Efficacy of CliMACT, a digital training for mental health promotion in youth with climate change-related distress

Efficacy of CliMACT, a digital training for mental health promotion in young people with climate change-related distress: a 2-arm, parallel-group randomized controlled trial

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN16645843

Enrollment

160

Registered

2025-10-28

Start date

2025-11-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2025-11-11

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

Conditions

Mental health promotion in young people with climate change-related distress. Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Interventions

Control condition: CAU Participants in the control condition will receive care as usual (CAU) broadly defined, which includes access to all standard health care and social services. CAU will include a

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Aged between 14 and 25 years 2. Scores of >=3.5 for the Distress subscale AND >=2.3 for the Impairment subscale on the Climate Change Distress and Impairment scale (Hepp et al., 2023)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Current treatment for or diagnosis of a severe mental illness (F32.2, F32.3, F20, F22-29, F30.x, F60.3) 2. indications of acute endangerment of self and others 3. Not able to give informed consent or in case of minors: no consent by parents/legal guardians 4. Insufficient language abilities in the available languages: German

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Climate change distress assessed with the mean score of the climate change distress subscale (CCD) of the Climate Change Distress and Impairment scale (CC-DIS, Hepp et al., 2023) at post-training and 3-month follow-up	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. Quality of Life (emotional domain, social domain) is measured using the respective subscales of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHO-QoLBref, Whoqol Group, 1998) at baseline, post-training and 3-month follow up assessments 2. Subjective happiness is measured using the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS, Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) at baseline, , post-training and 3-month follow up assessments 3. Mental Well-being is measured using the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS, Tennant et al., 2007) at baseline, post-training and 3-month follow-up 4. Climate Change Impairment (CCI) is measured using the impairment subscale of the Climate Change Distress and Impairment Scale (CC-DIS, Hepp et al., 2023) at baseline , post-training and 3-month follow up assessments 5. General psychological distress is measured using the Core 10 (Barkham et al., 2013) at baseline, post-training and 3-month follow up assessments 6. General psychopathology is measured using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-53, Derogatis, 1992; Franke, 2000) at baseline, post-training and 3-month follow up assessments 7. Momentary affect (positive affect, negative affect) is measured using ecological momentary as-sessment at baseline, post-training, and 4-week follow-up 8. Momentary climate change distress and impairment (CCD and CCI) is measured using ecological momentary assessment at baseline, post-training, and 4-week follow-up 9. Coping self-efficacy is measured using the Coping self-efficacy scale (CSES – including subscales: problem-solving, stopping unpleasant experience, support from friends and family, Bode, 2022; Chesney et al., 2006) at baseline, post-training, and 3-month follow-up 1. Self-compassion is measured using the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS-D (short form), Hupfeld & Ruffieux, 2011) at baseline, post-training, and 3-month follow-up 2. Mindfulness is measured using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ – including sub-scales: observing, describing, acting	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Quality of Life (emotional domain, social domain) is measured using the respective subscales of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHO-QoLBref, Whoqol Group, 1998) at baseline, post-training and 3-month follow up assessments 2. Subjective happiness is measured using the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS, Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) at baseline, , post-training and 3-month follow up assessments 3. Mental Well-being is measured using the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS, Tennant et al., 2007) at baseline, post-training and 3-month follow-up 4. Climate Change Impairment (CCI) is measured using the impairment subscale of the Climate Change Distress and Impairment Scale (CC-DIS, Hepp et al., 2023) at baseline , post-training and 3-month follow up assessments 5. General psychological distress is measured using the Core 10 (Barkham et al., 2013) at baseline, post-training and 3-month follow up assessments 6. General psychopathology is measured using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-53, Derogatis, 1992; Franke, 2000) at baseline, post-training and 3-month follow up assessments 7. Momentary affect (positive affect, negative affect) is measured using ecological momentary as-sessment at baseline, post-training, and 4-week follow-up 8. Momentary climate change distress and impairment (CCD and CCI) is measured using ecological momentary assessment at baseline, post-training, and 4-week follow-up 9. Coping self-efficacy is measured using the Coping self-efficacy scale (CSES – including subscales: problem-solving, stopping unpleasant experience, support from friends and family, Bode, 2022; Chesney et al., 2006) at baseline, post-training, and 3-month follow-up 1. Self-compassion is measured using the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS-D (short form), Hupfeld & Ruffieux, 2011) at baseline, post-training, and 3-month follow-up 2. Mindfulness is measured using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ – including sub-scales: observing, describing, acting

—

Countries

Germany

Contacts

Public ContactLeonie Fleck

leonie.fleck@zi-mannheim.de+49 62117032370

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026