Emerging adults (EA; 18 to 29 years old) in Canada are among the age group with highest risk of developing mental health issues. Despite this, they experience especially long wait-times for mental health services. To date, there has been minimal research into developmentally appropriate treatment options for the EA population. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are emerging as a potential treatment to address this need. MBIs are group-based psychological treatments for coping with distress, with the goal of improving mental health. Unfortunately, these 'traditional' MBIs are very demanding in terms of time and homework and are therefore not sufficiently feasible for the demanding schedules of EA university students. Instead, recent studies suggest a role for briefer MBIs in addressing mental health symptom burden, well-being and reducing acute stress symptoms. The brevity of these interventions make them theoretically better suited for EA university populations. High quality research, including controlled clinical trials are needed to demonstrate whether MBIs can provide efficacious treatment to improve the lives of EA university students. The current study will test the efficacy of a five-week MBI baseline within-subject controlled trial.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
55
MBI will be delivered in group format, 90 minutes per week, for 5 consecutive weeks with 6-15 participants per group.
York University
North York, Ontario, Canada
Change from Baseline Depressive Symptoms at 2.5 Weeks, 5 Weeks, 7.5 Weeks and 11.5 Weeks
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9): Scale used to measure Depressive Symptoms, with higher scores reflecting greater levels of depressive symptoms
Time frame: Baseline (Week 0), Pre- (Week 2.5), Mid- (Week 5), Post-Treatment (Week 7.5), and 1-month Follow-up (Week 11.5
Change from Baseline Anxious Symptoms at 2.5 Weeks, 5 Weeks, 7.5 Weeks and 11.5 Weeks
Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7): Scale used to measure Anxious Symptoms, with higher scores reflecting greater levels of anxious symptoms
Time frame: Baseline (Week 0), Pre- (Week 2.5), Mid- (Week 5), Post-Treatment (Week 7.5), and 1-month Follow-up (Week 11.5)
Change from Baseline Mental Wellbeing at 2.5 Weeks, 5 Weeks, 7.5 Weeks and 11.5 Weeks
Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS): Scale used to measure Mental Wellbeing, with higher scores reflecting greater levels of mental wellbeing
Time frame: Baseline (Week 0), Pre- (Week 2.5), Mid- (Week 5), Post-Treatment (Week 7.5), and 1-month Follow-up (Week 11.5)
Change from Baseline Perceived Stress at 2.5 Weeks, 5 Weeks, 7.5 Weeks and 11.5
10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10): Scale used to measure Perceived Stress, with higher scores reflecting greater levels of perceived stress
Time frame: Baseline (Week 0), Pre- (Week 2.5), Mid- (Week 5), Post-Treatment (Week 7.5), and 1-month Follow-up (Week 11.5)
Change from Baseline Emotion Regulation Strategies at 2.5 Weeks, 5 Weeks, 7.5 Weeks and 11.5
Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ): Scale used to measure Emotion Regulation, with higher scores reflecting greater levels of emotion regulation strategies
Time frame: Baseline (Week 0), Pre- (Week 2.5), Mid- (Week 5), Post-Treatment (Week 7.5), and 1-month Follow-up (Week 11.5)
Change from Baseline Self-Compassion at 2.5 Weeks, 5 Weeks, 7.5 Weeks and 11.5
Self-Compassion Scale - Short Form (SCS-SF): Scale used to measure self-compassion, with higher scores reflecting greater levels of self-compassion
Time frame: Baseline (Week 0), Pre- (Week 2.5), Mid- (Week 5), Post-Treatment (Week 7.5), and 1-month Follow-up (Week 11.5)
Change from Baseline Mindful Awareness at 2.5 Weeks, 5 Weeks, 7.5 Weeks and 11.5
Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaires (FFMQ): Scale used to measure mindful awareness, with higher scores reflecting greater levels of mindfulness facets
Time frame: Baseline (Week 0), Pre- (Week 2.5), Mid- (Week 5), Post-Treatment (Week 7.5), and 1-month Follow-up (Week 11.5)
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.