The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Tai Chi Chuan on Mobile Phone Addiction Among Male College Students is Associated With Executive Functions

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate whether an 8-week mindfulness-based Tai Chi intervention can improve cognitive and executive functions, particularly inhibitory control, and reduce mobile phone addiction in male university students. It will also explore the potential mechanisms by which mindfulness-based Tai Chi affects mobile phone addiction behaviors. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does mindfulness-based Tai Chi improve inhibitory control and reduce mobile phone addiction in male university students? Does mindfulness-based Tai Chi enhance overall executive functions, including inhibition, updating, and shifting abilities? Researchers will compare the experimental group (receiving mindfulness-based Tai Chi intervention) to the control group (maintaining their usual routine without intervention) to see if mindfulness-based Tai Chi leads to greater improvements in cognitive and executive functions and reduces mobile phone addiction.

Participants will:

Practice mindfulness-based Tai Chi for 8 weeks Complete pre- and post-intervention assessments of mobile phone addiction, mindfulness levels, and executive function Engage in weekly Tai Chi practice sessions Complete self-report diaries of mobile phone usage and mindfulness experiences

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Mobile Phone Addiction Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: The mindfulness-based Tai Chi Chuan

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 66
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Beijing
    • Beijing, Beijing, China, 100080
      • Capital University Of Physical Education And Sports, School of Kinesiology and Health

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male university students not majoring in physical education. Aged 18 years or older. A moderate level of dependence on mobile phones, with a score above 40 on the Mobile Phone Addiction Index (MPAI).

No regular exercise habits in daily academic life. Willing to participate in an 8-week mindfulness-based Tai Chi training program and provide informed consent.

No serious medical conditions.

Exclusion Criteria:

• The exclusion criteria include individuals with diseases that may affect training (such as cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and musculoskeletal disorders), as well as those diagnosed with mental disorders (such as depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc.).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental group; The exercise time lasts 40 min each time, including 5 min of wuji pile practice with positive thoughts, 30 min of eight styles of Tai Chi Chuan practice (4 min*6 sets, 1 min interval between sets), and 5 min of relaxation part of wuji pile with music. The exercise frequency is 3 times a week.	Behavioral: The mindfulness-based Tai Chi Chuan; Studies have shown that compared with the Tai Chi Chuan, MTCC is more relaxing to practitioner. The Tai Chi Chuan section is based on the Yang's movements, which not only conform to the basic technical characteristics, such as the steps, stance, techniques, movement of the center of gravity, and the coordination of the whole body between the movements, but also are clear, smooth, simple, easy to learn, and beautiful. The mindfulness section is complemented by soothing, soft music to guide the practitioner to focus on himself and return to inner peace. The essence of the program is to help practitioners focus their attention and achieve inner peace during practice. Through the practice of MTCC, practitioners are encouraged to face the difficulties they encounter in reality and to develop a positive and open mind to deal with negative emotions and thoughts in daily life.
No Intervention: Control group; The control group maintained their normal physical activity levels without any additional intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mobile Phone Addiction Index	Measurement of mobile phone addiction used the Mobile Phone Addiction Index (MPAI) developed by Y.K. Leung, which is suitable for measuring mobile phone addiction in college students with a good reliability of 0.87. There are four dimensions in the scale, namely loss of control, withdrawal, avoidance, and ineffectiveness. It is rated from 1 to 5 with 17 questions.	From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks.
Mindfulness level	The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) was used to measure the mindfulness level. It developed by Brown and Ryan in 2003, which was introduced and revised by domestic scholars in 2012. Besides, it has high validity, structure validity and retest reliability of 0.87 0.89. The scale of single dimension scale, score from 1 to 6 points, are all positive ratings, which includes 15 problem. The higher the total score is, the higher levels one's mindful awareness and attention are.	From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks.
Executive Functions	Executive function was measured by the executive function test instrument developed by Chen Aiguo, whose reliability has been tested in numerous studies. The test consisted of a Flanker task (inhibition function), a 2-back task (updating function), and a More-odd shifting task (shifting function).	From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, China

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 3, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): June 3, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 15, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 19, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 19, 2025
• Last Verified: February 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Executive Function; Cognitive Function; Mobile Phone Addiction Behavior
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Compulsive Behavior; Impulsive Behavior; Technology Addiction; Behavior, Addictive
• Other Study ID Numbers: KM202210029001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: all IPD collected throughout the trial,We are willing to share the following data from the participants in the experiment: mobile phone addiction index, mindfulness level, executive functions, and other related information.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: The IPD will be made publicly available 6 months after the publication of the paper. The data will be shared on the China National Center for Bioinformation (https://ngdc.cncb.ac.cn/gsub/) for other researchers to access and use. The shared data will include all experimental data that is not related to personal privacy, adhering to data confidentiality and ethical standards.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: After data collection, the data will be entered into the China National Center (https:/ngdc.cncb.ac.cn/gsub/), which is an internet-based electronic data capture and management system. It is used for storing, organizing, and managing research data to ensure the security, accuracy, and traceability of the data
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF; ANALYTIC_CODE; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

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