Technology Assisted Programs That Promote Mental Health for Teenagers

N/ACompletedNCT01912729

Northwestern University40 enrolled

Overview

The mission of this project is to develop novel systems of care that can provide efficacious, scalable, cost-effective, participant friendly behavioral intervention technologies (BITs) for the prevention of depression in adolescents. The investigators define BITs as interventions that use information and telecommunications technologies such as the internet, mobile or traditional phones, computers and/or other technologies to support and deliver psychological and behavioral interventions. Through usability testing, focus interviews, and field trials, investigators may modify the technologies and intervention based on immediate usage data.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Depression

Interventions

Networked Peer Support with Peer GuideBEHAVIORAL

Participants will have access to tools and lessons based on Cognitive Behavior Therapy through a web application that can be accessed on a smartphone or computer. Additionally, participants will have access to a private social network that connects them with other participants in the study. Participants will be supported by a peer guide. The peer guide will be another high school student around the same age as participants.

Networked Peer Support with Clinician CoachBEHAVIORAL

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 14 YearsMax age: 19 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Has a score of 12-39 (males) / 15-39 (females) on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) OR reported past month use of marijuana, cigarettes, alcohol or other substances on the Center for Disease Control Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). * Is familiar with the use of computers and the Internet, as well as mobile phones * Is able to speak and read English * Is between 14-19 years of age Exclusion Criteria: * Is currently taking an antidepressant medication or has taken one in the previous 3 months * Has visual, hearing, voice, or motor impairment that would prevent completion of study procedures or use of the Internet or mobile phone * Is diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, dissociative disorder, current substance dependence, or other diagnosis for which participation in this trial is either inappropriate or dangerous. Inclusion of participants with symptoms of anxiety disorders, eating disorders and substance abuse disorders will be made on a case-by-case basis. * Is severely suicidal (has ideation, plan, and intent in the past 12 months) .

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Program Logins Per Participant by Week.

Program usage data were examined by number of logins per participant by week. Participants in the study tended to access the program multiple times and explored the program tools.

Time frame: Weeks 1-8

USE (Usefulness, Satisfaction and Ease of Use) Questionnaire

A modified version of the Usefulness, Satisfaction and Ease of use questionnaire (USE; Lund, 2001) was used, particularly regarding the participants' relationships with the peer network. The USE questionnaire is a 19 item measure of usability with 4 subscales: Usefulness, Ease of Learning, Ease of Use, and Satisfaction. The items are rated on 7 point Likert rating scales, with 1 = Strongly disagree to 7 = Strongly agree. Lund, A.M., 2001. Measuring Usability with the USE Questionnaire.

Time frame: Week 4 and Week 8

SUS (System Usability Scale) Questionnaire

The SUS questionnaire is a 10 item measure that assesses usability, acceptability and satisfaction; each item has five response options for respondents, from 1 = Strongly disagree to 5 = Strongly agree. The participant's scores for each question are converted to a new number, added together and then multiplied by 2.5 to convert the original scores of 0-40 to 0-100. Specifically, for odd items: subtract one from the user response. For even-numbered items: subtract the user responses from 5. This scales all values from 0 to 4 (with four being the most positive response). Add up the converted responses for each user and multiply that total by 2.5. This converts the range of possible values from 0 to 100 instead of from 0 to 40. A SUS score above a 68 would be considered above average and anything below 68 is below average.