Efficacy of a Mahayana Buddhist Teaching Based Psycho-educational Intervention, Awareness Training Program, on stress management among middle-aged working people in Hong Kong: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Awareness Training Program (ATP) is a novel Mahayana Buddhist Teaching based psycho--‐educational intervention that is designed to help people to deal with stress. ATP consists of 6 weekly workshops and 1 weekend retreat. This research is the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) aiming at testing the efficacy of ATP. METHODS: Participants were recruited through radio broadcasting and university--‐wide promotion. 122 middle--‐aged working participants (mean age=46, SD=8.08) were randomly assigned to ATP or waitlist control. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS--‐10), Nonattachment Scale (NAS), Orientation to Life Questionnaire (SOC--‐13) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ--‐12) were assessed at baseline, post intervention, and 3--‐month follow--‐up. RESULTS: While analyzing the preliminarily results by using two--‐way mixed analysis of variance, significant group by time interaction effects were found in all measures. Compared with the waitlist control group, ATP group demonstrated significant reduction in their levels of perceived stress (P<0.001) and showed significant improvements in their levels of nonattachment (P<0.001), sense of coherence (P=0.003), psychological wellbeing (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary results indicate that ATP can be an efficacious intervention for the middle--‐aged people with stress.