Lahtinen Oskari, Aaltonen Jenni, Kaakinen Johanna, Franklin Lena, Hyönä Jukka
Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, Finland.
Atlanta, GA USA.
Curr Psychol. 2023;42(6):4412-4421. doi: 10.1007/s12144-021-01762-z. Epub 2021 May 1.
Mental health problems like anxiety, depression, and stress have been increasing in many countries and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated their toll. Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to provide evidence-based treatments for anxiety and depression, and accumulating evidence is emerging in support of using mindfulness apps yielding small-to-moderate treatment effects. The study was a 4-week randomized controlled trial with 561 university students and staff as participants, divided into a treatment group (mindfulness app) and an active control group (psychoeducational online content). Depression, anxiety, and stress were evaluated as primary study outcomes. Saliva cortisol samples were also collected from a subgroup of the treatment arm ( = 29). Using the mindfulness app for four weeks resulted in small reductions in stress (d = .16), and depression (d = .16). Attrition was 28.0%. Subjects who practiced more did not experience additional improvement in wellbeing. Mindfulness apps offer modest but clear benefits to users in terms of improved mental health. They present a promising supplement to traditional mental health services.
在许多国家，焦虑、抑郁和压力等心理健康问题一直在增加，而2020年的新冠疫情进一步加剧了这些问题造成的损害。基于正念的干预措施已被证明能为焦虑和抑郁提供循证治疗，并且越来越多的证据表明，使用正念应用程序能产生小到中等程度的治疗效果。该研究是一项为期4周的随机对照试验，有561名大学生和工作人员参与，分为治疗组（正念应用程序）和积极对照组（心理教育在线内容）。抑郁、焦虑和压力被评估为主要研究结果。还从治疗组的一个亚组（n = 29）中收集了唾液皮质醇样本。使用正念应用程序四周后，压力（d = 0.16）和抑郁（d = 0.16）略有减轻。损耗率为28.0%。练习更多的受试者在幸福感方面并没有获得额外改善。正念应用程序在改善心理健康方面为用户带来了适度但明显的益处。它们是传统心理健康服务的一个有前景的补充。
