ArticleJMIR formative research2022
Efficacy of the Mental Health App Intellect to Reduce Stress: Randomized Controlled Trial With a 1-Month Follow-up.
Article in JMIR formative research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04978896 (Can a Self-guided Program on a Mobile Application Improve Wellbeing and Stress Coping? - A Randomized Controlled Trial), which is not on this map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Can a Self-guided Program on a Mobile Application Improve Wellbeing and Stress Coping? - A Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- The intervention effect of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy on anxiety, depression, and stress in college students: a systematic review and meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Assessing the Efficacy of the INTELLECT Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Mobile App for Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms Among At-Risk Japanese Employees: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Trial
- Efficacy of the mHealth App Intellect in Improving Subclinical Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in University Students: Randomized Controlled Trial With a 4-Week Follow-Up.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2024Trial
- A "growth mindset of mental health" intervention increases the likelihood of initiating self-help on a mental health app: a randomized controlled trial.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Digital psychotherapeutic interventions to reduce dermatological symptom burden: Development and testing of MindMySkin.JAAD international · 2026Article
- Supporting Mental Health with Apps: A Systematic Review of Potential and Quality of Implemented Behavior Change Techniques in Mobile Health Applications.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2026Review
- How do we know that they actually use it? Exploring measures of adherence to stress management strategies in university students: A systematic review.Internet interventions · 2025Review
- Article
- The role of self-efficacy in internet-based interventions for mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Internet interventions · 2025Review
- Digital Mental Health Interventions for Young People Aged 16-25 Years: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- The economic burden of anxiety and depression in Indonesia: evidence from a cross-sectional web panel survey.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Applying Digital Technology to Understand Human Experiences of Climate Change Impacts on Food Security and Mental Health: Scoping Review.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Article
- Mobile Behavioral Health Coaching as a Preventive Intervention for Occupational Public Health: Retrospective Longitudinal Study.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Efficacy of a Text-Based Mental Health Coaching App in Improving the Symptoms of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Efficacy of Intellect's self-guided anxiety and worry mobile health programme: A randomized controlled trial with an active control and a 2-week follow-up.PLOS digital health · 2023Article
- Effective elements of eHealth interventions for mental health and well-being in children and adolescents: A systematic review.Digital healthReview
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundExcessive stress is a major global health concern, particularly in young adults. Short skills-focused self-guided interventions (SGIs) on smartphones are a scalable way to improve stress-coping skills at the population level.
objectiveIn this randomized controlled trial, we aimed to examine the possible efficacy of a recently developed stress-coping SGI (Intellect) in improving psychological distress, relative to an active control group and 2 potential moderators of this predicted relationship (ie, psychological mindedness [PM] and coping self-efficacy [CSE]).
methodsUniversity students (N=321) were randomly assigned to either an 8-day SGI on stress-coping or an active control group. Self-reported measures were obtained at baseline, after the intervention, and at the 1-month follow-up. The primary outcome was psychological stress (Psychological Stress Measure-9). Secondary outcomes were anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7) and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9). PM and CSE were assessed as potential moderators at baseline.
resultsThe final sample (n=264) included 188 (71.2%) female, 66 (25%) male, 7 (2.7%) nonbinary, and 3 (1.1%) others participants with a mean age of 22.5 (SD 5.41) years. The intervention group reported significantly lower perceived stress (partial eta-squared [ηp
conclusionsThis study provides evidence that the Intellect stress-coping SGI is effective in reducing perceived stress and anxiety levels among university students. Mobile health apps are brief, scalable, and can make important contributions to public mental health.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04978896; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04978896.
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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.