Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41195498›Full record

ReviewBJPsych open2025

Self-directed digital interventions for the improvement of emotion regulation - acceptability and feasibility for adolescents: systematic review.

Abigail Thomson, Erin Lawrence, Enxhi Sharxhi, Bonamy Oliver, Ben Wright, Georgina Hosang

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in BJPsych open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Mood Monitoring in Schools: A Promising Alternative to Single-Time-Point Screening.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026
    Article
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

6 authors.

Abigail ThomsonCentre for Psychiatry and Mental Health, https://ror.org/026zzn846Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5322-8488
Erin LawrenceCentre for Psychiatry and Mental Health, https://ror.org/026zzn846Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, UK.
Enxhi SharxhiUCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK.
Bonamy OliverUCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK.
Ben WrightEast London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0551-3473
Georgina HosangCentre for Psychiatry and Mental Health, https://ror.org/026zzn846Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4683-3636

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn-person, therapist-supported interventions targeting emotion regulation have been shown to improve the mental health of adolescents. Increasingly, self-directed digital interventions (e.g. mobile apps) are being developed as a cost-effective, scalable solution to widen access to support. However, evidence of the acceptability and feasibility of these interventions has yet to be synthesised.

aimsTo identify existing evidence on the benefits, acceptability and feasibility of self-directed digital interventions that target emotion regulation in adolescents (aged 11-18 years).

methodA Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)-guided systematic review was conducted to identify studies published from 1 January 2010 to 13 November 2024 investigating self-directed digital emotion regulation interventions for adolescents. A total of ten electronic databases were searched (e.g. PsycInfo). Data on the effects, and perceived acceptability, of the interventions were extracted, with results narratively synthesised. Methodological quality was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment tool.

resultsSix out of 9049 studies met the eligibility criteria and included preliminary evidence on self-directed digital interventions that target emotion regulation, in a pooled sample of 1271 adolescents. All interventions identified were brief (most <1 month) and included different components to target emotion regulation (e.g. mindfulness, mood monitoring). Most interventions demonstrated benefits for emotion regulation and were acceptable for use by an adolescent population.

conclusionsAlthough the evidence base was small, the included studies demonstrate preliminary evidence of the benefits and acceptability of self-directed, digital interventions for emotion regulation in adolescents. Future research should focus on approaches beyond mindfulness, including components to target the related skills required to access emotion regulation strategies (e.g. emotional awareness) and use them flexibly.

Indexed as

child and adolescent psychiatrydigital interventionseHealthEmotion regulationevidence-based mental health

Identifiers

PMID41195498
PMCPMC12641403

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.