Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 27, 2025
An Application for Pairing with Wearable Devices to Monitor Personal Health Status
Published on: February 3, 2022
A randomized controlled trial on COGITO, a free self-help smartphone app to enhance mental well-being
Steffen Moritz1, Dominik Paweł Grudzień1, Łukasz Gawęda2
1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Background:
Smartphone apps may help to prevent the transition from minor to severe mental health problems. We compared a free self-help smartphone app (COGITO; www.uke.de/cogito_app) against a wait-list condition for the improvement of self-esteem and depression.
Methods:
The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale represented the primary outcome in this controlled trial. The final sample (n = 213) was randomly assigned to either the app or to the control condition.
Results:
The app condition significantly improved the primary outcome relative to controls for all analyses. Satisfaction of completers was high. The present results warrant independent replication; the retention rate needs to be increased to allow solid inferences about acceptance.
Conclusions:
The present study demonstrates that the COGITO app may represent an effective self-help tool for psychological problems.
