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Completed

NCT Number: NCT06147297

Music Program for Hong Kong Adolescents: Improving Emotion Regulation and Reducing Depression, Anxiety, and Loneliness

This study is a clinical trial that aims to test and validate a music-based program called "Tuned In" in helping adolescents in Hong Kong improve their mental well-being. The researchers want to find out if the program can help participants enhance their ability to regulate their emotions, reduce mood symptoms and feelings of loneliness.

Participants in the study will be randomly assigned to either the group that receives the program right away (intervention group) or the group that waits for four weeks before receiving the program (wait list group). They will take part in a group-based weekly program for four weeks. Additionally, they will be asked to complete questionnaires before and after the program to see if there are any changes in their mental well-being. The program will be delivered by a facilitator with a psychology background, and a registered music therapist.

By addressing the gaps in mental health interventions for young people in Hong Kong, this study aims to contribute to the development of effective strategies to support their emotional well-being.

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Key information

Conditions

Emotion Regulation Anxiety Anxiety Disorders Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Depression Depressive Symptoms Emotional Regulation Loneliness Mental Disorders Personal Satisfaction Psychological Well-Being Self-Control Social Behavior

Age range

16 year–19 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

The University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • self-report as having problems with low mood, anxiety or loneliness
  • score 3 or above on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), which indicates psychological distress.

Treatment and study plan

Tuned In

Behavioral

The Tuned In programme is based on Russell's (1980) circumplex model of emotion, which categories emotions along the two dimensions of valence and arousal. Through psychoeducation and group discussions, participants in the programme first learn how to categorise their emotions in terms of intensity (i.e., arousal level) and positivity (i.e., valence). They then reflect on and develop a list of songs that they relate to personally and use them to increase or decrease the intensity and positivity of their emotions. In other words, the participants practise monitoring their emotional state and use music to help them modify how they feel. The programme will be conducted by a facilitator with a psychology background, and a registered music therapist.

Primary outcomes

  1. Emotion Regulation Skills

    Time frame: Questionnaires will be administered before the start of the program, and immediately after the program (intervention group) or after 4 weeks of wait period (wait-list group)

    To assess difficulties, strategies, and confidence in emotion regulation, we will use the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Liu et al., 2015), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation scale, and select items from Dingle and Carter's (2017) program evaluation tool.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Mood symptoms

    Time frame: Questionnaires will be administered before the start of the program, and immediately after the program (intervention group) or after 4 weeks of wait period (wait-list group)

    The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (Moussa et al., 2001; DASS-21) will be used to measure mood symptoms

  2. Loneliness

    Time frame: Questionnaires will be administered before the start of the program, and immediately after the program (intervention group) or after 4 weeks of wait period (wait-list group)

    The Hong Kong version of the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale (Leung et al., 2008) will be used to measure loneliness

Other outcomes

  1. Anhedonia

    Time frame: Questionnaires will be administered before the start of the program, and immediately after the program (intervention group) or after 4 weeks of wait period (wait-list group)

    The Chinese version of the Snaith-Hamilton-Pleasure scale (Liu et al., 2012) will be used to measure anhedonia.

  2. Program acceptability and feasibility

    Time frame: Questionnaire will be administered immediately after the program

    Furthermore, we plan to examine the acceptability of the program with the Hong Kong adolescents. This will be done using a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. Satisfaction ratings will be collected from the participants, on a 7-point Likert scale. The questions will be on the perceived usefulness of the program, the level of interest in the program, the likelihood of them recommending the program to other adolescents, and the likelihood of them to continue using music as an emotion regulatory strategy in the future (Dingle et al., 2016). We will also use open-ended questions to obtain feedback from the participants on their experiences of the program, and ask for suggestions for improvements for a future RCT. Furthermore, as feasibility indicators, we will also record the recruitment rate and dropout rate of this trial.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

The University of Hong Kong

Other

Collaborators

  • Health and Medical Research Fund
  • The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  • The University of Queensland

Registry information

Official study title

Using Music to Promote Young People's Emotion Regulation and Reduce Their Depressive and Anxious Symptoms and Loneliness: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Nov 27, 2023
Registry last updated
Jun 4, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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