The DOI matches its Crossref record; 67 of the 68 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Computerised therapies for anxiety and depression in children and young people: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Open accessAbstract
One quarter of children and young people (CYP) experience anxiety and/or depression before adulthood, but treatment is sometimes unavailable or inadequate. Self-help interventions may have a role in augmenting treatment and this work aimed to systematically review the evidence for computerised anxiety and depression interventions in CYP aged 5-25 years old. Databases were searched for randomised controlled trials and 27 studies were identified. For young people (12-25 years) with risk of diagnosed anxiety disorders or depression, computerised CBT (cCBT) had positive effects for symptoms of anxiety (SMD -0.77, 95% CI -1.45 to -0.09, k = 6, N = 220) and depression (SMD -0.62, 95% CI -1.13 to -0.11, k = 7, N = 279). In a general population study of young people, there were small positive effects for anxiety (SMD -0.15, 95% CI -0.26 to -0.03; N = 1273) and depression (SMD -0.15, 95% CI -0.26 to -0.03; N = 1280). There was uncertainty around the effectiveness of cCBT in children (5-11 years). Evidence for other computerised interventions was sparse and inconclusive. Computerised CBT has potential for treating and preventing anxiety and depression in clinical and general populations of young people. Further program development and research is required to extend its use and establish its benefit in children.
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“Furthermore, computerized CBT, such as MoodGym, SPARX, and “Think, Feel, Do” generally have small but positive effects on mental health.96 , 97”
From Rapid Systematic Review: The Impact of Social Isolation and Loneliness on the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in the Context of COVID-19 (2020) · cites this paper as [96]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Importantly, reviews have tended to conclude that effects are better if there is some therapist input97 , 101 and if parents are involved especially for younger children.96 , 97”
From Rapid Systematic Review: The Impact of Social Isolation and Loneliness on the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in the Context of COVID-19 (2020) · cites this paper as [96]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the citing paper
“The efficacy of DHIPSY for some common mental disorders in children and adolescents has been established using meta-analyses [12,16-19].”
From Mechanisms of Change in Digital Health Interventions for Mental Disorders in Youth: Systematic Review (2021) · cites this paper as [17]
In the citing paper
“In the past 5 years, a number of literature reviews have highlighted the increase in research and development activities for eMental healthcare technologies for children and adolescents [18-22].”
From eMental Healthcare Technologies for Anxiety and Depression in Childhood and Adolescence: Systematic Review of Studies Reporting Implementation Outcomes (2018) · cites this paper as [21]
In the citing paper
“Most importantly, DMH tools do not remotely approximate the level of attractiveness and interactivity to which young “digital natives” have grown accustomed [17,32,43].”
From Use of the Principles of Design Thinking to Address Limitations of Digital Mental Health Interventions for Youth: Viewpoint (2019) · cites this paper as [32]
In the citing paper
“However, analyses comparing DMH interventions for both anxiety and depression with active nontherapeutic controls have generally failed to show superiority of DMH interventions [31,32].”
From Use of the Principles of Design Thinking to Address Limitations of Digital Mental Health Interventions for Youth: Viewpoint (2019) · cites this paper as [32]
In the citing paper
“In contrast, Pennant and colleagues [32] showed that face-to-face CBT was more effective than DMH interventions.”
From Use of the Principles of Design Thinking to Address Limitations of Digital Mental Health Interventions for Youth: Viewpoint (2019) · cites this paper as [32]
In the citing paper
“In the understandable and commendable effort to remain “evidence-based,” most DMH interventions for youth are a little-more-than modified and uploaded CBT manuals and workbooks (eg, MoodGym, Cool Kids, Camp Cope-a-lot, and BRAVE; for a review discussing the evidence base of these DMH interventions, see [32,44]).”
From Use of the Principles of Design Thinking to Address Limitations of Digital Mental Health Interventions for Youth: Viewpoint (2019) · cites this paper as [32]
In the citing paper
“Furthermore, problems such as insufficient search processes of the literature, small sample sizes, differences at baseline in study samples, and publication bias play important roles in the quality of these studies [32,39].”
From Use of the Principles of Design Thinking to Address Limitations of Digital Mental Health Interventions for Youth: Viewpoint (2019) · cites this paper as [32]
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Citations
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“However, there is evidence that many children and young people with anxiety disorders and depression do not receive evidence-based treatment (Kataoka, Zhang, &Wells, 2002; Merikangas, He, Brody, et al., 2010; Stallard, Udwin, Goddard, & Hibbert, 2007; Wang et al., 2007).”
BackgroundUnmet Need for Mental Health Care Among U.S. Children: Variation by Ethnicity and Insurance Status
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Loades, M. E., Chatburn, E., Higson-Sweeney, N., Reynolds, S., Shafran, R., Brigden, A., Linney, C., McManus, M. N., Borwick, C., & Crawley, E. (2020) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2020.05.009 · Cited by 2,906
“Furthermore, computerized CBT, such as MoodGym, SPARX, and “Think, Feel, Do” generally have small but positive effects on mental health.(96,97) Although mobile applications for mental health have been found to be generally acceptable to children and adolescents, there is a lack of convincing evidence of effectiveness…”
BackgroundMethodMental Health Smartphone Apps: Review and Evidence-Based Recommendations for Future Developments
Bakker, D., Kazantzis, N., Rickwood, D., & Rickard, N. (2016) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/mental.4984 · Cited by 886
“Similar findings for CCBT’s efficacy have emerged from meta-analyses that have focused on anxiety [47], depression [48], and its use with young people [49].”
Hollis, C., Falconer, C. J., Martin, J. L., Whittington, C., Stockton, S., Glazebrook, C., & Davies, E. B. (2017) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.12663 · Cited by 846
“The effects of DHIs on anxiety and depression outcomes were greater in adolescents and young adults than in children (Ebert et al., 2015; Pennant et al., 2015; Podina et al., 2016).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSelf-citationCognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents
James, A. C., James, G., Cowdrey, F. A., Soler, A., & Choke, A. (2015) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd004690.pub4 · Cited by 876
Mental Health Mobile Apps for Preadolescents and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.
Grist, R., Porter, J., & Stallard, P. (2017) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.7332 · Cited by 518
“The Mayo Clinic Anxiety Coach was the only app describing an active “treatment” component (ie, exposure and response prevention) although a further eight provided “coping strategies” and skills practice (eg, meditation, dialectical behavioral therapy [DBT] skills, and CBT techniques).”
BackgroundInfluential
Metadata
- Authors
- Pennant, M. E., Loucas, C. E., Whittington, C., Creswell, C., Fonagy, P., Fuggle, P., Kelvin, R., Naqvi, S., Stockton, S., & Kendall, T.
- Affiliations
- Royal College of Psychiatrists (GB)
- University College London (GB)
- University of Reading (GB)
- Anna Freud Centre (GB)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Pennant, Mary E.
- Venue
- Behaviour Research and Therapy
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-04
- Volume
- 67
- Pages
- 1-18
- ISSN
- 0005-7967 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1985615249
- Cited by
- 269
- References
- 68
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 34 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 7
- FWCI
- 3.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- discovery.ucl.ac.uk
- Locations
- Behaviour Research and Therapy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Department of Health and Social Care
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- computerized cognitive behavioral therapy, childhood anxiety, adolescent depression, children and young people, self-help intervention, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, prevention of mental disorders
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety Disorders, Child, Child, Preschool, Computers, Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Treatment Outcome, Internet, Young Adult, Mobile Applications
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