Reducing distress in university students: A randomised control trial of two online interventions

Abstract

Objective University students experience high rates of distress and place increasing demands on provisions of support. Web‐based interventions may provide a low‐cost, accessible low intensity format to support students to make changes to improve their health and wellbeing. Method This study evaluated the efficacy of two web‐based interventions in the lead‐up to final exams: one on general mental health (thedesk) and one specifically focused on coping with distress (Care · Collaborate · Connect: Student Success). Because most students believe that stress is a normal part of the student experience (which might inhibit the effectiveness of support that is provided), we hypothesised that a program emphasising coping with stress would be more effective than a general program. Participants were 70 students with self‐reported elevated levels of psychological distress who were randomly assigned to one of the two programs. Results Contrary to predictions, both groups had significant reductions in distress (Cohen's ds = 0.54 and 0.67, respectively). Participants in the coping intervention reported making significantly more changes and using specific coping strategies at follow‐up. Conclusion These results suggest that web‐based interventions are effective in supporting students and improving emotional regulation.

Digital Mental Health Interventions for Depression, Anxiety, and Enhancement of Psychological Well-Being Among College Students: Systematic Review

“…The majority of these studies (n=46 [43-48,51-55,57-59, 62,65-67,69,72,76-78,86,87,113,116,119,120,122,124-127,131]) took place in the United States. As seen in Multimedia Appendix 2, several studies also took place in the United Kingdom (n=6 [60,73,75,80,96,114]), Ireland (n=5 [83-85,117,123]), Australia (n=5 [50,61,74,109,115]), Canada (n=5 [42,49,81,102,103]), and China (n=5 [70,71,89,91,100]).…”

“…As seen in Multimedia Appendix 2, some studies included more than one type of technology, and thus, the numbers reported in the previous sentence add up to more than the 89 studies included in this review. Although the interventions examined were variable in content and in length, the most common type of intervention examined was internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (n=28 [42,49,50,57,61,68,72-75,79-81,83-86,88,98,101, 103,107,109,112,113,123,128,129]). The modal length of intervention was 8 weeks.…”

“…The modal length of intervention was 8 weeks. Most studies focused on digital mental health programs developed for the specific study, whereas a minority of studies (n=15) focused on publicly available interventions (ie, Beating the Blues, n=3 [83,84,86]; MoodGYM, n=5 ([50,57,68,98,112]); Therapist-Assisted Online, n=1 [113]; Headspace and Smiling Mind, n=1 [95]; Family eJournal, n=1 [90]; Tess chatbot, n=1 [97]; DeStressify, n=1 [102]; Overcome Social Anxiety, n=1 [103]); SilverCloud Health’s Space from Depression, Space from Anxiety, and Space from Stress, n=1 [128]; and CareCollaborateConnect: Student Success and thedesk, n=1 [109]).…”

“…The majority of interventions studied offered some level of support or guidance to users—many of these interventions featured coaching from a human (n=33 [41,49-51,58 ,62-66,69,71,73,74,76,79,82-88,94,101,104,105,107,116,122,123,128,129]), whereas others featured automated support (n=18 [44,48, 53,57,59,67,70,77,91,98-101,106,108,112,113,115]), such as prescripted emails. Several studies examined self-guided interventions (n=33 [42,43,45,46,52,54-56,60,61,68,72,75,78, 80,81,89,90,92,93,95,97,102,103,109-111,114,118,119,121,124,125]) in which the participants only had contact with the study staff for research assessments; few studies focused on technology as an adjunct to therapy (n=5 [47,86,100,120,126]), 2 studies provided peer support [96,117], and 1 study had an unclear presence of support (n=1 [127]).…”

Efficacy of the My Coping Plan mobile application in reducing distress: A randomised controlled trial

“…In addition to promoting personal healthy coping strategies (Sinha, Lacadie, Constable, & Seo, 2016;Stallman, Ohan, & Cheira, 2017;Stallman, Ohan, & Chiera, 2018b), the approach encourages professional help-seeking as a healthy coping strategy when personal coping strategies are ineffective. Used in an online skills-building programme, this approach has been shown to be effective in reducing distress and improving wellbeing in university students in the lead-up to exams (Stallman, Ohan, & Chiera, 2018a). Participants in the coping condition reported using more specific healthy coping strategies after the intervention.…”