The DOI matches its Crossref record; 52 of the 52 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A randomized controlled trial on a smartphone self-help application (Be Good to Yourself) to reduce depressive symptoms
Open accessAbstract
Depressive symptoms are common, yet only a subgroup of individuals receive adequate treatment. To reduce the treatment gap, several online self-help programs have been developed, yielding small to moderate effects. We developed a smartphone self-help application addressing depressive symptoms. We sought to evaluate its feasibility and efficacy in participants reporting a subjective need for help (a diagnosis of depression was not mandatory). We conducted a randomized controlled trial (N = 90). The primary outcome was a reduction of depressive symptoms measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Secondary outcomes included improved self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale) and quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF). The intervention group obtained access to the application for four weeks, the wait-list group received access after the post assessment. No group differences emerged in either outcome in intention-to-treat analyses. Per protocol analyses with frequent users (i.e., several times a week or more) yielded a small effect size (η 2p = 0.049) at trend level on the reduction of depressive symptoms in favor of the treatment group. However, 39% of the participants did not use the application frequently. Mobile self-help applications represent a promising addition to existing treatments, but it is important to increase patients' motivation to use them.
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“Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have shown that app-based interventions can effectively improve depressive and anxiety symptoms compared with waiting list, alternative care, or control conditions [29-34].”
In the citing paper
“Ludtke et al [29] only offered self-reported app usage data”
From Digital Mental Health Interventions for Depression: Scoping Review of User Engagement (2022) · cites this paper as [29]
In the citing paper
“With the exception of Ludtke et al [29], all studies that reported on app usage indicated using backend data from the app to monitor app usage in the test condition(s).”
From Digital Mental Health Interventions for Depression: Scoping Review of User Engagement (2022) · cites this paper as [29]
In the citing paper
“The majority of these studies showed that participants who received intervention apps significantly improved their symptoms (depression, anxiety, etc) compared with the waiting list [18,175], alternative care [168], or control conditions [178,180].”
From Smartphone Apps for the Treatment of Mental Disorders: Systematic Review (2020) · cites this paper as [18]
Citations
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Metadata
- Authors
- Lüdtke, T., Pult, L. K., Schröder, J., Moritz, S., & Bücker, L.
- Affiliations
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Lüdtke, Thies
- Venue
- Psychiatry Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-11
- Volume
- 269
- Pages
- 753-762
- ISSN
- 0165-1781 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2889419542
- Cited by
- 122
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 52 · 2019: 8
- FWCI
- 24.28
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-nd
- www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
- Locations
- Psychiatry Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Mental Health Research Topics
- Keywords
- depressive symptoms, mobile mental health, self-esteem, quality of life, treatment gap, user engagement, PHQ-9
- MeSH terms
- Smartphone, Adult, Depression, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Quality of Life, Self Care, Self Concept, Self Report, Mobile Applications
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