Positive Psychology and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The effectiveness of a combined program in improving student wellbeing.

Does a high school based Positive Psychology and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Program increase wellbeing and improve mental health compared to a health classes as usual control group? A randomly controlled Trial.

Status

Not yet recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12613000550707

Enrollment

330

Registered

2013-05-15

Start date

2013-07-01

Completion date

2013-07-31

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

This study examines the efficacy of a school-based resilience program for adolescents. The program is based on Positive Psychology and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and runs for 1 hour per week for eight weeks. It is hypothesised that the program will prevent future cases of mental health problems, reduce psychopathology that exists at the time of the program, and increase subjective wellbeing.

Interventions

Sixteen bi-weekly workshops of half an hour each, across an eight week period. Fifty percent of the presented material is from Positive Psychology and the other fifty percent from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The workshops are presented face-to-face with a facilitor. Presented material will be supported by group discussions, videos and internet-based exercises. Workshops will take place during students health classes. Classroom teachers will be present but will not aid in program delivery. Material presented from Positive Psychology will be based on developing Hope, Mindfulness, and Meaning. The Acceptance and Commitment Training material will include Values, Accepting Negative Emotions and Thoughts, and Committed Action. Students will complete questionnaires regarding their wellbeing and mental health before the workshops, at the end of the workshops, and 6-months and at 12-months follow-ups. As part of the follow-up assessments, students will be asked to report on the extent that they have utilised the strategies presented during the workshops.

Study design

Allocation

Randomised controlled trial

Intervention model

Single group

Primary purpose

Prevention

Masking

Open (masking not used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

15 Years to 17 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

All year 10 and 11 students an Australian independent high school are included in the study

Exclusion criteria

Limited English proficiency as determined by the teacher and researcher.

Outcome results