Guided internet-based transdiagnostic individually tailored Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for symptoms of depression and/or anxiety in college students: A randomized controlled trial
Behaviour Research and Therapy, vol. 150, pp. 104028
Abstract
Common mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety, often emerge in college students during the transition into early adulthood. Mental health problems can seriously impact students' functioning, interpersonal relationships, and academic achievement. Actively reaching out to college students with mental health problems and offering them internet-based interventions may be a promising way of providing low-threshold access to evidence-based treatment in colleges. This randomized controlled trial aimed to assess the effectiveness of a guided web-based transdiagnostic individually tailored Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (iCBT) in treating college students with depression and/or anxiety symptoms. Through an online survey that screened college students' mental health, we recruited 100 college students aged ≥18 years who reported mild to moderate depression and/or anxiety symptoms and were attending colleges in the Netherlands. Participants were randomly allocated to guided iCBT (n = 48) or treatment as usual (TAU) control (n = 52). Primary outcomes were symptoms of depression and anxiety measured at post-treatment (7 weeks post-randomization). We also measured all outcomes at 6- and 12-months post-randomization. All analyses were based on the intention-to-treat principle and were repeated using the complete-case sample. We found no evidence of a difference between the effects of guided iCBT and TAU in any of the examined outcomes (i.e., symptoms of depression and anxiety, quality of life, educational achievement, and college dropout) across all time points (p > .05). There was no evidence that effects of iCBT were associated with treatment satisfaction and adherence. More research into transdiagnostic individually tailored iCBT is necessary. Further, future studies should recruit larger samples to investigate possible smaller but clinically relevant effects of internet-based interventions for college students with depression and/or anxiety.
Authors 18
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Eirini Karyotaki corresponding
Amsterdam Public Health · Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Affiliation as printed
Department of Clinical, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, BT 1081 Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Electronic address: e.karyotaki@vu.nl
Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Department of Clinical, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, BT 1081 Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Anke M. Klein Aachen
Leiden University · University of Amsterdam
Affiliation as printed
Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; Addiction, Development, And Psychopathology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Addiction, Development, And Psychopathology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
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Amsterdam Public Health · Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Affiliation as printed
Department of Clinical, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, BT 1081 Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Department of Clinical, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, BT 1081 Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Trimbos Institute · Amsterdam Public Health · Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Affiliation as printed
Department of Clinical, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, BT 1081 Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Public Mental Health and Prevention, Trimbos Institute (Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction), Utrecht, the Netherlands
Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Department of Clinical, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, BT 1081 Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Department of Public Mental Health and Prevention, Trimbos Institute (Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction), Utrecht, the Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Clinical Child and Family Studies, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Addiction, Development, And Psychopathology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Amsterdam Public Health · Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Affiliation as printed
Department of Clinical, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, BT 1081 Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Department of Clinical, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, BT 1081 Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Research, Development and Prevention, Student Health Service University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg · Technical University of Munich
Affiliation as printed
Psychology and Digital Mental Health Care, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany; Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
Psychology and Digital Mental Health Care, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
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Amsterdam Public Health · Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Affiliation as printed
Department of Clinical, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, BT 1081 Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Department of Clinical, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, BT 1081 Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Amsterdam Public Health · Amsterdam UMC Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychiatry and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, VU University Medical Centre Amsterdam, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Research, Development and Prevention, Student Health Service University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Affiliation as printed
Universitair Psychiatrisch Centrum, Centre for Public Health Psychiatry, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Leiden University · Amsterdam Public Health · Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Affiliation as printed
Department of Clinical, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, BT 1081 Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Department of Clinical, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, BT 1081 Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Addiction, Development, And Psychopathology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Amsterdam Public Health · Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Affiliation as printed
Department of Clinical, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, BT 1081 Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Department of Clinical, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, BT 1081 Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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