Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Jan 17, 2024
Open Peer Review Period: Jan 19, 2024 - Jan 19, 2024
Date Accepted: Apr 30, 2024
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Motivational variables as moderating effects of a web-based mental health program for university students: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Self-guided online interventions have the potential of addressing help-seeking barriers and symptoms common among university students, such as depression, anxiety. Unfortunately, self-guided interventions are also associated with less adherence, implicating motivation as a potential moderator for adherence and improvement for such interventions.
Objective:
This secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial (NCT No. 04361045) aimed to examine constructs of motivation as moderators of improvement for a self-guided 8-week online intervention in university students (n=1607).
Methods:
Tested moderators included internal motivation, external motivation, and confidence in treatment derived from the Treatment Motivation Questionnaire. The primary outcome was improvement on depression and anxiety measured by the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21.
Results:
Piecewise linear mixed effects models showed that intrinsic motivation significantly moderated symptom change for the intervention group (t=-2.94, p=.003) at average and high (+1 SD) motivation levels (t=-2.28, p=.02, t=-4.05, p<.001 respectively).
Conclusions:
The combination of an online intervention and high/moderate internal motivation resulted in greater improvement on the total DASS scale. These findings highlight the importance of conceptually differentiating motivation-related constructs when examining moderators of improvement. Clinical Trial: NCT No. 04361045
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