School-Based Intervention to Enhance Resilience and Stress Coping in Rural Chinese Adolescents

NCT ID: NCT07115186

Last Updated: 2025-08-11

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 850 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-05-12
• Study Completion Date: 2026-12-31

Brief Summary

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of school-based psychological interventions in improving stress resilience and coping skills among adolescents in rural China. The intervention seeks to reduce stress-related mental health symptoms, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress, measured using validated instruments such as the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7), and the Child PTSD Symptom Scale for DSM-5 (CPSS-5). (See Appendix for full scale descriptions.)

Participants will be recruited from rural middle schools and randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a wait-list control group. The intervention consists of four sessions delivered over one week. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and again at a 3-month and 6-month follow-ups.

Researchers will use multilevel modeling (MLM) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine potential mediators and moderators of intervention effects, including emotion recognition, alexithymia, and coping strategies. indings are expected to provide evidence on the effectiveness and mechanisms of an existing, school-based psychological intervention tailored to the needs of adolescents in underserved rural settings.

Conditions

Stress, Emotional; Stress-related Mental Disorders

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

TAU + delayed intervention

Participants in this group will receive treatment as usual (TAU), which includes standard school-based support services. They will not receive the study intervention during the trial period but will be offered the full intervention after final outcome assessments. This design enables comparison between the intervention and existing standard care, while ensuring ethical access to the intervention for all participants.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

wait-list condition

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Participants will engage in their regular school activities, and after the intervention group completes the program, they will receive the same intervention content as the intervention group.

intervention group

Participants in the intervention group will receive a structured psychological program consisting of four sessions delivered over the course of one week. Each session is 40 minutes in duration and includes approximately 20 minutes of psychoeducation followed by 20 minutes of a guided writing intervention.

The sessions will cover the following core themes: ① chronic stress and emotional regulation, ② emotional identification and acceptance, ③ cognitive emotion regulation, and ④ the cognitive triangle. Interventions will be administered by trained graduate students in clinical psychology from Peking University. These facilitators will receive specialized training on the intervention protocol, and will conduct pre-intervention assessments and participate in regular supervision. All sessions will be audio and video recorded to monitor treatment fidelity, ensure adherence to the intervention manual, and support supervision and quality assurance procedures.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Psychoeducation

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Psychoeducation sessions for adolescents focus on essential topics like stress, emotional distress, and mental disorders, offering foundational knowledge to enhance their understanding and ability to manage these challenges effectively.

guided written therapy

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

In the guided writing intervention, students are asked to write about a recent event that triggered strong emotions on paper and, based on the requirements of each session, attempt to regulate their emotions. This approach aims to enhance students' abilities in emotional identification and emotion regulation.

Interventions

Psychoeducation

Psychoeducation sessions for adolescents focus on essential topics like stress, emotional distress, and mental disorders, offering foundational knowledge to enhance their understanding and ability to manage these challenges effectively.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

guided written therapy

In the guided writing intervention, students are asked to write about a recent event that triggered strong emotions on paper and, based on the requirements of each session, attempt to regulate their emotions. This approach aims to enhance students' abilities in emotional identification and emotion regulation.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

wait-list condition

Participants will engage in their regular school activities, and after the intervention group completes the program, they will receive the same intervention content as the intervention group.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Currently enrolled middle school students attending regular school classes
• Sufficient functional capacity in hearing, speaking, reading, and writing to participate in intervention activities and assessments.

Exclusion Criteria

• Individuals assessed to be at high risk of suicide, based on screening or clinical judgment
• Diagnosis of severe mental disorders (e.g., psychotic disorders, severe mood disorders) that would interfere with participation or require more intensive clinical care

• Minimum Eligible Age: 10 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Peking University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Yinyin Zang, PhD

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Biancun middle school

Hebei, Baoding, China

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

China

Central Contacts

Zang Yinyin, PhD

Role: CONTACT

yinyin.zang@pku.edu.cn

+86 15553201610

Feng Junkai, MSc

Role: CONTACT

86+15625013745

Facility Contacts

Liang Yachai

Role: primary

86+ 03125217599

Other Identifiers

School interv. rural Adolscent

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id