Musical Training to Enhance Resilience of Underprivileged School-aged Children
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age8-12
SponsorChinese University of Hong Kong
About this trial
This is a multi-centre randomised controlled trial aims to examine the effects of a group-based gamified instrumental musical training in enhancing resilience (primary outcome), reducing psychological distress (depressive symptoms and anxiety), enhancing self-esteem, and improving HRQoL (secondary outcomes) among underprivileged school-aged children at risk of mental health problems (depression and anxiety) during a 12-month follow-up.
Eligibility criteria
This trial does not accept healthy volunteersQualifiers
Hong Kong Chinese children aged 8-12 years.
Able to read Chinese and communicate in Cantonese/Mandarin.
From low-income families.
Have a risk of mental health problems, specifically depression and/or anxiety (determined through screening during the recruitment process using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children, with a cut-off score of ≥16 indicating a high risk of depression, and/or the State Anxiety Scale for Children, with scores between 36 and 60 indicating a significant level of anxiety)
Disqualifiers
Have chronic health conditions, cognitive and learning difficulties
if they or their siblings are currently receiving or have received any music-based interventions before the study.
Trial design
Design model
Parallel
Treatments tested in this trial
Gamified music training
BehavioralInstrumental musical training will progress from basic (playing simple notes) to advanced levels (playing an entire song). Key training elements will include fundamental music knowledge and skills, music improvisation, rhythm, and pitch identification exercises. In particular, the core concepts of resilience will be incorporated into the training process through various gamified music activities.
Active placebo intervention
BehavioralParticipants in the active placebo control group will participate in weekly 1-hour group-based indoor community leisure activities for 6 months. These activities will include (i) drawing, (ii) drama workshops, (iii) cartoon film screenings, (iv) handcraft workshops, (v) board games, and (vi) exercise classes. Each activity will span for four sessions, that is, totally 24 sessions and will be delivered by trained staff at the study centres of the collaborating non-governmental organisations.
Treatment groups
174 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groupsGroup A: Gamified musical trainingExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Group B: Active placebo control groupPlacebo comparator 1 intervention
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Resilience
Children's resilience will be measured by the Resilience Scale for Children- 10 (RS10) which was developed based on the Resilience Scale originally developed by Wagnild and Young. Total scores ranging from 10 to 40, with higher scores indicate higher levels of resilience.
Time frame
Change from baseline to 12-month post-interventionSecondary outcomes
1
Social competence aspect of resilience
The Chinese version of Child Behaviour Checklist - Parent Report Form (CBCL) will be used as an objective measure in assessing children's social competency aspect of resilience. The CBCL is a 118-item scale for assessing a range of emotional and behavioural problems among school-aged children aged 6 to 18 years old. The 20-item social competence scale of CBCL will be used to assess social competency aspect of resilience of children. These 20 items will focus on children's (i) involvement in activities, (ii) social interaction patterns and (iii) school performance.
Time frame
Change from baseline to 12-month post-intervention2
Depressive symptoms
The Chinese version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC) will be used to assess the participants' depressive symptoms. It consists of 20 items which are rated on a 4- point Likert scale from 0 to 3 (0= "not at all", 3= "a lot") regarding the children' feelings and experiences of last week. Possible score ranges from 0 to 60, higher scores indicate higher level of depression. The cut-off score of this scale is 16, indicating the children are currently experiencing a significant level of depressive symptoms.
Time frame
Change from baseline to 12-month post-intervention3
Anxiety
The State Anxiety Scale for Children (SAS-C), which is a 20-item subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Scales Inventory for Children will be used to measure children's levels of anxiety. It is rated on a three-point Likert scale from 1 to 3 to indicate the degree to which an individual is experiencing a particular feeling at present.
Time frame
Change from baseline to 12-month post-intervention4
Self-esteem
The Chinese version of the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES) will be used to assess children's level of self-esteem. The scale contains 10 items, which are rated on a 4-point Likert scale with score 1 to 4 (1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= agree, 4 = strongly agree), with total possible scores ranging from 10 to 40. Higher scores indicate higher levels of self-esteem.
Time frame
Change from baseline to 12-month post-interventionSponsors and contacts
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Source ClinicalTrials.gov