Internet-based interventions for posttraumatic stress: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Mental Health
• Digital Health

Background:

• Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a significant mental health concern with limited access to effective psychotherapy.
• Internet-based interventions (IBIs) offer a potential solution to improve access to specialized mental health care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a meta-analysis summarizing the efficacy of IBIs for PTSD.
• To identify potential moderator variables influencing treatment outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Meta-analysis of 20 randomized controlled studies (21 comparisons) evaluating internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and expressive writing (EW).
• Studies compared IBIs against active or passive control conditions in clinical and subclinical samples.

Main Results:

• CBT-IBIs demonstrated significant efficacy compared to passive controls, with medium to large effect sizes for PTSD symptom reduction.
• Neither CBT-IBIs nor EW were superior to active control conditions.
• Expressive writing showed some benefit at follow-up for specific symptoms, based on limited studies.

Conclusions:

• CBT-IBIs show promising results for PTSD treatment, particularly against passive controls.
• Further research with larger sample sizes is needed to investigate treatment components and compare against active controls.
• The limited number of studies for subgroup analyses restricted statistical power.