MH-POWER for College Students on the Spectrum

Empowering Autistic College Students: Mental Health Skill Building at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

The purpose of this project is to determine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a mental health skill-building and empowerment program (MH-POWER) for college students on the autism spectrum facing stress, anxiety, and depression. The program, grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and habit formation, will be implemented through weekly sessions and daily practice over 8 weeks. To evaluate the program's preliminary efficacy, we will measure mental health symptoms at baseline, mid-point, post-intervention, and one-month follow-up. Positive outcomes could lead to scalable interventions.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Autistic College Students With Anxiety, Depression, Stress
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: The MH-POWER program

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Wen-Pin Chang, PhD; Phone Number: 9566656405; Email: wenpin.chang@utrgv.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Edinburg, Texas, United States, 78539
      • Recruiting
      • Department of Occupational Therapy, ESWOT Building, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
      • Contact: Wen-Pin Chang; Phone Number: 9566654605; Email: wenpin.chang@utrgv.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria

• College students at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• age 18-30 years
• self-reported autism diagnosis confirmed via Social Responsiveness Scale-2nd Edition, the gold standard to assess impairment in adults on the autism spectrum
• elevated stress, anxiety (worry, feeling overwhelmed), or depression (feeling down), confirmed using highly reliable and validated screening tools; Patient Health Questionnaire-9, General Anxiety Disorder-7, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale-10
• not currently receiving intensive psychological treatment or psychiatric medication adjustments
• must be able to speak and read English
• willing to participate in an 8-week intervention study

Exclusion criteria:

- None

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: The MH-POWER program

Behavioral: The MH-POWER program; The MH-POWER program is an 8-week, structured, and manualized program to improve mental health skills. The program design consists of weekly 60-minute group sessions (8-12 in each group) and daily structured practice activities to reinforce the skills learned in each session. Based on the Self-Regulation Framework, the MH-POWER program systematically integrates (a) CBT with a specific focus on cognitive restructuring and behavioral activation; (b) ACT with mindfulness, acceptance strategies, and values clarification; and (c) the science of habit formation, which includes action planning, goal setting, prompts, and self-monitoring. The program focuses on developing greater relationships between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, as well as the ability to cope effectively. The focus areas of development include learning how thoughts create emotions and influence actions, developing a positive mindset, enhancing stress management and coping skills, employing structured problem

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)	Individual scores on the PSS can range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress	It will be administered at baseline (Week 0), mid-intervention (Week 4), post-intervention (Week 8), and follow-up (Week 12)
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)	Each subscale yields a score between 20 and 80, with higher scores indicating greater severity of anxiety.	It will be administered at baseline (Week 0), mid-intervention (Week 4), post-intervention (Week 8), and follow-up (Week 12)
Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)	Score ranges from 0-63. Higher scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms	It will be administered at baseline (Week 0), mid-intervention (Week 4), post-intervention (Week 8), and follow-up (Week 12)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Self-Reported Habit Index (SRHI)	Averaged scores of all items range from 1 to 7, a higher score indicates that the behavior functions as a strong, automatic habit	It will be administered at baseline (Week 0), mid-intervention (Week 4), post-intervention (Week 8), and follow-up (Week 12).
Mental Health Quality of Life Questionnaire (MHQoL)	Scores range from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating better quality of life	It will be administered at baseline (Week 0), mid-intervention (Week 4), post-intervention (Week 8), and follow-up (Week 12).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• Collaborators: The American Occupational Therapy Foundation

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): July 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 26, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 26, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 14, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 11, 2026
• Last Verified: July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Depression
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB-26-0155

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