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Cited by 31Digital Mental Health InterventionsAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesMental Health Treatment and Access

Teens engaged in collaborative health: The feasibility and acceptability of an online skill-building intervention for adolescents at risk for depression

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Lattie, Emily G., Ho, Joyce, Sargent, Elizabeth, Tomasino, Kathryn N., Smith, J.D., Brown, C. Hendricks, Mohr, David C.·2017·Internet Interventions
DOI 10.1016/j.invent.2017.02.003PMC PMC5456272
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Abstract

There is an ongoing need for effective and accessible preventive interventions for adolescent depression and substance abuse. This paper reports on a field trial of an online indicated preventive intervention, ProjectTECH, which is based on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques. The study aims to gather information about the feasibility and acceptability of this program. Secondary aims of this study were to examine the impact of the program on depression symptoms, perceived stress, positive affect, and substance use and to compare differences between groups that were led by a peer versus those that were led by a licensed clinician. High school students (n = 39) were recruited primarily through social media advertisements, and assigned to four groups of 8–12 individuals to collaboratively participate in an 8 week peer network-based online preventive intervention which were led by a trained peer guide or a licensed clinician. Participants were provided with didactic lessons, CBT-based mood management tools, and peer networking features, and completed quantitative and qualitative feedback at baseline, midpoint, end of intervention, and 1 month follow-up. The program attracted and retained users primarily from social media and was used frequently by many of the participants (system login M = 25.62, SD = 16.58). Participants rated the program as usable, and offered several suggestions for improving the program, including allowing for further personalization by the individual user, and including more prompts to engage with the social network. From baseline to end of intervention, significant decreases were observed in depressive symptoms and perceived stress (p's < 0.05). Significant increases in positive affect were observed from baseline to midpoint (p < 0.05) and no changes were observed in substance use, although the rate of substance use was low in this sample. While this study had low power to detect group differences, no consistent differences were observed between participants in a peer-led group and those in a clinician-led group. Results of this study indicate that ProjectTECH, an indicated preventive intervention for high school-aged adolescents, demonstrates both feasibility, acceptability, and short-term, longitudinal psychological benefits for participants. Future iterations of the program may benefit from close attention to user interface design and the continued use of trained peer support guides.

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  • Two other studies found that participants engaged more with an intervention if they were just starting treatment.

    “Two other studies found that participants engaged more with an intervention if they were just starting treatment [104,178].”

    From Barriers to and facilitators of user engagement with digital mental health interventions: Systematic review (2021) · cites this paper as [178]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) says ProjectTECH participants voluntarily joined and were likely more motivated; it also reports higher program use in a separate indicated prevention program than in the school-based programs discussed. It does not compare people just starting treatment with those already in treatment, so it cannot establish that treatment timing increased engagement. (LLM, conf=0.78)

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1 of the 64 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

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  1. Cohen S. Williamson G. Perceived stress in a probability sample of the US Spacapam S. Oskamp S. The Social Psychology of Health: Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology 1988 Sage Newbury Park, CA 31 67

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Authors
Lattie, E. G., Ho, J., Sargent, E., Tomasino, K. N., Smith, J. D., Brown, C. H., & Mohr, D. C.
Affiliations
Northwestern University (US)
Corresponding author
Mohr, David C.
ORCID
Venue
Internet Interventions
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2017-06
Volume
8
Pages
15-26
ISSN
2214-7829 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.invent.2017.02.003
PMC
PMC5456272
OpenAlex
W2591973544
Cited by
31
References
64
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 6
FWCI
4.38
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Internet Interventions (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (P20 MH090318)
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 › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
Keywords
adolescent depression, cognitive behavioral therapy, peer-led intervention, mood management, perceived stress, positive affect, substance use, high school students, feasibility and acceptability, user interface design, social media recruitment

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