An interventional study of Single-session emotion-belief intervention and Continuous emotion-belief intervention in Subthreshold Depression, sponsored by Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Completed at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 17 Years to 30 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-13.
Sponsored by Huazhong University of Science and Technology · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
This study was a randomized controlled trial examining the long-term efficacy of an emotion-belief intervention on depressive symptoms in college students with subthreshold depression. Participants with subthreshold depression were randomly assigned to a single-session emotion-belief intervention, a continuous emotion-belief intervention, or a sport-belief control group. Depressive symptoms, emotion beliefs, and emotion regulation were assessed at baseline and at 2, 4, and 6 months after intervention. This study was retrospectively registered.
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College students
PHQ-9 ≥ 5 and BDI-II ≥ 14 at baseline
Confirmed subthreshold depression by MINI interview
Written informed consent
Exclusion Criteria:
Psychotic disorder
Current psychological treatment for depression or anxiety
Current psychotropic medication
History of substance use disorders
Participants received a single 20-minute computerized emotion-belief intervention.
Behavioral: Single-session emotion-belief intervention
Participants received the single-session emotion-belief intervention plus a two-week daily consolidation exercise.
Behavioral: Continuous emotion-belief intervention
Participants received a structurally identical single-session intervention focused on the malleability of athletic ability.
Behavioral: Sport-belief control
A 20-minute computerized intervention consisting of three modules: psychoeducation on neuroplasticity, reading and internalizing role-model stories, and a guided self-persuasion exercise.
The single-session emotion-belief intervention plus a two-week daily consolidation exercise requiring at least 10 daily records.
A structurally identical single-session intervention focused on the malleability of athletic ability, serving as an active control.
Depressive symptoms (PHQ-9)
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) total score, ranging from 0 to 27, with higher scores indicating more severe depressive symptoms.
Time frame: Baseline, 2 months, 4 months, and 6 months after intervention
Depressive symptoms (BDI-II)
Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) total score, ranging from 0 to 63, with higher scores indicating more severe depressive symptoms.
Time frame: Baseline, 2 months, 4 months, and 6 months after intervention
Emotion beliefs (ITES-V)
Implicit Theories of Emotion Scale-Variant version (ITES-V) score, ranging from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating stronger incremental beliefs about emotion.
Time frame: Baseline, 2 months, 4 months, and 6 months after intervention
Plan to share: Yes — De-identified individual participant data will be made available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Time frame: Available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. No fixed end date.
Access criteria: Available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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