Effectiveness of Mobile App-Based Psychological Interventions for College Students: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Serious mental health disorders are increasing among college students and university counseling services are often overburdened. Mobile applications for mental health have been growing exponentially in the last decade and they are emerging in university settings as a promising tool to promote and in...
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doaj-c21d6002322549ac82adb256aadce3862021-05-11T05:14:25ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782021-05-011210.3389/fpsyg.2021.647606647606Effectiveness of Mobile App-Based Psychological Interventions for College Students: A Systematic Review of the LiteratureCarla Oliveira0Anabela Pereira1Paula Vagos2Catarina Nóbrega3José Gonçalves4Beatriz Afonso5Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, PortugalDepartment of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, PortugalDepartment of Psychology and Education, Portucalense Institute for Human Development (INPP), Universidade Portucalense, Porto, PortugalDepartment of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, PortugalDepartment of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, PortugalDepartment of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, PortugalSerious mental health disorders are increasing among college students and university counseling services are often overburdened. Mobile applications for mental health have been growing exponentially in the last decade and they are emerging in university settings as a promising tool to promote and intervene in college students' mental health. Additionally, considering the recent covid-19 pandemic, mHealth interventions, due to its nature and possibilities, may play an important role in these institutions. Our main objectives are to explore mhealth interventions in universities, regarding its conceptual framework, acceptability and efficacy outcomes and understand its impact and contributions to address treatment delivery and psychological difficulties resulting from covid-19 pandemic. The literature search was conducted in scientific databases, namely, Web of Science, Pubmed, and Scopus. A search in app stores was not conducted, thus regarding commercially available apps, only those found in our database search were included in our review. We selected studies with mobile applications addressing psychological interventions for college students. A total of 2,158 participants were included in the 8 selected studies and most interventions were delivered through mobile apps only and based in cognitive behavioral therapy. Results suggested that college students accept and adhere to these interventions and preliminary evidence of efficacy was demonstrated in different disorders, such as stress, anxiety, depression and risky behaviors such as alcohol and tobacco abuse and sexual knowledge. We conclude that universities, particularly college counseling services, may benefit from mhealth interventions, not only to address college students' mental health but to decrease some of its difficulties related to lack of human resources. Specifically in covid-19 pandemic context, these interventions may contribute significantly by promoting and delivering psychological interventions at a safe distance.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647606/fullcollege studentsmental healthmHealthcognitive-behavioral therapycounseling services |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Carla Oliveira Anabela Pereira Paula Vagos Catarina Nóbrega José Gonçalves Beatriz Afonso |
spellingShingle |
Carla Oliveira Anabela Pereira Paula Vagos Catarina Nóbrega José Gonçalves Beatriz Afonso Effectiveness of Mobile App-Based Psychological Interventions for College Students: A Systematic Review of the Literature Frontiers in Psychology college students mental health mHealth cognitive-behavioral therapy counseling services |
author_facet |
Carla Oliveira Anabela Pereira Paula Vagos Catarina Nóbrega José Gonçalves Beatriz Afonso |
author_sort |
Carla Oliveira |
title |
Effectiveness of Mobile App-Based Psychological Interventions for College Students: A Systematic Review of the Literature |
title_short |
Effectiveness of Mobile App-Based Psychological Interventions for College Students: A Systematic Review of the Literature |
title_full |
Effectiveness of Mobile App-Based Psychological Interventions for College Students: A Systematic Review of the Literature |
title_fullStr |
Effectiveness of Mobile App-Based Psychological Interventions for College Students: A Systematic Review of the Literature |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effectiveness of Mobile App-Based Psychological Interventions for College Students: A Systematic Review of the Literature |
title_sort |
effectiveness of mobile app-based psychological interventions for college students: a systematic review of the literature |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Psychology |
issn |
1664-1078 |
publishDate |
2021-05-01 |
description |
Serious mental health disorders are increasing among college students and university counseling services are often overburdened. Mobile applications for mental health have been growing exponentially in the last decade and they are emerging in university settings as a promising tool to promote and intervene in college students' mental health. Additionally, considering the recent covid-19 pandemic, mHealth interventions, due to its nature and possibilities, may play an important role in these institutions. Our main objectives are to explore mhealth interventions in universities, regarding its conceptual framework, acceptability and efficacy outcomes and understand its impact and contributions to address treatment delivery and psychological difficulties resulting from covid-19 pandemic. The literature search was conducted in scientific databases, namely, Web of Science, Pubmed, and Scopus. A search in app stores was not conducted, thus regarding commercially available apps, only those found in our database search were included in our review. We selected studies with mobile applications addressing psychological interventions for college students. A total of 2,158 participants were included in the 8 selected studies and most interventions were delivered through mobile apps only and based in cognitive behavioral therapy. Results suggested that college students accept and adhere to these interventions and preliminary evidence of efficacy was demonstrated in different disorders, such as stress, anxiety, depression and risky behaviors such as alcohol and tobacco abuse and sexual knowledge. We conclude that universities, particularly college counseling services, may benefit from mhealth interventions, not only to address college students' mental health but to decrease some of its difficulties related to lack of human resources. Specifically in covid-19 pandemic context, these interventions may contribute significantly by promoting and delivering psychological interventions at a safe distance. |
topic |
college students mental health mHealth cognitive-behavioral therapy counseling services |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647606/full |
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