A Mobile App for Reducing Perceived Stress in College Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Jason Crandall ◽  
Kathryn Steward ◽  
Tara Warf
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Stress Management ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Program Outcomes ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Management Techniques ◽  
Stress Management Program ◽  
Single Stress

Stress is a serious problem in college students. Novel on-campus stress management programs are needed to teach stress management techniques to help reduce students’ perceived stress. The purpose of this paper is to describe the design, implementation, and program outcomes of a mobile app (Bingocize®) that combines exercise, health education, and bingo into a single stress management program. Preliminary results showed the mobile app may be capable of reducing perceived stress and improving stress management knowledge. Randomized controlled trials are needed, but colleges and universities may consider using the app to affect their students’ overall health and academic performance.

scholarly journals Effects of a Digital Mental Health Program on Perceived Stress in Adolescents Aged 13-17 Years: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliane M Boucher ◽  
Haley E Ward ◽  
Julia L Stafford ◽  
Acacia C Parks
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Stress Management ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Health Program ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Mental Health Program ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
School Based ◽  
Management Techniques

BACKGROUND Stress is an important transdiagnostic risk factor in adolescence and predicts a host of physical and psychological problems in adolescence and adulthood. Adolescence is also a developmental stage in which people may be more sensitive or reactive to stress. Indeed, research has shown that adolescents report high levels of stress, particularly when enrolled in school. However, adolescents report engaging in few, if any, stress management techniques. Consequently, the development of effective programs to help address adolescent stress is particularly important. To date, most stress management programs for adolescents are delivered within schools, and the evidence for such programs is mixed. Furthermore, most of these programs rely on traditional stress management techniques rather than incorporating methods to address the underlying negative cognitive processes, such as rumination, that may contribute to or exacerbate the effects of perceived stress. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to test the short-term effects of a digital mental health program designed for adolescents aged 13-17 years on perceived stress and rumination. METHODS This is a randomized controlled trial in which adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 years, with elevated levels of perceived stress and brooding, will be randomly assigned to complete 8 weeks of a digital mental health program (Happify for Teens) or to a corresponding wait-list control group. The study will take place over 3 months, including the 8-week intervention period and 1-month postintervention follow-up. The primary outcome, perceived stress, along with secondary and exploratory outcomes (ie, brooding, optimism, sleep disturbance, and loneliness) will be assessed via self-report at baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks to compare changes in these outcomes across conditions. RESULTS Recruitment is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2021, with a target sample size of 800 participants (400 per condition). Participants will begin the study as they are recruited and will finish in waves, with the first wave of data expected 8 weeks after recruitment begins and the final wave of data expected by the end of the third quarter of 2021. CONCLUSIONS Although school-based stress management programs for adolescents are common, research suggests that they may be limited in their reach and more effective for school-based stress than other types of stress. This trial will be one of the first attempts to examine the potential benefits of a digital mental health program on adolescents to address stress along with negative cognitive processes such as rumination. If successful, this would help introduce a more scalable alternative to school-based programs that offers adolescents greater privacy while also providing insight into novel ways to target adolescent mental health more generally. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04567888; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04567888 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT PRR1-10.2196/25545

A Portable, Self-Instructional Stress Management Program for College Students

1987 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerrold S. Greenberg ◽  
Sheila A. Ramsey ◽  
Janet Fraser Hale
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Stress Management ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Stress Management Program

scholarly journals Effects of a 6-Week Internet-Based Stress Management Program on Perceived Stress, Subjective Coping Skills, and Sleep Quality

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Stächele ◽  
Gregor Domes ◽  
Magdalena Wekenborg ◽  
Marlene Penz ◽  
Clemens Kirschbaum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Stress Management ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Coping Skills ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Stress Management Program

scholarly journals Feasibility and acceptability of a guided internet-based stress management intervention for university students with high levels of stress: Protocol for an open trial (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yagmur Amanvermez ◽  
Eirini Karyotaki ◽  
Leonore M. de Wit ◽  
Pim Cuijpers ◽  
Philip Spinhoven ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Stress Management ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Open Trial ◽  
Satisfaction Scale ◽  
System Usability Scale ◽  
Stress Management Program

BACKGROUND More than half of university students have high levels of stress. Stress management programs can help students improve coping skills and prevent psychological distress. However, studies have generally targeted all university students regardless of whether they experience high levels of stress or not, and thus more studies are needed to examine the feasibility and acceptability of e-health interventions for students with elevated stress. OBJECTIVE The present open trial aims to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a guided internet-based stress management program for university students with high levels of stress. METHODS In this study, participants are recruited via e-mail, newsletters, and flyers from four universities in the Netherlands to participate in a guided internet-based stress management program. Guidance is delivered by e-coaches who provide weekly asynchronous text-based motivational feedback after each module is completed. Primary outcomes are satisfaction with the intervention, assessed by the Client Satisfaction Scale (CSQ-8), and usability, assessed by the System Usability Scale (SUS-10). Secondary outcomes are perceived stress, quality of life, and depression, assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the EuroQol- 5 Dimension- 5 Level Scale (EQ- 5D- 5L), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) respectively. Adherence rates to the program are assessed by examining the number of completed modules, time spent on the platform, and completed exercises. RESULTS The Caring Universities Project was funded in (September 2019). In June 2020, the project was officially announced to the students and recruitment began immediately. As of September 2020, recruitment continues. The expected date of the publication of the results is in 2021. CONCLUSIONS It is expected that the results of the proposed study will be informative for designing and implementing e-health interventions in higher education. Moreover, it is assumed that the findings will contribute to the growing literature on internet interventions by yielding preliminary evidence related to the feasibility and acceptability of an online stress management program. CLINICALTRIAL Netherlands Trial Register NL8686; https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/8686

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document