ReviewInternational journal of mental health systems2022
Effectiveness of relaxation techniques 'as an active ingredient of psychological interventions' to reduce distress, anxiety and depression in adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in International journal of mental health systems, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 4 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ranking psychological interventions for post-stroke depression: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Psychological medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Immersive Virtual Reality Interventions on Symptom Management in Patients With Gastrointestinal Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of relaxation techniques to reduce burden of disease in patients with psychotic disorders.Scientific reports · 2026Pooled it
- The World Health Organization's Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions: A Systematic Review on Current Evidence regarding Effectiveness and Implementation.Psychotherapy and psychosomatics · 2025Pooled it
- Virtual Reality Relaxation for Reducing Aggression and Emotional Distress in At-Risk Adolescents in Israeli Residential Care: A Feasibility Randomized Clinical Trial.Aggressive behavior · 2026Trial
- Applying an osteopathic intervention to improve mild to moderate mental health symptoms: a mixed-methods feasibility randomised trial.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2024Trial
- Implication of cognitive-behavioral stress management on anxiety, depression, and quality of life in acute myocardial infarction patients after percutaneous coronary intervention: a multicenter, randomized, controlled study.Irish journal of medical science · 2024Trial
- Relaxation interventions in neurological rehabilitation: a scoping review.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2026Article
- Baseline Depressive Symptoms and Heart Rate Variability Indices Predict HRV Biofeedback Outcomes in Young Adults with Depression.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2026Article
- Developmental stability and change in emotion regulation strategies and strategy repertoires across adolescence.Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence · 2026Article
- Use of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine in Berlin: baseline results from a substudy of the German National Cohort (NAKO).BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Swedish adolescents' mental well-being: the role of impulsivity, sleep, spirituality, and self-esteem.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Effect of Motion-Controlled Video Games-Based Virtual Reality Exercise on Patients with Post-COVID-19 Condition: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Exploring the role of resilience in selective prevention intervention for adolescents at risk of depression and anxiety in Nepal: findings from a pilot cluster randomized controlled trial.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2025Article
- Exploring the Barriers to and Facilitators of Using Virtual Reality Relaxation for Patients With Psychiatric Problems: Qualitative Focus Group Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of Frequency-Specific Microcurrent (FSM) Therapy and Relaxation in Adults with Distress: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Observational Study on Progressive Muscle Relaxation and Breathing Control for Reducing Dental Anxiety in Children.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Observational
- Beyond the pandemic: physical activity and health behaviors as predictors of well-being among Filipino tertiary students.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- A pilot randomized trial comparing face-to-face and internet-based unified transdiagnostic treatment for adolescents with anxiety and depressive disorders in Iran.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Managing Stress and Somatization Symptoms Among Students in Demanding Academic Healthcare Environments.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAdolescent depression and anxiety are among the leading contributors to health burden worldwide. 'Relaxation Techniques (RTs)' are a "set of strategies to improve physiological response to stress" and are frequently cited as an active ingredient of trans-diagnostic, psychosocial interventions for scaling-up care for preventing and treating these conditions in adolescents. However, there is a little evidence on the effectiveness of 'relaxation techniques' for this age group.
aimAs a part of the Wellcome Trust's Active Ingredients commission, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of RTs to reduce the symptoms of distress, anxiety and depression in young people, aged 14 to 24 years old, globally.
methodsWe searched 10 academic databases to include 65 Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) of relaxation-based interventions for young people with the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Primary outcomes were reduction in symptoms of distress, anxiety and/or depression. We employed the Cochrane risk of bias tool and GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations) guidelines to assess certainty of outcomes pertaining to anxiety, depression and distress. Standardized mean difference was estimated using effect size.
resultsThe analysis of 65 RCTs with 8009 young people showed that RTs were highly effective in treating anxiety (pooled effect size of (Standardized Mean Difference-SMD) - 0.54 (95% CI - 0.69 to - 0.40); moderately effective in reducing distress (SMD = - 0.48, 95% CI - 0.71 to - 0.24) and had only a weak effect on improving depression in young people (SMD = - 0.28 (95% CI - 0.40% to - 0.15). Face-to-face delivered relaxation techniques yielded higher effect size (SMD = - 0.47, 95% CI - 0.64 to - 0.30) compared to online delivery (SMD = - 0.22, 95% CI - 0.48 to 0.04) for anxiety.
conclusionMost of the included studies were from High Income Countries (HICs) and had a high risk of bias. Further high-quality studies with low risk of bias, especially from low resource settings are needed to evaluate the evidence for effectiveness of RTs as an active ingredient of psychological interventions to reduce the symptoms of distress, anxiety and depression in young people.
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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.