Development of a Peer Support Mobile App and Web-Based Lesson for Adolescent Mental Health (Mind Your Mate):...

Area of Science:

• Adolescent mental health
• Digital health interventions
• Peer support programs

Background:

• Young people face significant social and economic impacts from anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders.
• Digital technologies offer potential for prevention initiatives targeting youth mental health.
• Mobile interventions can be leveraged to address these challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the design and development of the Mind your Mate program.
• To create a smartphone app and classroom lesson focused on peer support for adolescents.
• To address anxiety, depression, and substance use among young people.

Main Methods:

• Iterative development process involving adolescents, experts, school staff, and developers.
• Three stages: scoping, end-user consultations (surveys, focus groups), and app development/beta-testing.
• Adolescent input was central, with 23 participants aged ~16 years involved.

Main Results:

• A smartphone peer support app and classroom lesson were developed.
• The program empowers adolescents with evidence-based information and tools for peer support.
• It includes links to external services and encourages help-seeking for mental health and substance use issues.

Conclusions:

• The Mind your Mate program was co-designed with key stakeholders, including adolescents.
• The program has scalability potential for youth mental health and substance use prevention.
• Future research will involve a randomized controlled trial to test feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy.