Digital phenotyping is a promising method for advancing scalable detection and prediction methods in mental health research and practice. However, little is known about how digital phenotyping data are used to make inferences about youth mental health. We conducted a scoping review of 35 studies to better understand how passive sensing (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Anxiety and depressive disorders typically emerge in adolescence and can be chronic and disabling if not identified and treated early. School-based universal mental health screening may identify young people in need of mental health support and facilitate access to treatment. However, few studies have assessed the potential harms of this approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFScreening for psychological distress may assist in identifying at-risk adolescents. While several measures of adolescent psychological distress have been used, most have limited or suboptimal psychometric properties. This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Distress Questionnaire-5 (DQ5), a brief measure of psychological distress, in a large community-based sample of adolescents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This study aimed to examine the impact of a web-based positive psychology program delivered universally to secondary school students during school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales, Australia.
Methods: Using a quasi-experimental design conducted in 2020, 438 students aged 12-15 years (73% male) from 4 secondary schools were invited to complete the 'Bite Back Mental Fitness Challenge'. This web-based program consisted of 7 self-directed modules that targeted 5 key domains of positive psychology.
Background: Mental disorders are prevalent during adolescence. Among the digital phenotypes currently being developed to monitor mental health symptoms, typing behavior is one promising candidate. However, few studies have directly assessed associations between typing behavior and mental health symptom severity, and whether these relationships differs between genders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Rates of depression are increasing among adolescents. A novel way to reduce depression is by improving sleep. We evaluated whether an app-based intervention for insomnia improved sleep and depression, and whether changes in insomnia mediated changes in depression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: This paper outlines a systematic review and meta-analyses to identify, describe, and evaluate randomised and non-randomised controlled trials of psychological programs targeting the mental health, professional burnout, and/or wellbeing of school classroom teachers. Eighty-eight unique studies were identified for inclusion in the review, and of those 46 were included in the meta-analyses (23 randomised controlled trials). In randomised controlled trials, the programs examined had large effects on stress (=0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) services for common mental health disorders have been found to be effective. There is a need for strategies that improve implementation in routine practice. One-size-fits-all strategies are likely to be ineffective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Digital, self-guided cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions circumvent many barriers to in-person therapy for young people (aged 12-24 years), although adherence to these interventions is low. The absence or insufficient disclosure of recommendations or instructions for appropriate use may account for this. As such, many young people may not self-administer these interventions appropriately or receive the optimal degree of treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Traditional face-to-face cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been successful at reducing fear of falling (FOF) in older people but can be labour-intensive and costly. Online CBT has been suggested as a cost-effective alternative but has not yet been tested in the context of FOF. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a readily available, self-guided and generalised online CBT program (myCompass) on reducing FOF in older people.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Mood disorders are burdensome illnesses that often go undetected and untreated. Sensor technologies within smartphones may provide an opportunity for identifying the early changes in circadian rhythm and social support/connectedness that signify the onset of a depressive or manic episode.
Objective: Using smartphone sensor data, this study investigated the relationship between circadian rhythm, which was determined by GPS data, and symptoms of mental health among a clinical sample of adults diagnosed with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder.
Background: Secondary schools are increasingly supporting adolescents' mental health and well-being, yet many teachers report that they lack the skills and confidence to do so. Building Educators' skills in Adolescent Mental Health (BEAM) is a web-based training program developed to improve secondary school teachers' knowledge and confidence in caring for students' mental health.
Objective: This pilot study examined the preliminary effectiveness and acceptability of the BEAM program for improving mental health knowledge, attitudes, confidence, helping behaviors, and psychological distress among secondary school teachers.
Depression and anxiety are often first experienced during childhood and adolescence, and interest in the prevention of these disorders is growing. The focus of this review was to assess the effectiveness of psychological prevention programs delivered in schools, and to provide an update to our previous review from five years ago (Werner-Seidler, Perry, Calear, Newby, & Christensen, 2017). Three electronic databases were systematically searched for published articles of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the efficacy of school-based prevention programs until October 2020.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Digital mental health interventions stand to play a critical role in managing the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, enhancing their uptake is a key priority. General practitioners (GPs) are well positioned to facilitate access to digital interventions, but tools that assist GPs in identifying suitable patients are lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Secondary schools have attempted to address gaps in help-seeking for mental health problems with little success. This trial evaluated the effectiveness of a universal web-based service (Smooth Sailing) for improving help-seeking intentions for mental health problems and other related outcomes among students.
Methods: A cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the 12-week outcomes of the Smooth Sailing service among 1841 students from 22 secondary schools in New South Wales, Australia.
Background: Digital prevention programs that are delivered in a school environment can inoculate young people against depression. However, little is known about the school-based factors that help and hinder the implementation of these programs. Staff members are integral for supporting mental health programs in schools and are likely to have a wealth of expertise and knowledge about the factors that affect implementation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: This study examined school counsellors' and parents' experiences of a school-based digital mental health service (Smooth Sailing) that screened students' mental health and provided automated psychological care. The Smooth Sailing service was offered to 4 secondary schools in New South Wales, Australia, for a 6-week trial period with 59 students taking part. The participating school counsellors (n = 4) completed a semi-structured interview to explore their experiences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Falls have a multifactorial aetiology, which may limit the effectiveness of the common approach of exercise as the sole intervention strategy. Multifactorial interventions could be more effective in people at high risk of falling; however, the focus of such interventions has traditionally been quite narrow. This paper describes the design of a randomised controlled trial that will evaluate the effectiveness of an eHealth programme, which addresses cumulative effects of key fall-risk factors across the triad of physical, affective and cognitive functions on falls in older people.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF