Accepted for/Published in: JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Date Submitted: Sep 16, 2020
Date Accepted: Apr 28, 2021
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Outcomes of a school-based mobile app intervention to enhance emotion regulation in children: an exploratory feasibility trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Most mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety have their onset during childhood. Rising prevalence rates of mental health difficulties in young people are asking for new, innovative approaches to tackle this problem. Digital interventions designed for the school context that can address common risk factors and symptoms such as emotion dysregulation present exciting opportunities to enhance existing youth mental health provision.
Objective:
The present research explored the use of a new app to support emotion regulation in children for the school context.
Methods:
Intervention components derived from a combination of public engagement events, user-centred design workshops and evidence-based methods based on cognitive-behavioural therapy. Four primary schools participated in a 3-month exploratory feasibility trial with 144 children and 6 teachers. Children (aged 10-12) accessed the intervention on tablets in the classroom and at home. Outcomes regarding usability, acceptability and implementation were assessed through digital user data, self-report questionnaires and interviews.
Results:
Results show that children and teachers reported positive experiences with the app and that the exercises helped them to calm down and relax. Children reported better emotional understanding. Areas of improvement are identified relating to design and technology issues, as well as future design goals in relation to more complex aspects of emotion regulation as a construct.
Conclusions:
The study provides important insights regarding the design, development and evaluation of a new app for children to support their emotion regulation abilities in the school context. Our results demonstrate that mental health apps represent a promising means to facilitate effective youth mental health provision in and outside of the school context. Important “lessons learned” are shared to support other researchers and clinicians on similar journeys. Clinical Trial: N/A
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