Gratitude Interventions for Academic Stress Among Pakistani Adolescents

NCT ID: NCT05640505

Last Updated: 2022-12-07

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 102 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2018-09-01
• Study Completion Date: 2019-11-01

Brief Summary

The experimental nature of this study will provide the empirical data in analyzing the effectiveness of gratitude exercises which later can be adapted in stress reduction programs at school level. This research will focus on the school related positive life experiences for example thinking about a teacher/mentor kindness and contribution in their lives, then write a letter that describes their gratitude & letter will be delivered to that person indirectly. This may help in focusing on the positive aspects of school life. This modification will serve as testing this new model for assessing the combined effect of gratitude interventions.

Detailed Description

Academic stress is an inevitable part of students' lives with long-term negative consequences on physical health, mental well-being, and social relations. In Asian cultures, expectations of parents and teachers are additional components of academic stress which have not been addressed in different stress management programs. Therefore, the present research addresses these contributory stress factors by using gratitude interventions in Pakistani high schools.

The study employs Broaden and Build Theory and Cognitive Appraisal Theory in formulating the intervention model and variables being tested through pretest-posttest experimental research design with a control group. A total of 102 high school students from two genders segregated schools of Rawalpindi city, Pakistan, served as the participants. They were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups, with 51 participants in each group. There were 41 boys and 61 girls with a mean age of 15.71+ 0.92 years. The measures included Academic Expectations Stress Inventory (AESI), Inventory of High-School Students' Recent Life Experiences (IHSSRLE), Modified Differential Emotions Scale (mDES), Gratitude Questionnaire-6 (GQ-6) and Gratitude Adjective Checklist (GAC). Three gratitude interventions, including Count your Blessings, Gratitude Letters and Loving-Kindness Meditation, were modified to focus on school-related experiences. The model consisted of nine sessions applied in schools for four weeks with 30-40 minutes each day. The research protocol and intervention model were adapted into Urdu for better understanding among participants. The data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, SD, paired sample t-test, independent sample t-test, multivariate analysis of variance and effect size).

Conditions

Stress, Psychological

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Experimental

This group received 03 gratitude interventions for 4 weeks

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

School based Gratitude Interventions

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Three gratitude interventions including Count your blessings, Gratitude Letter and Loving Kindness Meditation were applied with modification focusing on school related experiences. For example, writing a gratitude letter to a teacher, mentor or coach who played a significant role in one's life then imagining on the same person during LKM exercise of imagery. There were 9 sessions with 3-4 exercises in each session.

Control Group

This group did not receive any intervention during active phase. Only the scores on dependent variables were measured. After completion of study, the same interventions were repeated with this group.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

School based Gratitude Interventions

Three gratitude interventions including Count your blessings, Gratitude Letter and Loving Kindness Meditation were applied with modification focusing on school related experiences. For example, writing a gratitude letter to a teacher, mentor or coach who played a significant role in one's life then imagining on the same person during LKM exercise of imagery. There were 9 sessions with 3-4 exercises in each session.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• High School Students
• Studying in same school for at least last six months
• within 14-17 years of age
• not having severe physical health issue or going under treatment for chronic illness

Exclusion Criteria

• not able to understand Urdu language
• above 17 years of age or below 14 years
• recently enrolled in the particular school

• Minimum Eligible Age: 14 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 17 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University of Malaya

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Najam us Sahar

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Govt Islamia High School & Govt Girls High School

Rawalpindi, Punjab Province, Pakistan

Countries

Pakistan

Other Identifiers

UM.TNC2/UMREC-621

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id