NCT07115186

School-Based Intervention to Enhance Resilience and Stress Coping in Rural Chinese Adolescents

Enhancing Stress Resilience and Coping Skills Among Adolescents in Rural China Through School-Based Psychological Interventions: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 850 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Peking University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 10 Years – 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of school-based psychological interventions in improving stress resilience and coping skills among adolescents in rural China. The intervention seeks to reduce stress-related mental health symptoms, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress, measured using validated instruments such as the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7), and the Child PTSD Symptom Scale for DSM-5 (CPSS-5). (See Appendix for full scale descriptions.) Participants will be recruited from rural middle schools and randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a wait-list control group. The intervention consists of four sessions delivered over one week. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and again at a 3-month and 6-month follow-ups. Researchers will use multilevel modeling (MLM) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine potential mediators and moderators of intervention effects, including emotion recognition, alexithymia, and coping strategies. indings are expected to provide evidence on the effectiveness and mechanisms of an existing, school-based psychological intervention tailored to the needs of adolescents in underserved rural settings.

Conditions

• Stress, Emotional
• Stress-related Mental Disorders

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Psychoeducation	Psychoeducation sessions for adolescents focus on essential topics like stress, emotional distress, and mental disorders, offering foundational knowledge to enhance their understanding and ability to manage these challenges effectively.
BEHAVIORAL	guided written therapy	In the guided writing intervention, students are asked to write about a recent event that triggered strong emotions on paper and, based on the requirements of each session, attempt to regulate their emotions. This approach aims to enhance students' abilities in emotional identification and emotion regulation.
BEHAVIORAL	wait-list condition	Participants will engage in their regular school activities, and after the intervention group completes the program, they will receive the same intervention content as the intervention group.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-05-12
• Primary completion: 2026-06-01
• Completion: 2026-12-31
• First posted: 2025-08-11
• Last updated: 2025-08-11

Locations

1 site across 1 country: China