Mental health–specific knowledge in participants with and without sleep or social competence deficits: Factors influencing knowledge gain through psychoeducation in e-mental health interventions (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND One in eight people worldwide experiences mental health disorders, with depression and anxiety being the most common. E-mental health programs are gaining momentum in modern mental health care. OBJECTIVE The study aimed to investigate factors influencing knowledge gain in low-threshold e-mental health programs focusing on sleep and social competence. Specifically, it examined how different media formats (text vs. video), topics, and presentation sequences (e.g., video-text vs. text-text) affected knowledge gain. Additionally, it assessed whether participants with deficits in sleep and/or social competence had knowledge gaps that could be addressed through targeted psychoeducation. The study also explored if knowledge gain resulted in increased certainty in correct judgments and reduced overconfidence in incorrect ones. METHODS An exploratory online study with 158 participants classified them into groups based on self-reported deficits in sleep/social competence. Participants initially took a knowledge test on sleep and social competence, including questions about their certainty in their answers. They were randomized into nine conditions, receiving video- or text-based information on sleep and social competence, with a sequence of media presentation varying by group. After the intervention, participants retook the knowledge test to measure knowledge gain. RESULTS No significant differences were found among the nine conditions, indicating that the medium (video vs. text), topic (sleep, social competence), or sequence had minimal influence on knowledge gain. Participants with self-reported deficits showed lower prior knowledge and greater knowledge gain after the psychoeducation compared to those without deficits. Knowledge gain was associated with increased certainty in correct responses, while confidence in incorrect responses remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS Overall, individuals with self-reported sleep or social competence deficits can enhance their knowledge through psychoeducation, regardless of the type and order of the media used. CLINICALTRIAL Ethical approval was obtained from the local ethics committee of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (Germany, approval number: LPEK-0399),