Mindfulness in University Students. ATENEU Program

Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18+
SponsorUniversidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche

About this trial

The study aims to examine the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention and a mindfulness-based intervention with virtual reality on occupational balance and on the reduction of psychological distress in university students (i.e. stress, anxiety and depression). The specific objectives will be to examine the effects of the intervention on other variables related to mental health, psychological functioning and occupations, and their maintenance at three months.

Eligibility criteria

This trial accepts healthy volunteers

Qualifiers

being 18 years old or older

being a degree, master or doctorate student at Miguel Hernández University

speaking fluent Spanish

signing the informed consent form

Disqualifiers

miss more than 2 out of 6 sessions (33% of the program)

present a severe mental disorder in active phase diagnosed by a health professional (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder)

are under the influence of alcohol or other drugs during sessions and/or assessments (determined by the program instructor)

participate in another standardized meditation program during the study period

Trial design

Design model

Parallel

Treatments tested in this trial

  • Mindfulness program

    Behavioral

    Six weeks mindfulness program. The program is explained in arm descriptions.

  • Mindfulness program with Virtual Reality

    Behavioral

    Six weeks mindfulness program. The program is explained in arm descriptions.

Treatment groups

174 Participants
are divided into 3 treatment groups
Group A: Mindfulness-Based Health Care Program (MBHC).Experimental treatment 1 intervention
Group B: Mindfulness-Based Health Care program with virtual reality (MBHC-VR).Experimental treatment 1 intervention
Group C: Waiting list control group (WL).No intervention 0 interventions

Trial outcomes

Primary outcomes

1

Change in Occupational Balance

Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ) is a brief 13-item tool scored on a 6-point Likert-type response scale, ranging from 0 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), with a total score ranging from 0 to 65, where a higher score indicates greater occupational balance. A question from the Ecological Momentary Assessment questionnaire will also be used to evaluate this variable in the inter-session time frame.

Time frame
Baseline (1 day), inter-session (one time per day over 42 days, from 1 week until 6 week), immediately post-intervention (6 weeks) and follow-up (18 weeks).
2

Change in Anxiety, Depression and Stress

Anxiety, Depression and Stress Scale (DASS 21) consists of 21 items, 7 items for each subscale: DASS-D (depression), DASS-A (anxiety) and DASS-S (stress). Participants are asked to rate the degree to which this statement has happened to them in the past week on a scale from 0 (has not happened to me) to 3 (has happened to me a lot or most of the time). A question from the Ecological Momentary Assessment questionnaire will also be used to evaluate this variable in the inter-session time frame.

Time frame
Baseline (1 day), inter-session (one time per day over 42 days, from 1 week until 6 week), immediately post-intervention (6 weeks) and follow-up (18 weeks).
3

Change in Academic stress

SISCO Inventory which consists of 31 items distributed into: 1 filter item (yes-no), 1 item on a Likert-type scale from 1 (a little) to 5 (a lot), 8 items on a Likert-type scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always) that allow identifying stressful stimuli, 15 items on a Likert-type scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always) allowing to identify stressful stimuli divided into physical, psychological and behavioural reactions and 6 items on a Likert-type scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always) allowing to identify the frequency of use of coping strategies. A question from the Ecological Momentary Assessment questionnaire will also be used to evaluate this variable in the inter-session time frame.

Time frame
Baseline (1 day), inter-session (one time per day over 42 days, from 1 week until 6 week), immediately post-intervention (6 weeks) and follow-up (18 weeks).
4

Change in Burnout

Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey Questionnaire (MBI-SS). The MBI-SS contains 15 items grouped into 3 subscales: Emotional Exhaustion (5 items), Cynicism (4 items), and Academic Efficacy (6 items). These items are scored on a scale from 0 (never/never) to 6 (always/every day). High scores on burnout and cynicism and low scores on academic efficacy are indicative of burnout. A question from the Ecological Momentary Assessment questionnaire will also be used to evaluate this variable in the inter-session time frame.

Time frame
Baseline (1 day), inter-session (one time per day over 42 days, from 1 week until 6 week), immediately post-intervention (6 weeks) and follow-up (18 weeks).

Secondary outcomes

1

Change in Emotional dysregulation

Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS) contains 28 items grouped into 5 subscales: Attention-Inattention, Clarity-Confusion, Acceptance-Rejection, Functioning-Interference, and Regulation-Discontrol. These items are scored on a Likert-type scale from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always). Higher scores indicate greater difficulties in emotion regulation.

Time frame
Baseline (1 day), immediately post-intervention (6 weeks) and follow-up (18 weeks).
2

Change in Psychological flexibility

Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II (AAQ-II) consists of 7 items to which participants respond on a 7-point Likert-type scale from 1 (never true) to 7 (always true). Scores range from 7 to 49. Higher scores indicate a tendency to act on the need to control or avoid aversive thoughts, memories, or feelings.

Time frame
Baseline (1 day), immediately post-intervention (6 weeks) and follow-up (18 weeks).
3

Change in Mindfulness

Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire Short-Form (FFMQ-SF) contains 24 items that assess the five facets of mindfulness: observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-judgement of inner experience, and non-reactivity to inner experience. It is scored on a Likert-type scale from 1 (never or very rarely true) to 5 (very often or always true). Higher scores indicate a greater capacity for mindfulness. A question from the Ecological Momentary Assessment questionnaire will also be used to evaluate this variable in the inter-session time frame.

Time frame
Baseline (1 day), inter-session (one time per day over 42 days, from 1 week until 6 week), immediately post-intervention (6 weeks) and follow-up (18 weeks).
4

Change in Self-compassion

Self-Compassion Scale short form (SCS-SF) consists of 12 items assessing 6 factors: Self-Kindness, Self-Judgment, Common Humanity, Isolation, Mindfulness, and Over-identification. Each item can be rated on a Likert-type scale from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always). Higher scores indicate greater self-compassion. A question from the Ecological Momentary Assessment questionnaire will also be used to evaluate this variable in the inter-session time frame.

Time frame
Baseline (1 day), inter-session (one time per day over 42 days, from 1 week until 6 week), immediately post-intervention (6 weeks) and follow-up (18 weeks).

Other outcomes

Sponsors and contacts

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Universidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche

Lead sponsor

Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Collaborator