eHealth Interventions for Anxiety Management Targeting Young Children and Adolescents: Exploratory Review.

Area of Science:

• Mental Health
• Psychology
• Digital Health

Background:

• Technology is increasingly vital in psychology and mental health services.
• Digital interventions, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), are effective for adult anxiety disorders.
• Limited data exist on technology-based interventions for anxiety in children and adolescents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review literature on the acceptability and efficacy of technology for anxiety treatment and prevention in youth.
• To inform the development of future effective technology-based interventions for pediatric anxiety.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory literature review across PsycINFO, ScienceDirect, and PubMed (2000-2018).
• Keywords included child/adolescent, anxiety, intervention, and various technology types (apps, online, games, CBT, biofeedback, mindfulness).
• Included studies used technological tools for anxiety treatment/prevention in youth, with or without therapist guidance.

Main Results:

• 19 programs were reviewed from 197 initially identified articles.
• Technology-enhanced CBT showed promising anxiety reduction in youth.
• Efficacious technology-based programs performed comparably to traditional interventions.
• Most programs were adjunctive to traditional therapy and lacked long-term evaluation; prevention interventions were scarce.

Conclusions:

• Future eHealth anxiety programs for children must address unmet needs and challenges.
• Early prevention is crucial, though applicability to preschoolers may be limited.
• Self-help, personalization, automated data collection, and adherence strategies are key for effective dissemination and evaluation.