The Effects and Mechanisms of Mindfulness Intervention for Emotional Distress: Daily Interventions and Daily Assessments
Overview
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Emotional Distress
- Sponsor
- Peking University
- Enrollment
- 100
- Primary Endpoint
- Daily changes of distress tolerance
- Status
- Not yet recruiting
- Last Updated
- 2 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
This clinical trial seeks to uncover the mechanisms behind the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in reducing emotional distress. Using daily diaries to measure both mediating and outcome variables, the study examines whether these mechanisms precede changes in outcomes. It focuses on the Mindfulness Intervention for Emotional Distress program, which includes four strategies. The current study plans to employ a within-subjects design with daily questionnaires over 63 days, before, during and after the intervention. The aim is to gain insights into how mindfulness interventions work in alleviating emotional distress.
Detailed Description
An abundance of research studies has demonstrated the potential efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions in alleviating emotional distress among individuals. However, the underlying mechanisms driving these effects have remained largely unknown. Furthermore, many of the mechanistic investigations have not taken into account the temporal precedence, where changes in mechanisms occur prior to changes in outcome variables. To address these gaps, this clinical trial aims to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms behind mindfulness-based interventions for emotional distress. By employing a daily diary approach to measure both mediating and outcome variables, investigators seek to rigorously examine whether the proposed mediating variables adhere to the criterion of temporal precedence. Additionally, utilizing daily diaries allows for the collection of extensive individual-level data. This approach also permits a network analysis perspective to explore the roles of various mechanistic variables in the context of mitigating emotional distress. The present study focuses on the Mindfulness Intervention for Emotional Distress program (liu, in press), comprising four key strategies: 1) Engaging in life to restore a sense of normalcy; 2) Enhancing distress tolerance; 3) Reducing excessive emotional reactivity; 4) Cultivating cognitive flexibility by treating thoughts as mere mental events. Through the implementation of daily diaries, investigators aim to uncover the mechanistic workings of these four strategies. The current study plans to employ a within-subjects design, with participants all receiving mindfulness intervention. They are required to complete daily measurement questionnaires during the week prior to intervention, throughout the intervention period, and for a week following the intervention. The measurement period spans a total of 63 days. Through this study design, investigators aim to gain valuable insights into the mechanisms underpinning the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions in alleviating emotional distress.
Investigators
Xinghua Liu
Director
Peking University
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Subjects with scores greater than 21 on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale.
Exclusion Criteria
- •Subjects who could not access the Internet.
- •Subjects with insufficient Chinese ability.
- •Subjects who have participated in mindfulness-based projects for more than 6 weeks before, and / or the current frequency of meditation practice is more than once a week.
- •Patients with schizophrenia or psychotic affective disorder, current organic mental disorder, substance abuse disorder and generalized developmental disorder.
- •Subjects at risk of suicide.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Daily changes of distress tolerance
Time Frame: once per day for 63 days (1 week pre-intervention, 7 weeks during the intervention, 1 week post-intervention)
measured by Daily distress tolerance scale, four items, scores range from 4 to 20, with higher scores indicating higher levels of distress tolerance.
Daily changes of mindfulness
Time Frame: once per day for 63 days (1 week pre-intervention, 7 weeks during the intervention, 1 week post-intervention)
The Daily Mindfulness Response Scale measures the frequency with which one returns to a nonjudgmental and unconditionally receptive present moment awareness during the day. Each item is rated on a scale ranging from 1 (rarely)to10(often). scores range from 4 to 40, with higher scores indicating higher levels of mindful responding
Daily changes of engaging in everyday life
Time Frame: once per day for 63 days (1 week pre-intervention, 7 weeks during the intervention, 1 week post-intervention)
Self-developed questionnaire, measuring to what extent individuals put efforts and time in engaging in everyday life (e.g., work, social, leisure...), 6 items, scores range from 6 to 54, with higher scores indicating higher levels of engaging in everyday life
Daily changes of excessive emotion behaviors
Time Frame: once per day for 63 days (1 week pre-intervention, 7 weeks during the intervention, 1 week post-intervention)
self-developed scale, measuring to what extent individuals use excessive emotion behaviors to control aversive feelings and emotions, 4 items, scores range from 4 to 20, with higher scores indicating higher levels of using excessive emotion behaviors.
Daily changes of positive and negative affect
Time Frame: once per day for 63 days (1 week pre-intervention, 7 weeks during the intervention, 1 week post-intervention)
Daily positive and negative affect were measured using the 10-itemInternational Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Short Form Scale. Scores range from 5 to 25, with higher scores indicating higher levels of positive/negative affect.
daily changes of depression
Time Frame: once per day for 63 days (1 week pre-intervention, 7 weeks during the intervention, 1 week post-intervention)
Daily Depression Severity and Impairment Scale,5 items, scores range from 0 to 20, with higher scores indicating higher levels of depression.
daily stress
Time Frame: once per day for 63 days (1 week pre-intervention, 7 weeks during the intervention, 1 week post-intervention)
Daily perceived stress was assessed with the previously validated four-item version of the Perceived Stress Scale, The PSS measures the degree to which situations in one's life are evaluated as stressful (e.g., "Today, to what extent did you feel confident about your ability to handle your personal problems?"). Participants rated the accuracy of the items using a scale ranging from 1 (very little)to 10 (very much). scores range from 4 to 40.
Daily changes of cognitive flexibility/treating thoughts as thoughts
Time Frame: once per day for 63 days (1 week pre-intervention, 7 weeks during the intervention, 1 week post-intervention)
self-developed questionnaire, measuring to what extent individuals could treat thoughts as psychological phenomenon rather than facts, 4 items, scores range from 4 to 20, with higher scores indicating higher levels of cognitive flexibility.
daily changes of anxiety
Time Frame: once per day for 63 days (1 week pre-intervention, 7 weeks during the intervention, 1 week post-intervention)
Daily Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale,5 items, scores range from 0 to 20, with higher scores indicating higher levels of anxiety.
Secondary Outcomes
- pre-post changes of the Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale(1 week before the intervention, 1week after the intervention)
- pre-post changes of Patient Health Questionnaire during the intervention(1 week before the intervention, 1week after the intervention)
- pre-post changes of the Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire(1 week before the intervention, 1week after the intervention)
- pre-post changes of Chinese Perceived Stress Scale(1 week before the intervention, 1week after the intervention)
- pre-post changes of Distress Tolerance Scale(1 week before the intervention, 1week after the intervention)
- daily stressors(once per day for 63 days (1 week pre-intervention, 7 weeks during the intervention, 1 week post-intervention))
- pre-post changes of Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire(1 week before the intervention, 1week after the intervention)
- pre-post changes of 10-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale(1 week before the intervention, 1week after the intervention)
- pre-post changes of treating thoughts as thoughts/cognitive flexibility(1 week before the intervention, 1week after the intervention)
- pre-post changes of the Overall Depression Severity and Impairment Scale(1 week before the intervention, 1week after the intervention)
- pre-post changes of Beck Depression Inventory(1 week before the intervention, 1week after the intervention)
- pre-post changes of Athens Insomnia Scale(1 week before the intervention, 1week after the intervention)
- pre-post changes of Beck Anxiety Inventory(1 week before the intervention, 1week after the intervention)
- pre-post changes of engaging in everyday life(1 week before the intervention, 1week after the intervention)
- pre-post changes of the Rumination sub-scale(1 week before the intervention, 1week after the intervention)