Improv Comedy to Reduce Anxiety and Improve Mental Well-Being in Young Chinese Adults in Hong Kong

Trial statusNot yet recruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18-29
SponsorThe University of Hong Kong

About this trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if improv comedy helps reduce anxiety symptoms and improve mental well-being in Chinese young adults in Hong Kong. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Does improv comedy reduce anxiety symptoms? 2. Does improv comedy improve mental well-being?

Researchers will compare participants who join the improv comedy workshops to participants who are placed on a waiting list to receive the workshops later, to see if improv comedy reduces anxiety and improves mental well-being.

Participants will:

1. Attend weekly three-hour improv comedy workshops for 4 consecutive weeks 2. Complete four assessments and brief reflections during or around the workshop sessions 3. Take part in up to two individual interviews (optional)

Eligibility criteria

Qualifiers

Ethnic Chinese, fluent in spoken Mandarin and able to read Chinese

Never married and without children

No current or past diagnosis of any mental disorder (e.g. anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders)

Mild to moderate anxiety symptoms (defined as a GAD-7 total score between 5 and 14)

Disqualifiers

Unstable or severe chronic physical illness that would contraindicate participation in group activities or light-to-moderate physical movement (e.g., uncontrolled hypertension, severe asthma, acute cardiovascular events within the past 6 months)

Moderately severe to severe depression symptoms (defined as a PHQ-9 total score greater than 14)

Suicidal ideation (defined as a score greater than 0 on item 9 of the PHQ-9)

Potential risky drinking behavior (defined as AUDIT-C total score greater than 4)

Trial design

Treatments tested in this trial

  • Improv Against Anxiety (IAA)

Treatment groups

150 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groups

Sponsors and collaborators