An application of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been found to significantly prevent the rise of depression among high-risk youth, offering a cost-effective public mental health measure. With growing concerns over rising rates of anxiety and depression among young people, digital tools such as mobile apps have been suggested as a scalable solution. The project, led by the University of Exeter, is the first to rigorously test a mental health app on such a large scale across four countries.
Two articles, published in Lancet Digital Healthreport on the ECoWeB-PREVENT and ECoWeB-PROMOTE trials, which were part of a four-year study funded by Horizon 2020. The research concluded that a CBT self-help app could help protect vulnerable young people against depression. Professor Ed Watkins of the University of Exeter, who led the project, said:
“For high-risk youth, our findings suggest that CBT application has a preventive effect on depression and could have a public health benefit. “Participants’ quality of life measures were better and their reported work and social functioning was better.”
The study, which involved 3,700 participants aged 16 to 22 from the UK, Germany, Belgium and Spain, was one of the largest of its kind. He divided participants according to their levels of emotional competence, focusing on both those at higher risk of depression and those without that risk. Each group was randomly assigned one of three apps: a self-monitoring app to track emotions, a self-help app focused on emotional competence, and a self-help app based on CBT principles. Results were measured after three and 12 months.
The trials showed that CBT implementation effectively prevented an increase in depression in the high-risk group, but there were no differences between the interventions for the lower-risk group. Professor Watkins noted:
“Our findings add to the evidence that depression prevention works best when we identify and select people who are most at risk, rather than taking a more universal approach. This identification could be done through an online self-assessment process or through professional referral.”
Even when participants used the self-help app only a few times, there was a small but significant benefit. Watkins added: “Because the app is cost-effectively scalable to large numbers of people, these effects have potential value as a public health intervention, within a broader portfolio of digital and in-person services and interventions.”
Recently, MQ, in collaboration with University of MelbourneHarvard University Institute of Digital Psychiatry and researchers from the Oxford Internet Instituteconducted a comprehensive review of research on the effects of the Internet on young people’s mental health, both positive and negative. Read more about the report here.
