Apps that use Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness reduce mental health symptoms among young people
Mobile applications (apps) available on smartphones can be used to manage mental health symptoms. Among young people, we found that apps which deliver mindfulness-based training or CBT may reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, but the evidence is very uncertain.
What is this review about?
Mental health conditions among young people aged 15–24 years are of increased concern. Young people face many limitations in accessing mental health care in the community, including a lack of access to and awareness among primary care physicians, teachers, and parents. Smartphone applications (apps) offer young people the opportunity to manage their mental health symptoms and help them overcome barriers to accessing care. This review considers how apps are designed and whether they improve mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, distress, alcohol use) among young people. We include young people as equal members of the research team to guide our approach.
What is the aim of this review?
This review aims to summarize the evidence on smartphone apps and determine whether these apps improve symptoms of depression, anxiety, psychological distress and alcohol use among young people aged 15–24 years old.
What are the main findings of this review?
We identified 36 trials that included 7984 young people from 15 different countries. We categorized these trials based on the type of support or therapy delivered by the app: (i) mindfulness-based apps, (ii) apps which delivered CBT, (iii) apps that delivered CBT and mindfulness together, and (iv) other app designs. These other designs included gamification, motivational strategies, and medication reminders.
We found that apps which delivered mindfulness training or CBT significantly improved short term symptoms of depression and anxiety, however this evidence is very uncertain. Apps which combined these two design elements reduced psychological distress. While many apps aimed to reduce alcohol use, the results were inconsistent and more research is needed. Importantly, we did not identify any harms in using these apps to manage mental health symptoms.
What do the findings of this review mean?
Mobile apps that deliver CBT or mindfulness training may reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, but the evidence is uncertain. We have very limited information about whether these apps reduce alcohol use. This uncertainty is due to the small sample sizes of the trials and concerns about how the trials were conducted. More research is needed to determine whether or not these designs are effective and should be recommended for young people. Future research should consider conducting trials over longer periods of time with more participants.
How up-to-date is this review?
This review includes evidence published up to July 1, 2022.