Evaluating a Peer-Support Mobile App for Mental Health and Substance Use Among Adolescents Over 12 Months During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Randomized Controlled Trial
Although it is well known that adolescents frequently turn to their friends for support around mental health and substance use problems, there are currently no evidence-based digital programs to support them to do this.
Objective
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Mind your Mate program, a digital peer-support program, in improving mental health symptoms, reducing the uptake of substance use, and increasing help seeking. The Mind your Mate program consists of a 40-minute web-based classroom lesson and a companion smartphone mobile app. The active control group received school-based health education as usual.
Methods
A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with 12 secondary schools and 166 students (mean age 15.3, SD 0.41 years; 72/166, 43.4% female; and 133/166, 80.1% born in Australia). Participants completed self-reported questionnaires assessing symptoms of mental health (depression, anxiety, and psychological distress), substance use (alcohol and other drug use), and help-seeking measures at baseline and at 6-month and 12-month follow-ups.
Results
Students who received the Mind your Mate program had greater reductions in depressive symptoms over a 12-month period than controls (b=−1.86, 95% CI −3.73 to 0.02; Cohen d=−0.31). Anxiety symptoms decreased among students in the intervention group; however, these reductions did not meet statistical significance thresholds. No differences were observed in relation to psychological distress or help-seeking.
Conclusions
Small to moderate reductions in depression symptoms were observed among students allocated to receive the Mind your Mate intervention. Although the current results are encouraging, there is a need to continue to refine, develop, and evaluate innovative applied approaches for the prevention of mental disorders in real-world settings.
Trial Registration
Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) ACTRN12620000753954; https://anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?ACTRN=12620000753954
International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)
RR2-10.2196/26796
No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →
Guilherme V. Polanczyk, Giovanni A. Salum, Luisa S. Sugaya et al.
Daniel Vigo, Graham Thornicroft, Rifat Atun
Nicole Racine, Brae Anne McArthur, Jessica E. Cooke et al.
Kathleen Ries Merikangas, Jian-ping He, Marcy Burstein et al.
John Torous, Sandra Bucci, Imogen H. Bell et al.
Robert L. Spitzer, Kurt Kroenke, Janet B. W. Williams et al.
R. C. Kessler, G. ANDREWS, L. J. COLPE et al.
Debra Rickwood, Frank P. Deane, Coralie J. Wilson et al.
Karen Kei Yan Ma, Joanna K. Anderson, Anne‐Marie Burn
Shaun Liverpool, Catarina Pinheiro Mota, Célia M D Sales et al.
- Published
- Sep 27, 2023
- Vol/Issue
- 25
- Pages
- e45216
You May Also Like
Gunther Eysenbach · 2004
5,040 citations
TRISHA GREENHALGH, Joseph Wherton · 2017
2,007 citations
S Anne Moorhead, Diane E Hazlett · 2013
1,989 citations