SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2021
Smartphone-Based Interventions and Internalizing Disorders in Youth: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Updates on digital mental health interventions for children and young people: systematic overview of reviews.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- The Acceptability, Engagement, and Feasibility of Mental Health Apps for Marginalized and Underserved Young People: Systematic Review and Qualitative Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- Mobile applications in adolescent psychotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Determination of Markers of Successful Implementation of Mental Health Apps for Young People: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Pooled it
- A multilevel meta-analysis of passive smartphone sensing of adolescent mental health.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- The Impact of a Technology-Assisted, Two-Month Breathing Exercise Intervention on Daily Affect, Weekly Stress and Examinational Stress.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Incentivising participation in mental health app research: lessons learned from a mixed methods randomised controlled trial.BJPsych open · 2025Article
- The Use of Mobile Apps in Adolescent Psychotherapy: Assessment of Psychotherapists' Perspectives.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- A Conceptual Model Depicting How Children Are Affected by Parental Cancer: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Approach.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Attending to the Mental Health of People Who Are Homeless by Mobile Telephone Follow-Up: A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Protocol for a randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a CBT-based smartphone application for improving mental health outcomes in adolescents: the MobiliseMe study.BMC psychiatry · 2022Article
- The Impact of Mobile Technology-Delivered Interventions on Youth Well-being: Systematic Review and 3-Level Meta-analysis.JMIR mental health · 2022Review
- Internet-Based Prevention Program of Victimization for Youth in Care and Care Leavers (EMPOWER YOUTH): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2022Article
- Anxiety-like behavior and anxiolytic treatment in the Rett syndrome natural history study.Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders · 2022Article
- Facilitating improvements in young people's social relationships to prevent or treat depression: there's an app for that.Translational psychiatry · 2021Article
- Effectiveness of internet-delivered psychological treatments for children and adolescents with anxiety and/or depressive disorders: Systematic review and network meta-analysis.International journal of clinical and health psychology : IJCHPArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMental health disorders in youth are a global issue that have important implications for the future quality of life and morbidity of affected individuals. In the context of public health initiatives, smartphone-based interventions have been suggested to hold the potential to be an effective strategy to reduce the symptoms of mental health disorders in youth; however, further evaluation is needed to confirm their effectiveness. This systematic review and meta-analysis documents and synthesizes existing research on smartphone-based interventions targeting internalizing disorders in youth populations.
objectiveThis study aims to synthesize existing research on smartphone-based interventions targeting internalizing disorders in youth populations.
methodsPubMed and SCOPUS were searched in 2019, and 4334 potentially relevant articles were found. A total of 12 studies were included in the final synthesis. We used the Hedges g meta-analysis approach and a random effects model for analysis.
resultsThe results of this review note that depression and anxiety are the most commonly targeted symptoms, and unlike other similar topics, most studies reviewed were linked to a proven treatment. The overall pooled effect from the meta-analysis showed small but significant effects (κ=12; N=1370; Hedges g=0.20; 95% CI 0.02-0.38) for interventions in reducing the symptoms of internalizing disorders. In total, 4 subgroup analyses examining specific symptoms and intervention styles found varied small significant and nonsignificant effects.
conclusionsFuture research should focus on developing robust evaluative frameworks and examining interventions among more diverse populations and settings. More robust research is needed before smartphone-based interventions are scaled up and used at the population level to address youth internalizing disorders.
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Registered trials
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