Trial reportPloS one2014
Targeted prevention of common mental health disorders in university students: randomised controlled trial of a transdiagnostic trait-focused web-based intervention.
Trial report in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 39 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Moodbuster, a Guided Self-help Intervention for Prevention of Depression in Primary Care
Assessing Effectiveness of a Text-based Mental Health Coaching Application in Improving Mental Well-Being Among House Officers, IMU Faculty, IMU Corporate Staff and IMU Students in Malaysia
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 93 citations in OpenAlex.
- Magnitude of the Digital Placebo Effect and Its Moderators on Generalized Anxiety Symptoms: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Psychological wellbeing of Italian students and clinical assessment tools at university counseling services during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Pooled it
- Digital Mental Health Interventions for Depression, Anxiety, and Enhancement of Psychological Well-Being Among College Students: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2019Pooled it
- eHealth interventions for the prevention of depression and anxiety in the general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2017Pooled it
- A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Universal and Indicated Preventive Technology-Delivered Interventions for Higher Education Students.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2016Pooled it
- Skill Enactment Among University Students Using a Brief Video-Based Mental Health Intervention: Mixed Methods Study Within a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mental health · 2024Trial
- A Transdiagnostic Video-Based Internet Intervention (Uni Virtual Clinic-Lite) to Improve the Mental Health of University Students: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Trial
- Efficacy of an Internet- and Mobile-Based Intervention for Subclinical Anxiety and Depression (ICare Prevent) with Two Guidance Formats: Results from a Three-Armed Randomized Controlled Trial.Psychotherapy and psychosomatics · 2024Trial
- Web-based CBT for the prevention of anxiety symptoms among medical and health science graduate students.Cognitive behaviour therapy · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Transdiagnostic prevention in youth mental health, Part II: interventions.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Toward Digital Self-Monitoring of Mental Health in the General Population: Scoping Review of Existing Approaches to Self-Report Measurement.JMIR mental health · 2025Article
- UNIPDES - An internet-based transdiagnostic intervention for college students' psychological symptoms: Evaluation of its development, usability and effectiveness: Study protocol.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2025Article
- A comparison of the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural interventions based on delivery features for elevated symptoms of depression in adolescents: A systematic review.Campbell systematic reviews · 2024Review
- Understanding university students' attitudes and preferences for internet-based mental health interventions.Internet interventions · 2024Article
- Psychological Counseling among University Students Worldwide: A Systematic Review.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2023Review
- Reach and uptake of digital mental health interventions based on cognitive-behavioral therapy for college students: A systematic review.Journal of behavioral and cognitive therapy · 2023Article
- Influencing factors, prediction and prevention of depression in college students: A literature review.World journal of psychiatry · 2022Review
- Article
- Assessing Changes in Anxiety, Empowerment, Stigma and Wellbeing in Participants Attending an Online-Based Recovery College in Quebec During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Pre-Experimental Study.International journal of public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundA large proportion of university students show symptoms of common mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, substance use disorders and eating disorders. Novel interventions are required that target underlying factors of multiple disorders.
aimsTo evaluate the efficacy of a transdiagnostic trait-focused web-based intervention aimed at reducing symptoms of common mental disorders in university students.
methodStudents were recruited online (n=1047, age: M=21.8, SD=4.2) and categorised into being at high or low risk for mental disorders based on their personality traits. Participants were allocated to a cognitive-behavioural trait-focused (n=519) or a control intervention (n=528) using computerised simple randomisation. Both interventions were fully automated and delivered online (trial registration: ISRCTN14342225). Participants were blinded and outcomes were self-assessed at baseline, at 6 weeks and at 12 weeks after registration. Primary outcomes were current depression and anxiety, assessed on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9) and Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD7). Secondary outcome measures focused on alcohol use, disordered eating, and other outcomes.
resultsStudents at high risk were successfully identified using personality indicators and reported poorer mental health. A total of 520 students completed the 6-week follow-up and 401 students completed the 12-week follow-up. Attrition was high across intervention groups, but comparable to other web-based interventions. Mixed effects analyses revealed that at 12-week follow up the trait-focused intervention reduced depression scores by 3.58 (p<.001, 95%CI [5.19, 1.98]) and anxiety scores by 2.87 (p=.018, 95%CI [1.31, 4.43]) in students at high risk. In high-risk students, between group effect sizes were 0.58 (depression) and 0.42 (anxiety). In addition, self-esteem was improved. No changes were observed regarding the use of alcohol or disordered eating.
conclusionsThis study suggests that a transdiagnostic web-based intervention for university students targeting underlying personality risk factors may be a promising way of preventing common mental disorders with a low-intensity intervention.
trial registrationControlledTrials.com ISRCTN14342225.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.