Improv Comedy to Reduce Anxiety and Improve Mental Well-Being in Young Chinese Adults in Hong Kong

Official title

An Improv Comedy Intervention to Reduce Anxiety and Enhance Mental Well-Being in Chinese Emerging Adults in Hong Kong: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Overview

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if improv comedy helps reduce anxiety symptoms and improve mental well-being in Chinese young adults in Hong Kong. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does improv comedy reduce anxiety symptoms? 2. Does improv comedy improve mental well-being? Researchers will compare participants who join the improv comedy workshops to participants who are placed on a waiting list to receive the workshops later, to see if improv comedy reduces anxiety and improves mental well-being. Participants will: 1. Attend weekly three-hour improv comedy workshops for 4 consecutive weeks 2. Complete four assessments and brief reflections during or around the workshop sessions 3. Take part in up to two individual interviews (optional)

Interventions

• Behavioral Improv Against Anxiety (IAA)
  Improv Against Anxiety (IAA) is a structured, group-based improv comedy program consisting of four weekly 3-hour sessions. Sessions use established improv games and exercises to reduce anxiety symptoms and enhance mental well-bein

Primary outcome measures

• Mean change from baseline in anxiety symptoms measured by the GAD-7 at Week 2, Week 4, and Week 6 [Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), Week 2 (mid-treatment), Week 4 (post-intervention), and Week 6 (2-week follow-up)]
• Mean change from baseline in mental well-being measured by the WHO-5 at Week 2, Week 4, and Week 6 [Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), Week 2 (mid-treatment), Week 4 (post-intervention), and Week 6 (2-week follow-up)]

Secondary outcome measures (12)

• Mean change from baseline in depression symptoms measured by the PHQ-9 at Week 2, Week 4, and Week 6 [Time frame: Baseline (pre intervention), Week 2 (mid treatment), Week 4 (post intervention), and Week 6 (2 week follow up)]
• Mean change from baseline in worry measured by the PSWQ-A at Week 2, Week 4, and Week 6 [Time frame: Baseline (pre intervention), Week 2 (mid treatment), Week 4 (post intervention), and Week 6 (2 week follow up)]
• Mean change from baseline in sleep disturbance measured by the ISI at Week 2, Week 4, and Week 6 [Time frame: Baseline (pre intervention), Week 2 (mid treatment), Week 4 (post intervention), and Week 6 (2 week follow up)]
• Mean change from baseline in perceived stress measured by the PSS-4 at Week 2, Week 4, and Week 6 [Time frame: Baseline (pre intervention), Week 2 (mid treatment), Week 4 (post intervention), and Week 6 (2 week follow up)]
• Mean changes from baseline in positive and negative affect measured by the I-PANAS-SF at Week 2, Week 4, and Week 6 [Time frame: Baseline (pre intervention), Week 2 (mid treatment), Week 4 (post intervention), and Week 6 (2 week follow up)]
• Mean change from baseline in loneliness measured by the ULS-6 at Week 2, Week 4, and Week 6 [Time frame: Baseline (pre intervention), Week 2 (mid treatment), Week 4 (post intervention), and Week 6 (2 week follow up)]
• Mean change from baseline in self-esteem measured by the RSES at Week 2, Week 4, and Week 6 [Time frame: Baseline (pre intervention), Week 2 (mid treatment), Week 4 (post intervention), and Week 6 (2 week follow up)]
• Mean change from baseline in intolerance of uncertainty measured by the IUS-12 at Week 2, Week 4, and Week 6 [Time frame: Baseline (pre intervention), Week 2 (mid treatment), Week 4 (post intervention), and Week 6 (2 week follow up)]
• Mean change from baseline in maximization tendency measured by the MTS-7 at Week 2, Week 4, and Week 6 [Time frame: Baseline (pre intervention), Week 2 (mid treatment), Week 4 (post intervention), and Week 6 (2 week follow up)]
• Mean change from baseline in fear of negative evaluation measured by the BFNE-S at Week 2, Week 4, and Week 6 [Time frame: Baseline (pre intervention), Week 2 (mid treatment), Week 4 (post intervention), and Week 6 (2 week follow up)]
• Mean change from baseline in playfulness measured by the APTS-CN at Week 2, Week 4, and Week 6 [Time frame: Baseline (pre intervention), Week 2 (mid treatment), Week 4 (post intervention), and Week 6 (2 week follow up)]
• Mean change from baseline in openness to experience measured by the CBF-PI-B at Week 2, Week 4, and Week 6 [Time frame: Baseline (pre intervention), Week 2 (mid treatment), Week 4 (post intervention), and Week 6 (2 week follow up)]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Ethnic Chinese, fluent in spoken Mandarin and able to read Chinese
• Never married and without children
• No current or past diagnosis of any mental disorder (e.g. anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders)
• Mild to moderate anxiety symptoms (defined as a GAD-7 total score between 5 and 14)
• No prior experience of formal performance training in drama
• Availability to attend at least 3 out of 4 weekly sessions over the 4-week intervention period upon enrolment

Exclusion criteria

• Unstable or severe chronic physical illness that would contraindicate participation in group activities or light-to-moderate physical movement (e.g., uncontrolled hypertension, severe asthma, acute cardiovascular events within the past 6 months)
• Moderately severe to severe depression symptoms (defined as a PHQ-9 total score greater than 14)
• Suicidal ideation (defined as a score greater than 0 on item 9 of the PHQ-9)
• Potential risky drinking behavior (defined as AUDIT-C total score greater than 4)

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Single blind

Primary purpose

Treatment

Study locations

Hong Kong · 1 center

• Centre on Behavioral Health, The University of Hong Kong — Hong Kong

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07737821 · EA260474

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗