scholarly journals Feasibility of "CopeSmart": A Telemental Health App for Adolescents

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. e22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Kenny ◽  
Barbara Dooley ◽  
Amanda Fitzgerald

Background Early intervention is important in order to improve mental health outcomes for young people. Given the recent rise in mobile phone ownership among adolescents, an innovative means of delivering such intervention is through the use of mobile phone applications (apps). Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of “CopeSmart”, a telemental health app developed to foster positive mental health in adolescents through emotional self-monitoring and the promotion of positive coping strategies. Methods Forty-three adolescents (88% female) aged 15-17 years downloaded the app and used it over a one-week period. They then completed self-report questionnaires containing both open-ended and closed-ended questions about their experiences of using the app. The app itself captured data related to user engagement. Results On average participants engaged with the app on 4 of the 7 days within the intervention period. Feedback from users was reasonably positive, with 70% of participants reporting that they would use the app again and 70% reporting that they would recommend it to a friend. Thematic analysis of qualitative data identified themes pertaining to users’ experiences of the app, which were both positive (eg, easy to use, attractive layout, emotional self-monitoring, helpful information, notifications, unique) and negative (eg, content issues, did not make user feel better, mood rating issues, password entry, interface issues, engagement issues, technical fixes). Conclusions Overall findings suggest that telemental health apps have potential as a feasible medium for promoting positive mental health, with the majority of young people identifying such technologies as at least somewhat useful and displaying a moderate level of engagement with them. Future research should aim to evaluate the efficacy of such technologies as tools for improving mental health outcomes in young people.

2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 400-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek A. Giannone ◽  
Daniel Kaplin

This study investigates a recently developed model of spiritual intelligence in relation to the common mental health concerns of depression, anxiety, and substance use. Three-hundred and fifty-three undergraduate psychology students responded to the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale–Revised, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and the Drug, Alcohol, and Nicotine scale. We hypothesized spiritual intelligence would be negatively associated with the study’s mental health outcomes. A secondary aim was to examine the contributions of spiritual intelligence model components to mental health. Overall spiritual intelligence was not associated with anxiety, depression, or substance use. Examination of the relationships between spiritual intelligence components and mental health suggested this model lacks cohesiveness in relation to mental health. While the capacity to critically examine existential issues was associated with increased depression and anxiety, the ability to draw meaning and purpose from experience was associated with improvements in all mental health outcomes. These findings cast doubt on the construct of spiritual intelligence and suggest that existential thinking and the production of meaning may be closely related to mental health. Future research should explore differences in spiritual intelligence components and their associations with mental health among varying religious affiliations.


Author(s):  
Sara Thomée

The purpose of this study was to carry out a review of observational studies that consider links between mobile phone use and mental health from a psychological or behavioral perspective. Systematic literature searches in PubMed and PsycINFO for articles published until 2017 were done. Exclusion criteria included: papers that considered radiofrequency fields, attention, safety, relational consequences, sexual behavior, cyberbullying, and reviews, qualitative, and case or experimental studies. A total of 4738 papers were screened by title and abstract, 404 were retrieved in full text, and 290 were included. Only 5% had any longitudinal design. Self-reporting was the dominating method of measurement. One third of the studies included children or youth. A majority of adult populations consisted of university students and/or self-selected participants. The main research results included associations between frequent mobile phone use and mental health outcomes, such as depressive symptoms and sleep problems. Mobile phone use at bedtime was associated with, e.g., shorter sleep duration and lower sleep quality. “Problematic use” (dependency) was associated with several negative outcomes. In conclusion, associations between mobile phone use and adverse mental health outcomes are found in studies that take a psychological or behavioral perspective on the exposure. However, more studies of high quality are needed in order to draw valid conclusions about the mechanisms and causal directions of associations.


2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Kilburn ◽  
Harsha Thirumurthy ◽  
Carolyn Tucker Halpern ◽  
Audrey Pettifor ◽  
Sudhanshu Handa

2020 ◽  
Vol 267 ◽  
pp. 171-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cyrille Kossigan Kokou-Kpolou ◽  
Charlemagne Simplice Moukouta ◽  
Joanic Masson ◽  
Amal Bernoussi ◽  
Jude Mary Cénat ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Teychenne ◽  
Lena D Stephens ◽  
Sarah A Costigan ◽  
Dana Lee Olstad ◽  
Brendon Stubbs ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Emerging evidence shows sedentary behaviour may be associated with mental health outcomes. Yet, the strength of the evidence linking sedentary behaviour and stress is still unclear. This study aimed to synthesise evidence regarding associations between time spent in sedentary behaviour and stress in adults. Methods: A systematic search was conducted (January 1990 – September 2019). Following PRISMA guidelines, an evaluation of methodological quality, and best-evidence synthesis of associations between time in sedentary behaviour (including sitting time, TV viewing, computer use) and stress were presented. Twenty-six studies reporting on data from n=72,795 people (age 18-98y, 62.7% women) were included. Results: Across the studies (n=2 strong-, n=10 moderate- and n=14 weak-quality), there was insufficient evidence that overall time spent in sedentary behaviour and sitting time were associated with stress, particularly when using self-report measures of sedentary behaviour or stress. There was strong evidence of no association between TV viewing, or computer use and stress. Amongst studies using objective measures of sedentary behaviour and/or stress there was also strong evidence of no association. Conclusion: Although previous research suggested sedentary behaviour may be linked to mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety, the evidence for an association between various types of sedentary behaviour and stress is limited in quality, and associations are either inconsistent or null. High-quality longitudinal/interventional research is required to confirm findings and determine the direction of associations between different contexts (i.e. purpose) and domains (i.e. leisure, occupational, transport) of sedentary behaviour and stress. Keywords: sedentary behaviour; sitting time; television viewing; stress; mental health; adults


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