Depression is highly prevalent among university students. Internet-based interventions have been found to be effective in addressing depressive symptoms, but it is open if this also applies to interventions directed at academic stress. It is also largely unclear if the techniques employed in such programs provide significant additional benefits when controlling for non-specific intervention effects.

A sample of N = 200 students with elevated levels of depression (CES-D ≥ 16) of a large distance-learning university were randomly assigned to either an Internet- and App-based stress intervention group (IG; n = 100) or an active control group (CG; n = 100) receiving an Internet-based psychoeducational program of equal length. Self-report data was assessed at baseline, post-treatment (7 weeks) and three-month follow-up. The primary outcome was depression (CES-D) post-treatment. Secondary outcomes included mental health outcomes, modifiable risk factors, and academic outcomes.

We found significant between-group effects on depressive symptom severity (d = 0.36; 95% CI: 0.08–0.64), as well as behavioral activation (d = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.30–0.91), perceived stress (d = 0.45; 95% CI: 0.18–0.73), anxiety (d = 0.35; 95% CI: 0.03–0.67) and other secondary outcomes post-treatment. Effects on depression were sustained at three-month follow-up. Response rates for depressive symptoms were significantly higher in the IG (26%) than the CG (14%) at post-test (χ²=4.5, p = 0.04), but not at three-month follow-up (p = 0.454). We also found significant effects on relevant academic outcomes, including work impairment (follow-up; d = 0.36), work output (post-treatment; d = 0.27) and work cutback (follow-up; d = 0.36).

The intervention was more effective for depressive symptoms compared to the CG, and so controlling for unspecific intervention effects. This suggests that specific techniques of the intervention may provide significant additional benefits on depressive symptoms.

Trial registration: German Clinical Trial Registration (DRKS): DRKS00011800 (https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00011800).

抑郁症在大学生中非常普遍。人们发现基于互联网的干预措施可以有效解决抑郁症状，但如果这也适用于针对学业压力的干预措施，则尚不确定。目前还不清楚这些项目中采用的技术在控制非特异性干预效应时是否能提供显着的额外益处。

一 所大型远程学习大学的N = 200 名抑郁水平较高 (CES-D ≥ 16) 的学生被随机分配到基于互联网和应用程序的压力干预组 (IG; n  = 100) 或主动对照组（CG；n  = 100）接受相同长度的基于互联网的心理教育计划。在基线、治疗后（7周）和三个月随访时评估自我报告数据。主要结局是治疗后抑郁症（CES-D）。次要结果包括心理健康结果、可改变的风险因素和学业成绩。

我们发现组间对抑郁症状严重程度（d  = 0.36；95% CI：0.08-0.64）、行为激活（d  = 0.61；95% CI：0.30-0.91）、感知压力（d  = 0.45）有显着影响。 ; 95% CI: 0.18–0.73)、焦虑( d  = 0.35; 95% CI: 0.03–0.67) 和治疗后的其他次要结果。在三个月的随访中，对抑郁症的影响持续存在。测试后，IG 组 (26%) 的抑郁症状反应率显着高于 CG 组 (14%) ( χ ² =4.5，p  = 0.04)，但三个月随访时则不然 ( p  = 0.454 ) ）。我们还发现对相关学术成果的显着影响，包括工作障碍（随访；d  = 0.36）、工作产出（治疗后；d  = 0.27）和工作减少（随访；d  = 0.36）。

与 CG 相比，该干预对抑郁症状更有效，因此可以控制非特异性干预效果。这表明特定的干预技术可能对抑郁症状提供显着的额外益处。

试验注册：德国临床试验注册（DRKS）：DRKS00011800（https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00011800）。