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The Effectiveness of the REAL™, a School-based, Virtual Reality-integrated Social Emotional Learning Intervention to Promote Mental Health for Early Malaysian Adolescents

NCT06849154 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 226

Last updated 2025-02-27

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The REAL™ (Read Emotions and Learn to Regulate) module is a school-based social-emotional learning (SEL) intervention designed for early adolescents in Malaysia. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the REAL™ intervention in improving emotional regulation skills and reducing depression and anxiety symptoms among secondary school students.

A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted from February to November 2023, involving 226 students aged 13-14 years from four secondary schools in Selangor, Malaysia. The intervention integrates virtual reality (VR) components to enhance engagement and ensure that SEL skills are relatable within the students' sociocultural context.

Participants were assessed at four time points (baseline, immediate post-test, three-month follow-up, and six-month follow-up) using validated psychological measures, including the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). The results showed that students in the intervention group demonstrated significant improvements in emotional regulation and reductions in depression and anxiety scores compared to the control group, with sustained benefits over time.

This study highlights the feasibility of implementing SEL programs in Malaysian schools and supports the integration of culturally adapted, VR-enhanced interventions to promote adolescent mental health.

Conditions

  • Anxiety
  • Depression Disorders
  • Emotional Regulation

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

REAL™ SEL Intervention Group

A structured intervention using virtual reality (VR) components to improve emotional regulation in early adolescents

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National University of Malaysia

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Nik Ruzyanei Nik Jaafar Prof. Dr., Master of Medicine Psychiatry · Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
13 Years
Max Age
14 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-05-03
Primary Completion
2023-11-24
Completion
2023-12-11

Countries

  • Malaysia

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06849154 on ClinicalTrials.gov