Purpose

Mental health problems affect 10-20% of adolescents worldwide. Prevention and early interventions for promoting adolescent mental health are therefore warranted. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to examine the effects of a 5-week web-intervention (Youth COMPASS) based on the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on adolescents’ depressive symptoms, life satisfaction and psychological flexibility.

Methods

The sample comprised 243 adolescents at the age of 15-16 years (51%females) from 15 lower secondary schools. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups of which two groups received an ACT-based online-intervention including support via WhatsApp. The two ACT interventions + WhatsApp contact differed from each other regarding the amount of personal support (iACT + two face-to-face sessions vs iACT with no face-to-face sessions). These two iACT interventions were compared to no intervention (control). Adolescents’ psychological wellbeing was measured pre and post intervention using the Depression Scale (DEPS), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (ATQ-Y).

Results

Adolescents showing more avoidance of unpleasant thoughts and feelings, and cognitive fusion reported more depressive symptoms and a lower level of satisfaction with life. This association was stronger among girls than boys. The iACT online-intervention + WhapApp contact with two face-to-face meeting or without them decreased adolescents’ depressive symptoms and increased life satisfaction among those who had completed more than half of the program (d = 0.20). No significant effect was obtained for avoidance (psychological flexibility). The iACT intervention including face-to-face contact showed different effects on girls and boys in regards to depression symptoms and psychological flexibility skills.

Conclusions

Findings showed that the ACT-based web-intervention for adolescents could be a viable early intervention for preventing mental health problems in adolescents and for promoting adolescent wellbeing. Our findings call for further studies investigation whether girls and boys benefit of different type online interventions.

中文翻译：

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青年指南针-在线接受和承诺治疗计划促进青少年心理健康的有效性：一项随机对照试验

目的

精神健康问题影响着全世界10-20％的青少年。因此，有必要进行预防和及早干预以促进青少年心理健康。这项随机对照试验的目的是研究基于接受和承诺治疗原则的5周网络干预（Youth COMPASS）对青少年抑郁症状，生活满意度和心理柔韧性的影响。

方法

样本包括来自15所初中的243名15至16岁的青少年（女性占51％）。参与者被随机分为三组，其中两组接受了基于ACT的在线干预，包括通过WhatsApp提供的支持。两种ACT干预措施+ WhatsApp的联系方式在个人支持方面有所不同（iACT +两次面对面会议与没有面对面会议的iACT）。将这两种iACT干预与无干预（对照）进行了比较。使用抑郁量表（DEPS），生活满意度量表（SWLS）和青少年回避与融合问卷（ATQ-Y）评估干预前后的青少年心理健康状况。

结果

青少年表现出更多避免不愉快的思想和感觉的方式，而认知融合则表现出更多的抑郁症状和对生活的满意度降低。女孩之间的这种关联比男孩强。通过iACT在线干预+ WhapApp进行两次面对面的会面或不进行面对面的会面，可以减少青少年的抑郁症状，并提高完成该计划一半以上的人的生活满意度（d = 0.20）。规避没有获得明显的效果（心理灵活性）。iACT干预措施（包括面对面接触）在抑郁症状和心理柔韧性方面对男孩和女孩产生了不同的影响。

结论

研究结果表明，针对青少年的基于ACT的网络干预可能是一种可行的早期干预措施，可以预防青少年的心理健康问题并促进青少年的健康。我们的发现要求进行进一步的研究，以调查男孩和女孩是否受益于不同类型的在线干预措施。