@Article{info:doi/10.2196/16490,
author="Buttazzoni, Adrian
and Brar, Keshbir
and Minaker, Leia",
title="Smartphone-Based Interventions and Internalizing Disorders in Youth: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis",
journal="J Med Internet Res",
year="2021",
month="Jan",
day="11",
volume="23",
number="1",
pages="e16490",
keywords="mental health; meta-analysis; mobile phone; smartphone; systematic review; youth",
abstract="Background: Mental health disorders in youth are a global issue that have important implications for the future quality of life and morbidity of affected individuals. In the context of public health initiatives, smartphone-based interventions have been suggested to hold the potential to be an effective strategy to reduce the symptoms of mental health disorders in youth; however, further evaluation is needed to confirm their effectiveness. This systematic review and meta-analysis documents and synthesizes existing research on smartphone-based interventions targeting internalizing disorders in youth populations. Objective: This study aims to synthesize existing research on smartphone-based interventions targeting internalizing disorders in youth populations. Methods: PubMed and SCOPUS were searched in 2019, and 4334 potentially relevant articles were found. A total of 12 studies were included in the final synthesis. We used the Hedges g meta-analysis approach and a random effects model for analysis. Results: The results of this review note that depression and anxiety are the most commonly targeted symptoms, and unlike other similar topics, most studies reviewed were linked to a proven treatment. The overall pooled effect from the meta-analysis showed small but significant effects ($\kappa$=12; N=1370; Hedges g=0.20; 95{\%} CI 0.02-0.38) for interventions in reducing the symptoms of internalizing disorders. In total, 4 subgroup analyses examining specific symptoms and intervention styles found varied small significant and nonsignificant effects. Conclusions: Future research should focus on developing robust evaluative frameworks and examining interventions among more diverse populations and settings. More robust research is needed before smartphone-based interventions are scaled up and used at the population level to address youth internalizing disorders. ",
issn="1438-8871",
doi="10.2196/16490",
url="http://www.jmir.org/2021/1/e16490/",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/16490",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33427682"
}