Self-monitoring Using Mobile Phones in the Early Stages of Adolescent Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial
Read full paper →- Authors
- Sylvia Kauer, Sophie Reid, Alexander Hew Dale Crooke, Angela S Khor, Stephen Hearps, Anthony F. Jorm, Lena Sanci, George Patton
- Journal
- Journal of Medical Internet Research
- Year
- 2012
- Citations
- 433
TL;DR
This study found that young people who used a mobile phone app to self-monitor their mood, stress, and coping strategies significantly increased their emotional self-awareness, which in turn led to a decrease in their depressive symptoms.
What they tested
The researchers investigated whether using a mobile phone application for self-monitoring could help young people with mild or more depressive symptoms. They focused on two main areas:
1. **The Intervention:** Participants in the intervention group used a custom-designed mobile phone program called "mobiletype" to regularly track their **mood, stress, and coping strategies**. The goal was to help them better understand their mental health symptoms by increasing their emotional self-awareness.
2. **The Comparator:** Participants in the comparison group also used a mobile phone program, but they only tracked their **daily activities**. This group served as an "attention comparison" to ensure that any observed effects weren't just due to the act of using a phone app or receiving general attention.
3. **The Outcome Measures:**
* **Primary focus (mediator):** Changes in **Emotional Self-Awareness (ESA)**. The researchers hypothesized that the intervention would directly increase ESA.
* **Secondary focus (outcome):** Changes in **depressive symptoms**. The researchers hypothesized that an increase in ESA would then lead to a decrease in depressive symptoms.
* **Key relationship tested:** Whether the intervention's effect on depressive symptoms was *indirectly* achieved by first improving emotional self-awareness.
Who was studied
The study included **114 young people** in its final analysis. Initially, 163 participants were assessed for eligibility, and 118 were randomly assigned to either the intervention or comparison group.
**Age:** Participants were aged **14 to 24 years**.
**Condition:** All participants were identified by their general practitioner (GP) as having "mild or more mental health concerns," with the study specifically focusing on individuals experiencing **mild or more depressive symptoms**. This means they weren't necessarily diagnosed with major depressive disorder but were experiencing noticeable symptoms.
**Setting:** Participants were recruited from both **rural and metropolitan general practices** in Australia.
How they measured it
The researchers used standardized questionnaires to measure emotional self-awareness and depressive symptoms at different points in time:
**Emotional Self-Awareness (ESA):** This was measured using the **ESA Scale**. While the specific scoring range isn't provided in the abstract,