An interventional study of outdoor-horticultural therapy and indoor-Horticultural Therapy group in Healthy, sponsored by Ye Zhiyin. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in China. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-04-30.
Sponsored by Ye Zhiyin · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
This study used a randomised controlled trial to investigate the effects of different forms of horticultural group interventions on college students' depression, anxiety and subjective well-being, and the internal mechanisms of the effects.
Participants are required to complete the following tasks:
Attend one indoor/outdoor group gardening activity per week, lasting 2 hours each session, for a total of 8 weeks.
Complete psychological scale assessments at five time points: before the activity begins, at 4 weeks after the start, upon completion of the activity, and at 1 week and 2 weeks after completion.
Ye Zhiyin is the lead sponsor of 3 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Exclusion Criteria:
The participants in outdoor horticultural therapy engaged in weekly horticultural therapy activities outdoors for a total duration of eight weeks.
Behavioral: outdoor-horticultural therapy
The participants in indoor horticultural therapy engaged in therapeutic gardening activities indoors once a week for a total duration of eight weeks.
Behavioral: indoor-Horticultural Therapy group
Participants in the control group attended weekly psychological group sessions (without horticultural elements) for a total duration of eight weeks.
Behavioral: General Psychological Group Counselling Team
These participants did not engage in any psychological activities; they only regularly took part in questionnaire completion.
Students are randomly assigned to the Outdoor Horticultural Therapy group, where they will receive outdoor horticultural therapy for eight weeks
Students are randomly assigned to the indoor horticultural therapy group, where they will receive indoor horticultural therapy for 8 weeks
Students were randomly assigned to general group groups to participate in an 8-week mental health group activity
Depression
The Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9): This scale consists of 9 items, each rated on a 4-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating more severe depressive symptoms in the subject.
Time frame: From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment Edit Copy Outcome
Anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7): This scale consists of 7 items, each rated on a 4-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating more severe anxiety symptoms in the subjects.
Time frame: From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment
Positive And Negative Affective
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS): This scale consists of 20 items, including 10 positive affect items and 10 negative affect items, with each item rated on a Likert five-point scale. Higher scores on the positive affect items indicate higher levels of positive affect in the participants, while higher scores on the negative affect items indicate higher levels of negative affect in the participants.
Time frame: From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment
Life satisfaction
The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS): This scale consists of 5 items, each rated on a 7-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating greater life satisfaction among participants.
Time frame: From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment
Resilience
The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC): The scale consists of 25 items divided into three dimensions-tenacity, self-reliance, and optimism. Each item is rated on a Likert five-point scale. Higher scores indicate greater psychological resilience in the subjects.
Time frame: From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment
Loneliness
UCLA Loneliness Scale: This scale consists of 8 items, each rated on a 5-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating stronger feelings of loneliness in the subjects.
Time frame: From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment
Sense of control
Sense of Mastery Scale (SMS): This scale consists of 7 items, each using a 5-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating a stronger sense of mastery in the subjects.
Time frame: From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment
Avoidance
The Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (BEAQ) was initially simplified and revised by Gámez et al. based on the Multidimensional Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire to assess content related to experiential avoidance. Cao et al. conducted a Chinese version revision in 2021. The questionnaire consists of 15 items, with the cognitive avoidance dimension containing 8 items and the behavioral avoidance dimension containing 7 items, all rated on a 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree."
Time frame: From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment
Self-concept
Sense of Mastery Scale, SMS. This scale consists of 12 items, with each item rated on a five-point Likert scale. Higher scores indicate a clearer self-concept among the participants.
Time frame: From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment
meaning in life
The Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ): This scale consists of 10 items with two dimensions: Presence of Meaning (MLQ-P) and Search for Meaning (MLQ-S). Each item adopts a 7-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating that participants experience a stronger sense of meaning in life.
Time frame: From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment
Grit
The Grit Scale consists of 12 items with two dimensions: the Effort dimension and the Interest Consistency dimension. Each item is rated on a five-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating that participants perceive themselves as more perseverant.
Time frame: From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment
nature connection
The Nature Connection Scale, which consists of 14 items, employs a 5-point Likert scale for each item, with higher scores indicating that participants perceive themselves as more closely connected to nature.
Time frame: From enrollment to 2 weeks after the completion of the 8-week treatment
Plan to share: Undecided
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This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Mar 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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