Improv Comedy to Reduce Anxiety and Improve Mental Well-Being in Young Chinese Adults in Hong Kong | NCT07737821

NCT07737821

Overview

NCT ID: NCT07737821
Lead Sponsor: The University of Hong KongOTHER
Official Title: An Improv Comedy Intervention to Reduce Anxiety and Enhance Mental Well-Being in Chinese Emerging Adults in Hong Kong: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Brief Summary: The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if improv comedy helps reduce anxiety symptoms and improve mental well-being in Chinese young adults in Hong Kong. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does improv comedy reduce anxiety symptoms?

Does improv comedy improve mental well-being?

Researchers will compare participants who join the improv comedy workshops to participants who are placed on a waiting list to receive the workshops later, to see if improv comedy reduces anxiety and improves mental well-being.

Participants will:

Attend weekly three-hour improv comedy workshops for 4 consecutive weeks

Complete four assessments and brief reflections during or around the workshop sessions

Take part in up to two individual interviews (optional)
Conditions

Status and Timeline

Status: Not yet recruiting
Last Update Posted: Jul 30, 2026Actual
Start Date: Aug 15, 2026Estimated
Primary Completion Date: Jul 31, 2028Estimated
Completion Date

Participation Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study: Adult (18-64)
Sexes Eligible for Study: All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No
Eligibility Criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

Ethnic Chinese, fluent in spoken Mandarin and able to read Chinese

Never married and without children

No current or past diagnosis of any mental disorder (e.g. anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders)

Mild to moderate anxiety symptoms (defined as a GAD-7 total score between 5 and 14)

No prior experience of formal performance training in drama

Availability to attend at least 3 out of 4 weekly sessions over the 4-week intervention period upon enrolment

Exclusion Criteria:

Unstable or severe chronic physical illness that would contraindicate participation in group activities or light-to-moderate physical movement (e.g., uncontrolled hypertension, severe asthma, acute cardiovascular events within the past 6 months)

Moderately severe to severe depression symptoms (defined as a PHQ-9 total score greater than 14)

Suicidal ideation (defined as a score greater than 0 on item 9 of the PHQ-9)

Potential risky drinking behavior (defined as AUDIT-C total score greater than 4)

Study Plan

Study Type: Interventional
Phase: Not Applicable
Enrollment: 150Estimated
Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single

Contacts and Locations

Central Contacts: Haorui LiContact
haorui_li@connect.hku.hk852 5956 3975

Similar Studies

Participant Group/Arms

Improv Against Anxiety (IAA)Experimental

Improv Against Anxiety (IAA) is a structured, group-based improv comedy program consisting of four weekly 3-hour sessions. Sessions use established improv comedy games and exercises to reduce anxiety symptoms and enhance mental well-being.

Behavioral: Improv Against Anxiety (IAA)

Waitlist ControlNo Intervention

Participants assigned to the waitlist control arm do not receive the IAA intervention during the main study period but complete the same assessment schedule as the experimental arm. During the wait period, they may seek or continue usual care from mental health professionals (treatment as usual). After all primary outcome assessments are completed, they are offered the opportunity to participate in the IAA intervention.