An interventional study of CROSS-MIND in Mental Health, sponsored by University of Aarhus. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Nepal. Open to participants aged 11 Years to 19 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-10.
Sponsored by University of Aarhus · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and assess the implementation of CROSS-MIND, a school-based mental well-being intervention for adolescents in Nepal. The study uses a Hybrid Type 1 mixed-methods design. The main questions it aims to answer are:
Does CROSS-MIND improve students' mental well-being, self-esteem, and behavioural and emotional outcomes compared with usual school activities? Is CROSS-MIND acceptable, feasible, appropriate, and delivered with adequate fidelity, and what barriers and facilitators influence its delivery by teachers?
For the effectiveness evaluation, classes of grades 6 to 10 in five schools in Bharatpur Metropolitan City will be randomly assigned to receive either the CROSS-MIND intervention or usual school activities. Students will complete questionnaires before and after the intervention. Students in intervention classes will participate in eight weekly storytelling and reflection sessions of approximately 90 minutes, delivered by trained teachers. Qualitative interviews and focus group discussions will also be conducted with selected students, teachers, school principals, and psychologists to explore experiences of the intervention and factors influencing its implementation.
Adolescent mental well-being is an important public health concern, and schools provide an appropriate setting for universal mental health promotion interventions. This study aims to evaluate CROSS-MIND, a school-based mental well-being intervention designed for adolescents in Nepal.
The effectiveness component is a pilot cluster randomized controlled trial in which classes from five schools in Bharatpur Metropolitan City will be randomly assigned to either the CROSS-MIND intervention or usual school activities. Students in Grades 6-10 will participate in baseline and endline assessments. The primary outcome is mental well-being measured using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS). Secondary outcomes include self-esteem, behavioural and emotional problems, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms, measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), PHQ-9-A, and GAD-7-A, respectively.
CROSS-MIND consists of eight weekly storytelling circle sessions of approximately 90 minutes, delivered by trained teachers within the school setting. The intervention uses structured storytelling, reflection, creative expression, and group discussion to support positive self-identity, emotional awareness, social connectedness, coping skills, and psychological well-being.
The study also includes an implementation component. Implementation will be assessed in terms of acceptability, feasibility, appropriateness, and fidelity. Qualitative interviews and focus group discussions will explore participants' experiences and identify barriers and facilitators to implementation.
2,193 studies on the registry are indexed under Psychological Well-Being; 728 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 1,060 is above the median of 110 across 1,796 interventional studies indexed under Psychological Well-Being.
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Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Students who are not expected to participate in regular classroom activities
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
CROSS-MIND is an eight-week, teacher-facilitated school-based mental well-being intervention. Students participate in one approximately 90-minute storytelling circle session each week. Sessions use structured storytelling, reflection, creative expression, group discussion, and peer-reflection activities. Major intervention areas include establishing a safe and supportive group environment; identifying and exploring common adolescent challenges; using narrative externalisation to separate problems from personal identity; reflecting on life experiences, strengths, and aspirations through Life River activities; identifying coping skills and supportive relationships; and consolidating learning through reflective writing, poetry or letter-writing and a closing celebration.
Behavioral: CROSS-MIND
Students assigned to the control group will continue with their usual school activities and will not receive the CROSS-MIND intervention during the study period.
CROSS-MIND is an eight-week, teacher-facilitated school-based mental well-being intervention. Students participate in one approximately 90-minute storytelling circle session each week. Sessions use structured storytelling, reflection, creative expression, group discussion, and peer-reflection activities. Major intervention areas include establishing a safe and supportive group environment; identifying and exploring common adolescent challenges; using narrative externalisation to separate problems from personal identity; reflecting on life experiences, strengths, and aspirations through Life River activities; identifying coping skills and supportive relationships; and consolidating learning through reflective writing, poetry or letter-writing and a closing celebration.
Change from baseline in the mean mental well-being score after the intervention
The primary outcome, mental well-being, will be measured using Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale. It uses a five-point Likert response scale and has a total score range of 14-70, with higher scores indicating better mental well-being.
Time frame: Baseline before intervention and endline within a week of intervention completion
Change from baseline in the mean Self-Esteem score after the intervention
Self-esteem will be measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. It uses a four-point Likert response scale and has a total score range of 0-30, with higher scores indicating better outcome i.e. higher self-esteem.
Time frame: Baseline before intervention and endline within a week of intervention completion
Change from baseline in the mean depressive symptoms score after the intervention
Depressive symptoms will be measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire -adolescent version. It uses a four-point response scale and has a total score range of 0-27, with higher scores indicating worse outcome i.e., depressive symptoms.
Time frame: Baseline before intervention and endline within a week of intervention completion
Change from baseline in the mean anxiety symptoms score after the intervention
Anxiety symptoms will be measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 adolescent version. It uses a four-point Likert response scale and has a total score range of 0-21, with higher scores indicating worse outcome i.e., higher anxiety symptoms.
Time frame: Baseline before intervention and endline within a week of intervention completion
Change from baseline in the mean difficulty score after the intervention
Total difficulty will be measured using the Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire adolescent self-administration version. It uses a three-point response scale and has a total score range of 0-40, with higher scores indicating worse outcomes, i.e., greater difficulty.
Time frame: Baseline before intervention and endline within a week of intervention completion
Acceptability of CROSS-MIND
Acceptability will be assessed using the 4-item Acceptability of Intervention Measure. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree), with total scores ranging from 4 to 20; higher scores indicate greater acceptability. The measure will be completed by teachers who delivered CROSS-MIND sessions and students who participated in the sessions.
Time frame: At endline, within a week of the completion of the delivery of the last session, i.e., the 8th session of the intervention
Feasibility of delivering CROSS-MIND from the perspective of intervention-delivering teachers
Feasibility will be assessed using the 4-item Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM). Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree), with total scores ranging from 4 to 20; higher scores indicate greater perceived feasibility. The measure will be completed by teachers who delivered CROSS-MIND sessions.
Time frame: At endline, within a week of the completion of the delivery of the last session, i.e., the 8th session of the intervention
Perceived appropriateness of CROSS-MIND
Appropriateness will be assessed using the 4-item Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM). Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree), with total scores ranging from 4 to 20; higher scores indicate greater perceived appropriateness. The measure will be completed by teachers who delivered CROSS-MIND sessions and students who participates in the sessions.
Time frame: At endline, within a week of the completion of the delivery of the last session, i.e., the 8th session of the intervention
Fidelity of CROSS-MIND intervention delivery
Fidelity will be assessed throughout the intervention using session delivery records and monitoring of intervention sessions. Assessment will include adherence to the planned intervention components, intervention dose (sessions delivered) and quality of delivery.
Time frame: Throughout the 8-week intervention period
Plan to share: Yes — De-identified individual participant data underlying the reported study outcomes, including baseline and endline demographic characteristics, intervention group allocation, primary and secondary outcome measures, and implementation outcome measures, will be shared.
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan, Informed consent form, Analytic code
Time frame: Beginning 3 months after publication with no end date
Access criteria: De-identified IPD and supporting information will be made available to qualified researchers upon reasonable request and subject to approval by the principal investigator and relevant institutional/ethical requirements. Access will be limited to data necessary for the approved research purpose. Requests will be submitted to the principal investigator, and data will be provided through a secure data-sharing mechanism following appropriate data-use and confidentiality agreements.
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This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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