PHQ-9) will be used to measure depression. Possible score range is 0 to 27, where higher scores mean more severe depression.	2-week
Anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder - 7)	The seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) will be used to measure anxiety. Possible score range is 0 to 21, where higher scores indicate more severe anxiety.	2-week
Stress (Perceived Stress Scale - 10)	The 10-item Perceived Stress Scale - 10 (PSS) will be used to measure stress. Possible score range is 0 to 40, where higher scores indicate higher perceived stress.	2-week
Wellbeing (Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale)	The seven-item Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS) will be used to measure wellbeing. Possible score range is 0 to 35, where higher scores mean higher mental wellbeing.	2-week
Equanimity (Two-Factor Equanimity Scale)	The Two-Factor Equanimity Scale (EQUA-S) will be used to measure equanimity, for assessing convergent validity of the ES-16. Possible score range is 14 to 70, where higher scores indicate higher equanimity.	2-week
Self-compassion (Self-Compassion Scale - Short Form)	The 12-item Self-Compassion Scale - Short Form (SCS-SF) will be used to measure self-compassion, for assess convergent validity of the SOCS-S. Possible score range is 12 to 60, where higher scores indicate higher self-compassion.	2-week

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
single-item measures on equanimity, mindfulness, self-compassion, depression, anxiety, stress (i.e., six items in total)	Six single-item exploratory weekly measures respectively measuring equanimity, mindfulness, self-compassion, depression, anxiety, stress. Possible score range for single-item measures on equanimity, mindfulness, self-compassion are 1 to 7, where higher scores indicate higher equanimity, mindfulness, self-compassion respectively. Possible score range for single-item measures on depression, anxiety are 0 to 3, where higher scores indicate more severe depression, anxiety respectively. Possible score range for single-item measure on stress is 0 to 4, where higher scores indicate higher perceived stress.	2-week

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The University of Hong Kong
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Hoi Chun Lok, MSocSc(CP), The University of Hong Kong

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): May 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 13, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 13, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): May 17, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 3, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 31, 2024
• Last Verified: May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 1005240113

Drug and device information, study documents

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