@Article{info:doi/10.2196/45216,
author="Birrell, Louise
and Debenham, Jennifer
and Furneaux-Bate, Ainsley
and Prior, Katrina
and Spallek, Sophia
and Thornton, Louise
and Chapman, Catherine
and Newton, Nicola",
title="Evaluating a Peer-Support Mobile App for Mental Health and Substance Use Among Adolescents Over 12 Months During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Randomized Controlled Trial",
journal="J Med Internet Res",
year="2023",
month="Sep",
day="27",
volume="25",
pages="e45216",
keywords="mental health; substance use; prevention; school-based; peer support; anxiety; social support; psychosocial support systems; depression; adolescent; mobile apps; eHealth; mHealth; mobile phone; COVID-19",
abstract="Background: Although it is well known that adolescents frequently turn to their friends for support around mental health and substance use problems, there are currently no evidence-based digital programs to support them to do this. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Mind your Mate program, a digital peer-support program, in improving mental health symptoms, reducing the uptake of substance use, and increasing help seeking. The Mind your Mate program consists of a 40-minute web-based classroom lesson and a companion smartphone mobile app. The active control group received school-based health education as usual. Methods: A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with 12 secondary schools and 166 students (mean age 15.3, SD 0.41 years; 72/166, 43.4{\%} female; and 133/166, 80.1{\%} born in Australia). Participants completed self-reported questionnaires assessing symptoms of mental health (depression, anxiety, and psychological distress), substance use (alcohol and other drug use), and help-seeking measures at baseline and at 6-month and 12-month follow-ups. Results: Students who received the Mind your Mate program had greater reductions in depressive symptoms over a 12-month period than controls (b=−1.86, 95{\%} CI −3.73 to 0.02; Cohen d=−0.31). Anxiety symptoms decreased among students in the intervention group; however, these reductions did not meet statistical significance thresholds. No differences were observed in relation to psychological distress or help-seeking. Conclusions: Small to moderate reductions in depression symptoms were observed among students allocated to receive the Mind your Mate intervention. Although the current results are encouraging, there is a need to continue to refine, develop, and evaluate innovative applied approaches for the prevention of mental disorders in real-world settings. Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) ACTRN12620000753954; https://anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?ACTRN=12620000753954 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/26796 ",
issn="1438-8871",
doi="10.2196/45216",
url="https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e45216",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/45216",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37756116"
}