Effectiveness of Mobile App-Based Psychological Interventions for College Students: A Systematic Review of the Literature
| Autor: | Beatriz Afonso, Paula Vagos, Anabela Pereira, Catarina Nóbrega, José Gonçalves, Carla Oliveira |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
050103 clinical psychology
020205 medical informatics cognitive-behavioral therapy medicine.medical_treatment Psychological intervention Context (language use) 02 engineering and technology 0202 electrical engineering electronic engineering information engineering medicine Psychology 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Human resources mHealth General Psychology Medical education business.industry 05 social sciences college students Mental health BF1-990 Cognitive behavioral therapy Conceptual framework counseling services Anxiety Systematic Review medicine.symptom business mental health |
| Zdroj: | Frontiers in Psychology, Vol 12 (2021) Frontiers in Psychology |
| ISSN: | 1664-1078 |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647606/full |
| Popis: | Serious mental health disorders are increasing among college students and university counseling services are often overburdened. Mobile applications for mental health have been growing exponentially in the last decade and they are emerging in university settings as a promising tool to promote and intervene in college students' mental health. Additionally, considering the recent covid-19 pandemic, mHealth interventions, due to its nature and possibilities, may play an important role in these institutions. Our main objectives are to explore mhealth interventions in universities, regarding its conceptual framework, acceptability and efficacy outcomes and understand its impact and contributions to address treatment delivery and psychological difficulties resulting from covid-19 pandemic. The literature search was conducted in scientific databases, namely, Web of Science, Pubmed, and Scopus. A search in app stores was not conducted, thus regarding commercially available apps, only those found in our database search were included in our review. We selected studies with mobile applications addressing psychological interventions for college students. A total of 2,158 participants were included in the 8 selected studies and most interventions were delivered through mobile apps only and based in cognitive behavioral therapy. Results suggested that college students accept and adhere to these interventions and preliminary evidence of efficacy was demonstrated in different disorders, such as stress, anxiety, depression and risky behaviors such as alcohol and tobacco abuse and sexual knowledge. We conclude that universities, particularly college counseling services, may benefit from mhealth interventions, not only to address college students' mental health but to decrease some of its difficulties related to lack of human resources. Specifically in covid-19 pandemic context, these interventions may contribute significantly by promoting and delivering psychological interventions at a safe distance. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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