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Mindfulness Psychoeducation Program for Schizophrenia

Not Applicable
Conditions
Schizophreniform Disorders
Interventions
Behavioral: Mindfulness psychoeducation Programme
Registration Number
NCT03632278
Lead Sponsor
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Brief Summary

The study is the first pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) to explore the feasibility and efficacy of Mindfulness-based psychoeducation in emotion regulation and related depressive and anxiety symptoms in people with schizophrenia.

Detailed Description

There is increasing evidence to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of mindfulness-based psychoeducation programme (MBPP) for Chinese people with schizophrenia. A single-blind, multi-site, pragmatic randomised controlled trial conducted in Hong Kong, mainland China, and Taiwan with 300 participants consistently demonstrated significant improvement in regard to insight of illness, functioning, mental state and the length of re-hospitalisations when compared with conventional psychoeducation and Treatment As Usual (TAU) groups (Chien, 2017).

The study hypothesises that:

1. Participants receiving MBPP will decrease their use of rumination and expressive suppression, and increase the use of cognitive reappraisal compared to a control group after completion of the intervention.

2. Participants receiving MBPP attain a reduction in depressive/anxiety symptoms compared to a control group after completion of the intervention.

3. These effects are expected to be maintained through 3-month follow up with regular self-practice.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
UNKNOWN
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
58
Inclusion Criteria
  • Aged 18 years to 65 years old
  • Diagnosis with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR (and the latest DSM-V) or International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10)-Classification of Mental Disorders
  • Able to communicate in written and conversational Chinese/Cantonese
  • Able to understand the concepts of the study and to give informed consent
Exclusion Criteria
  • Comorbid organic brain disorders or substance abuse
  • Participation in any forms of cognitive therapy
  • Participation and/or practice of mindfulness (in the forms of Tai Chi, Qi Gong, etc.) more than twice a week during the previous three months

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Mindfulness psychoeducation programmeMindfulness psychoeducation ProgrammeA MBPP will be conducted for 2 hours for each session, one a week for ten weeks, with 13-15 participants per group. The protocol has been developed based on the model of mindfulness-based stress reduction proposed by Kabat-Zinn (1994) and Tong et al. (2015), and the psychoeducation programmes by Chien and Lee, and Lehman and colleagues (Chien \& Lee, 2010; Kabat-Zinn et al., 1992; Lehman et al., 2004; Tong et al., 2015).
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ)Clients will be followed up and assessed at baseline, immediately after 8 weeks of MBI intervention (post-intervention), and 3 months post-intervention by the assessor who will be blind to participant allocation

This is a self-report questionnaire that measures two different emotion regulation patterns: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. The questionnaire has 10 items: six items reflect the reappraisal factor and four items reflect the suppressive factor. The 10 items are rated on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Short Ruminative Response Scale (SRRS)Clients will be followed up and assessed at baseline, immediately after 8 weeks of MBI intervention (post-intervention), and 3 months post-intervention by the assessor who will be blind to participant allocation

It comprises 10 items that are symptom-focused, self-focused, or focused on the possible causes and consequences of the depressive mood. Participants will be asked to rate on a four-point Likert scale, resulting in a possible range of scores from 22 to 88, with a higher score implying a higher level of rumination.

Change in Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21)Clients will be followed up and assessed at baseline, immediately after 8 weeks of MBI intervention (post-intervention), and 3 months post-intervention by the assessor who will be blind to participant allocation

This instrument comprises three subscales including Depression, Anxiety, and Stress. The Depression scale assesses dysphoria, hopelessness, devaluation of life, self-deprecation, lack of interest or involvement, anhedonia and inertia. The Anxiety scale assesses autonomic arousal, skeletal muscle effects, situational anxiety and subjective experience of anxious affect. The stress scale is sensitive to levels of chronic non-specific arousal. Each subscale consists of seven items. The severity ratings are made on a series of 4-point (0 to 3) scales (0 = did not apply to me at all, 3 = applied to me very much, or most of the time). The higher the subscale scores the more severe the symptoms.

Change in The Chinese version of the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scale (C-PSYRATS)Clients will be followed up and assessed at baseline, immediately after 8 weeks of MBI intervention (post-intervention), and 3 months post-intervention by the assessor who will be blind to participant allocation

C-PSYRATS consists of 17 items assessing the specific dimensions of hallucinations and delusions, with each item being rated on a 5-point scale from 0 (Absent) to 4 (Severe/Often/Extreme). There are two subscales including the auditory hallucinations subscale (AHS) consisting of 11 items, and the delusions subscale (DS) composed six items. The scale measures the subjective characteristics of AHS and DS including their nature, persistence, amount, distress, disruption and controllability toward the symptoms.

Change in Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire - Short form (FFMQ-SF)Clients will be followed up and assessed at baseline, immediately after 8 weeks of MBI intervention (post-intervention), and 3 months post-intervention by the assessor who will be blind to participant allocation

The FFMQ-SF is a 20-item questionnaire that measures five facets of mindfulness including observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging, and non-reacting (Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, \& Toney, 2006). Items are scored on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (never/very rarely true) to 5 (very often/always true). Higher scores indicate greater levels of mindfulness.

Change in Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS)Clients will be followed up and assessed at baseline, immediately after 8 weeks of MBI intervention (post-intervention), and 3 months post-intervention by the assessor who will be blind to participant allocation

It is a single-item scale ranging from 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating higher functioning.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

New Life Assocation

🇭🇰

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

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