The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on Dysfunctional Attitudes and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Among University Students in Malaysia

NCT ID: NCT07256093

Last Updated: 2025-12-01

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 32 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-02-10
• Study Completion Date: 2025-04-25

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can reduce dysfunctional attitudes and difficulties in emotion regulation among university students in Malaysia.The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Will participants who receive ACT show statistically significant reduction in dysfunctional attitudes scores compared to those in the control group?
• Will participants who receive ACT show statistically significant reduction in difficulties in emotion regulation scores compared to those in the control group?
• Will participants who receive ACT show statistically significant reduction in dysfunctional attitudes scores from pre-test to intermediate-test and from pre-test to post-test?
• Will participants who receive ACT show statistically significant reduction in difficulties in emotion regulation scores from pre-test to intermediate test and from pre-test to post-test?

Researchers will compare ACT group to a waitlist control group to see if ACT work to reduce dysfunctional attitudes and difficulties in emotion regulation.

Participants in the ACT group will

• attend six weekly individual sessions of ACT intervention (1 hour per session) conducted online
• complete the outcome measures at three different time points (week 1, week 3, and week 6)

Meanwhile, participants in the waitlist control group

• will not receive any intervention during the data collection period
• will be asked to complete same outcome measures at three different time points (week 1, week 3, and week 6)

Conditions

Anxiety; Depression; Stress

Study Design

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

Study Groups

ACT Intervention Group

Participants in the intervention group attended six weekly individual sessions of ACT intervention (1 hour per session) conducted online via the Webex platform.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Intervention Type: OTHER

Six sessions of ACT were conducted

Session 1:

Introduction. Theme: Broaden your horizon. Values and value-based actions. Identifying what matters the most in your life and acting accordingly.

Session 2: Theme: Present moment. Mindfully notice your internal and external experiences, notice the movement of your breath. Live in the present moment. To address difficulties in emotion regulation.

Session 3: Theme: Cognitive defusion. The power of thoughts. Identify your unwanted thoughts and emotions and learn to describe, name, and welcome them. To address dysfunctional attitudes.

Session 4: Theme: The observer's stance. Learn to view your thoughts and emotions from an observer's stance. To address difficulties in emotion regulation.

Session 5: Theme: Toward an attitude of acceptance. Let go of your struggle and learn acceptance towards your wakefulness and unwanted thoughts. To address dysfunctional attitudes.

Session 6: Theme: Summary of the programme. Plans committed action.

Waitlist Control Group

Participants in the control group were placed on a waitlist and completed the same outcome measures at three different time points (week 1, week 3, and week 6). After the completion of data collection, they were then divided into two groups and attended two group sessions of ACT (1.5 hours per session), each covering three of the six ACT main components.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Six sessions of ACT were conducted

Session 1:

Introduction. Theme: Broaden your horizon. Values and value-based actions. Identifying what matters the most in your life and acting accordingly.

Session 2: Theme: Present moment. Mindfully notice your internal and external experiences, notice the movement of your breath. Live in the present moment. To address difficulties in emotion regulation.

Session 3: Theme: Cognitive defusion. The power of thoughts. Identify your unwanted thoughts and emotions and learn to describe, name, and welcome them. To address dysfunctional attitudes.

Session 4: Theme: The observer's stance. Learn to view your thoughts and emotions from an observer's stance. To address difficulties in emotion regulation.

Session 5: Theme: Toward an attitude of acceptance. Let go of your struggle and learn acceptance towards your wakefulness and unwanted thoughts. To address dysfunctional attitudes.

Session 6: Theme: Summary of the programme. Plans committed action.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• (a) Malaysian citizens; (b) currently enrolled as a university student; (c) be proficient in both Malay and English languages; (d) aged between 18 and 32 years old; (e) reported mild to moderate depression, anxiety, and/or stress levels according to the DASS-21

Exclusion Criteria

• (a) reported severe depression, anxiety, and/or stress on the DASS-21; (b) expected to graduate before study ends; (c) had been diagnosed with any psychological disorder prior to the study; (d) were currently receiving psychotherapeutic medication and/or psychological interventions.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 32 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Universiti Sains Malaysia

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Wei Jun Tan

Mr

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Universiti Sains Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, , Malaysia

Countries

Malaysia

Other Identifiers

USM/JEPeM/KK/24080672

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id