The investigators examined whether brief, app-based interventions were helpful in alleviating mental health symptoms during the transition to college. In particular, the investigators were interested in whether a brief mobile-app mindfulness intervention combined with mood monitoring was more effective in alleviating first-year students' psychological distress than mood monitoring alone.
The transition to college is associated with worsening mental health symptoms. This study tested whether a brief mobile-app mindfulness intervention combined with mood monitoring was more effective in alleviating first-year students' psychological distress than mood monitoring alone. Participants were 130 first-year students. The investigators randomly assigned 88 students to a mindfulness-plus-mood-monitoring or a mood-monitoring-only group and asked them to use an app 3 times a day for 3 weeks. They, along with an assessment-only control group (n=42), completed self-report questionnaires at baseline, post-intervention, and 6 and 12 weeks later.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
130
mobile app that provides guided mindfulness exercises in addition to prompting for mood monitoring three times per day
mobile app that prompts for mood monitoring three times per day
Lawrence University
Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Depressive Symptoms
Beck Depression Inventory; higher scores indicate greater depression
Time frame: immediately after the intervention
Anxiety Symptoms
Beck Anxiety Inventory; higher scores indicate greater anxiety
Time frame: immediately after the intervention
Urges to Self-injure
Alexian Brothers Urges to Self-Injure scale; higher scores indicate greater urges
Time frame: immediately after the intervention
Rumination
Ruminative Response Scale; higher scores indicate higher rumination
Time frame: immediately after the intervention
Worry
Penn State Worry Questionnaire; higher scores indicate greater worry
Time frame: immediately after the intervention
Depressive Symptoms
Beck Depression Inventory; higher scores indicate greater depression
Time frame: 6 weeks following the intervention
Depressive Symptoms
Beck Depression Inventory; higher scores indicate greater depression
Time frame: 12 weeks following the intervention
Anxiety Symptoms
Beck Anxiety Inventory; higher scores indicate greater anxiety
Time frame: 6 weeks following the intervention
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Anxiety Symptoms
Beck Anxiety Inventory; higher scores indicate greater anxiety
Time frame: 12 weeks following the intervention
Urges to self-injure
Alexian Brothers Urges to Self-Injure scale; higher scores indicate greater urges
Time frame: 6 weeks following the intervention
Urges to self-injure
Alexian Brothers Urges to Self-Injure scale; higher scores indicate greater urges
Time frame: 12 weeks following the intervention
Rumination
Ruminative Response Scale; higher scores indicate higher rumination
Time frame: 6 weeks following the intervention
Rumination
Ruminative Response Scale; higher scores indicate higher rumination
Time frame: 12 weeks following the intervention
Worry
Penn State Worry Questionnaire; higher scores indicate greater worry
Time frame: 6 weeks following the intervention
Worry
Penn State Worry Questionnaire; higher scores indicate greater worry
Time frame: 12 weeks following the intervention