Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32683737›Full record

Trial reportJournal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines2020

A randomised controlled trial of a relationship-focussed mobile phone application for improving adolescents' mental health.

Bridianne O'Dea, Jin Han, Philip J Batterham, Melinda R Achilles, Alison L Calear, Aliza Werner-Seidler, Belinda Parker, Fiona Shand, Helen Christensen

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
41citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

41 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Bridianne O'DeaBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Jin HanBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Philip J BatterhamCenter for Mental Health Research, Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Melinda R AchillesBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Alison L CalearCenter for Mental Health Research, Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Aliza Werner-SeidlerBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Belinda ParkerBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Fiona ShandBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Helen ChristensenBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis study evaluated the acceptability and effectiveness of a relationship-focussed mobile phone application (WeClick) for improving depressive symptoms and other mental health outcomes in adolescents.

methodsA randomised controlled trial involving 193 youth (M age: 14.82, SD: 0.94, 86.5% female) from Australia was conducted. Youth were recruited via the Internet and randomly allocated to the intervention or a 4-week wait list control condition, stratified for age and gender. The primary outcome was change in depressive symptom scores measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire for Adolescents (PHQ-A) at baseline, 4-week post-test and 12-week follow-up. Secondary outcomes included anxiety, psychological distress, wellbeing, help-seeking intentions for mental health, social self-efficacy and social support. Participants in the intervention condition received access to the intervention for four weeks. Thematic analysis was utilised to identify and examine acceptability.

resultsThe change in PHQ-A scores from baseline to 4-week post-test did not differ significantly (d = 0.26, p = .138) between the intervention (Mchange = -2.9, SD = 5.3) and wait list control conditions (Mchange = -1.7, SD = 4.3). However, significant between-group improvements were observed in wellbeing (d = 0.37, p = .023), help-seeking intentions (d = 0.36, p = .016) and professional help-seeking intentions for mental health problems (d = 0.36, p = .008). Increases in help-seeking intentions were sustained at follow-up in the intervention condition. No differential effects were found for generalised anxiety, separation anxiety, social self-efficacy or for any social support outcomes. Over 90% of participants indicated the app was enjoyable, interesting and easy to use. The app provided 'advice and direction' (n = 42; 46.15%), an 'opportunity for self-reflection' (n = 33; 36.3%) and 'normalised experiences' (n = 21; 23.1%).

conclusionsThe WeClick app was found to be effective for improving wellbeing and help-seeking intentions for mental health in adolescents. A larger, adequately powered trial is now required to establish differential effects on depressive symptoms. This trial was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR): ACTRN12618001982202.

Indexed as

Cell PhoneInterpersonal RelationsMental HealthMobile ApplicationsPsychology, AdolescentAdolescentAnxietyAustraliaFemaleHumansMalePsychological DistressSelf EfficacySocial SupportAdolescencedepressione-healthmental healthrelationships

Identifiers

PMID32683737
PMCPMC7496128

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.