Examining State Affective and Cognitive Outcomes Following Brief Mobile Phone-Based Training Sessions to Reduce...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Digital Health
• Mental Health Interventions

Background:

• University communities face high rates of untreated stress and anxiety.
• Mobile health (mHealth) interventions offer accessible psychological support but their immediate effects are understudied.
• This study investigates the short-term impact of mHealth sessions on psychological symptoms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the immediate impact of brief mHealth sessions on psychological well-being.
• To identify specific intervention features associated with the greatest momentary improvements.
• To understand how different stressor domains and task requirements affect outcomes.

Main Methods:

• 100 university students and staff used the Hoos Think Calmly mHealth app, employing Cognitive Bias Modification for Interpretations (CBM-I).
• Participants engaged in daily training sessions varying by stressor domain and writing requirements.
• Linear mixed effects models analyzed the predictive effects of stressor domain and writing on affect and self-efficacy.

Main Results:

• Six of eight stressor domains showed self-reported improvements in affect, reappraisal self-efficacy, and emotion regulation self-efficacy.
• Sessions with less writing correlated with greater immediate improvements in affect.
• Writing requirements did not significantly impact reappraisal or emotion regulation self-efficacy.

Conclusions:

• Stressor domain and writing requirements influence in-the-moment cognitive and affective outcomes.
• mHealth programs should be personalized to individual user needs and current stressors for optimal effectiveness.
• Tailoring intervention features can enhance the immediate benefits of digital mental health tools.