ArticleJMIR formative research2026
Effectiveness and Usability of Digital Slow Breathing and Detached Mindfulness Interventions in Late Adolescents: Mixed Methods Study.
Article in JMIR formative research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Many adolescents experience elevated stress and anxiety; yet, access to effective psychological support is limited. Brief digital mental health interventions, such as slow breathing (SB) and detached mindfulness (DM), offer a potentially scalable approach to promoting emotion regulation in daily life. Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether 1 week of daily practice with a SB or DM intervention reduced stress, anxiety, and negative metacognitive beliefs in youth, and explored participants' experiences to inform the development of accessible, youth-tailored digital interventions. Methods: A mixed method approach was used, including quantitative and qualitative data. A total of 147 university students between 16 and 19 years old were randomly allocated to the DM (n=49), SB (n=49), or passive control group (n=49). Participants who were allocated to DM or SB practiced the intervention for 1 week. Stress, anxiety, and negative metacognitive beliefs were assessed at pre- and postintervention using self-report questionnaires. The quantitative data were analyzed with linear mixed-effects models, and we explored daily changes in intervention effect. After posttest, participants were invited to focus groups to evaluate their experience with the interventions (n=37). The qualitative data were analyzed with a content analysis. Results: Our results showed that a week-long DM intervention significantly reduced stress compared with the control condition. No other differences emerged for the main outcomes on pre- and postmeasurements. However, in the SB group, higher perceived usability was associated with greater reductions in stress. Qualitative findings showed that both interventions were viewed as calming, easy to use, and acceptable, while also highlighting challenges such as maintaining motivation and integrating the exercises into daily routines. Conclusions: This study provides early formative evidence that brief digital interventions such as SB and DM are feasible and usable, with preliminary indication that DM intervention may support short-term stress reduction. Future research should focus on enhancing motivation and sustained engagement to maximize the effectiveness of digital mental health tools for late adolescents.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.