Mental Health and Wellbeing, Division of Health Sciences,Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick,Coventry,UK.
Psychol Med. 2018 Jan;48(2):208-228. doi: 10.1017/S0033291717001659. Epub 2017 Jun 23.
Mobile mood-monitoring applications are increasingly used by mental health providers, widely advocated within research, and a potentially effective method to engage young people. However, little is known about their efficacy and usability in young populations.
A systematic review addressing three research questions focused on young people: (1) what are the psychometric properties of mobile mood-monitoring applications; (2) what is their usability; and (3) what are their positive and negative clinical impacts? Findings were synthesised narratively, study quality assessed and compared with evidence from adult studies.
We reviewed 25 articles. Studies on the psychometric properties of mobile mood-monitoring applications were sparse, but indicate questionable to excellent internal consistency, moderate concurrent validity and good usability. Participation rates ranged from 30% to 99% across studies, and appeared to be affected by methodological factors (e.g. payments) and individual characteristics (e.g. IQ score). Mobile mood-monitoring applications are positively perceived by youth, may reduce depressive symptoms by increasing emotional awareness, and could aid in the detection of mental health and substance use problems. There was very limited evidence on potential negative impacts.
Evidence for the use of mood-monitoring applications in youth is promising but limited due to a lack of high-quality studies. Future work should explicate the effects of mobile mood-monitoring applications on effective self-regulation, clinical outcomes across disorders and young people's engagement with mental health services. Potential negative impacts in this population should also be investigated, as the adult literature suggests that application use could potentially increase negativity and depression symptoms.
移动情绪监测应用程序越来越多地被精神健康提供者使用，在研究中得到广泛提倡，是一种潜在有效的吸引年轻人的方法。然而，对于它们在年轻人中的功效和可用性知之甚少。
一项系统综述针对年轻人关注的三个研究问题：（1）移动情绪监测应用程序的心理测量特性是什么；（2）它们的可用性如何；（3）它们的积极和消极临床影响是什么？研究结果以叙述性的方式进行综合，评估研究质量并与成人研究的证据进行比较。
我们综述了 25 篇文章。关于移动情绪监测应用程序的心理测量特性的研究很少，但表明内部一致性存在问题到优秀，中等的同时有效性和良好的可用性。研究中的参与率从 30%到 99%不等，似乎受到方法学因素（例如支付）和个体特征（例如智商分数）的影响。移动情绪监测应用程序受到年轻人的积极评价，通过提高情绪意识可能会减轻抑郁症状，并有助于发现心理健康和物质使用问题。关于潜在负面影响的证据非常有限。
由于缺乏高质量的研究，移动情绪监测应用程序在年轻人中的应用证据是有希望的，但有限。未来的工作应该阐明移动情绪监测应用程序对有效自我调节、跨障碍的临床结果以及年轻人对心理健康服务的参与的影响。还应研究这一人群中的潜在负面影响，因为成人文献表明，应用程序的使用可能会增加消极情绪和抑郁症状。
