Comparing psychological interventions in order to find out what treatments are effective in helping students cope and manage with challenges to their mental health

Acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy for stress, anxiety and depression among university students: efficacy and mechanisms of action

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN92015724

Enrollment

120

Registered

2018-09-07

Start date

2018-09-20

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2018-09-24

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

Conditions

Stress, anxiety and depression Mental and Behavioural Disorders Stress, anxiety and depression

Interventions

Participants will be randomised using a web-based random number generator to the three conditions. Participants will receive either cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment thera

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Students at Cardiff University 2. Aged 18 and over 3. Able to give informed consent 4. Able to read, write and understand English 5. Individuals with normal or corrected vision will be invited to take part in the eye tracking tasks

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Staff members at the University are not able to participate

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
The following will be assessed 1 week prior to the intervention, immediately prior to each intervention session and at 1, 5 and 12 weeks after the intervention: 1. Psychological distress, assessed using the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12) 2. Symptoms of depression, assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) 3. Levels of anxiety, assessed using the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) Following the delivery of the 4 week ACT or CBT intervention participants will be invited to participate in a 30 minute telephone interview about the aspects of the intervention that they found helpful or unhelpful.	—

Measure

Time frame

The following will be assessed 1 week prior to the intervention, immediately prior to each intervention session and at 1, 5 and 12 weeks after the intervention: 1. Psychological distress, assessed using the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12) 2. Symptoms of depression, assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) 3. Levels of anxiety, assessed using the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) Following the delivery of the 4 week ACT or CBT intervention participants will be invited to participate in a 30 minute telephone interview about the aspects of the intervention that they found helpful or unhelpful.

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Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Measures 1-10 will be assessed 1 week prior to the intervention, immediately prior to each intervention session and at 1, 5 and 12 weeks after the intervention: 1. Capacity to be mindful, assessed using the 15 item Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) 2. Psychological flexibility, assessed using the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II (AAQ-II) 3. ACT processes assessed using the Comprehensive Assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Processes (CompACT) 4. Cognitive fusion, assessed using the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ) 5. How attuned participants are to living by their values, assessed using the Valuing Questionnaire (VQ) 6. Self-efficacy, assessed using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) 7. Symptoms of ADHD, assessed using the 18-item Adult Self Report Scale (ASRS) 8. Readiness for change, assessed using the University Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale (URICA) 9. Negative automatic thoughts, assessed using the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ) 10. Disinhibition and sadism, assessed using the Triarchic Psychopathy Scale 11. Pupillary dilation, assessed using eye tracking technology (with a TX-120 Tobii eye tracker) during standard attentional tasks (Attention Network Task, diminishing values, Sustained Attention to Response test) 1 week prior to the intervention and 1 week following the intervention 12. How often participants completed the set 'homework' over the previous week, assessed by asking participants to complete a homework scale between each intervention session 13. Patient satisfaction with the intervention, assessed using an adapted version of the Helping Alliance Questionnaire II (HAQ-II) following the end of the intervention 14. An adapted version of the client/patient satisfaction scale will be used to at the end of the intervention to give participants the opportunity to evaluate the service they received	—

Measure

Time frame

Measures 1-10 will be assessed 1 week prior to the intervention, immediately prior to each intervention session and at 1, 5 and 12 weeks after the intervention: 1. Capacity to be mindful, assessed using the 15 item Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) 2. Psychological flexibility, assessed using the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II (AAQ-II) 3. ACT processes assessed using the Comprehensive Assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Processes (CompACT) 4. Cognitive fusion, assessed using the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ) 5. How attuned participants are to living by their values, assessed using the Valuing Questionnaire (VQ) 6. Self-efficacy, assessed using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) 7. Symptoms of ADHD, assessed using the 18-item Adult Self Report Scale (ASRS) 8. Readiness for change, assessed using the University Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale (URICA) 9. Negative automatic thoughts, assessed using the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ) 10. Disinhibition and sadism, assessed using the Triarchic Psychopathy Scale 11. Pupillary dilation, assessed using eye tracking technology (with a TX-120 Tobii eye tracker) during standard attentional tasks (Attention Network Task, diminishing values, Sustained Attention to Response test) 1 week prior to the intervention and 1 week following the intervention 12. How often participants completed the set 'homework' over the previous week, assessed by asking participants to complete a homework scale between each intervention session 13. Patient satisfaction with the intervention, assessed using an adapted version of the Helping Alliance Questionnaire II (HAQ-II) following the end of the intervention 14. An adapted version of the client/patient satisfaction scale will be used to at the end of the intervention to give participants the opportunity to evaluate the service they received

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Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

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