Evaluating Mobile Health Interventions for Student Mental Health
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/sk9hxs17Keywords:
Mobile Health (mHealth); mental health of college students; anxiety and depression intervention; digital psychological intervention.Abstract
As a group in the transition period of psychological development, college students face multiple pressures such as academics, interpersonal relationships and adaption, and the incidence of common psychological problems such as anxiety and depression is high. In recent years, the mobile health (mHealth) tool has gradually been regarded as a powerful supplement to campus psychological services because of its convenience, anonymity and low cost. This paper systematically evaluates the effectiveness of mHealth tools in college students’ anxiety and depression interventions, the differences between different types of intervention (cognitive behavior therapy, mindfulness mediation, conversational agent), and the influencing mechanism behind user experience and compliance. The study shows that mHealth tools have small to medium intervention effects, but different tools vary significantly in usability and user stickiness; students are more inclined to use interface-friendly, interactive and personalized applications. Based on the existing evidence, this paper points out that the mHealth tool should not be regarded as a substitute for traditional counseling, but as an auxiliary tool in the campus mental health system. The paper conclusions can provide theoretical support and practical reference for the digital design and integration of psychological services in college and universities in the future.
Downloads
References
[1] Auerbach, R. P., Mortier, P., Bruffaerts, R., Alonso, J., Benjet, C., Cuijpers, P., Demyttenaere, K., Ebert, D. D., Green, J. G., Hasking, P., Murray, E., Nock, M. K., Pinder-Amaker, S., Sampson, N. A., Stein, D. J., Vilagut, G., Zaslavsky, A. M., & Kessler, R. C. (2018). WHO World Mental Health Surveys International College Student Project: Prevalence and distribution of mental disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 127(7), 623–638. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000362
[2] Sarokhani, D., Delpisheh, A., Veisani, Y., Sarokhani, M. T., Esmaeli Manesh, R., & Sayehmiri, K. (2013). Prevalence of Depression among University Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Study. Depression Research and Treatment, 2013(1), 373857. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/373857
[3] Fitzpatrick, K. K., Darcy, A., & Vierhile, M. (2017). Delivering Cognitive Behavior Therapy to Young Adults With Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety Using a Fully Automated Conversational Agent (Woebot): A Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mental Health, 4(2), e7785. https://doi.org/10.2196/mental.7785
[4] Bress, J. N., Falk, A., Schier, M. M., Jaywant, A., Moroney, E., Dargis, M., Bennett, S. M., Scult, M. A., Volpp, K. G., Asch, D. A., Balachandran, M., Perlis, R. H., Lee, F. S., & Gunning, F. M. (2024). Efficacy of a Mobile App-Based Intervention for Young Adults With Anxiety Disorders: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open, 7(8), e2428372. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.28372
[5] O’Daffer, A., Colt, S. F., Wasil, A. R., & Lau, N. (2022). Efficacy and Conflicts of Interest in Randomized Controlled Trials Evaluating Headspace and Calm Apps: Systematic Review. JMIR Mental Health, 9(9), e40924. https://doi.org/10.2196/40924
[6] Sun, S., Lin, D., Goldberg, S., Shen, Z., Chen, P., Qiao, S., Brewer, J., Loucks, E., & Operario, D. (2022). A mindfulness-based mobile health (mHealth) intervention among psychologically distressed university students in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 69(2), 157–171. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000568
[7] Fulmer, R., Joerin, A., Gentile, B., Lakerink, L., & Rauws, M. (2018). Using Psychological Artificial Intelligence (Tess) to Relieve Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mental Health, 5(4), e9782. https://doi.org/10.2196/mental.9782
[8] Horwitz, A. G., Mills, E. D., Sen, S., & Bohnert, A. S. B. (2024). Comparative Effectiveness of Three Digital Interventions for Adults Seeking Psychiatric Services: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open, 7(7), e2422115. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.22115
[9] PhD, S. W. (2025, June 1). Why We’re Ghosting Mental Health Apps and Finding Solace in AI. Advances in AI for Mental Health. https://medium.com/ai-in-mental-health/why-were-ghosting-mental-health-apps-and-finding-solace-in-ai-c6e54f5d2358
[10] Creswell, J. D., & Goldberg, S. B. (2025). The Meditation App Revolution. The American Psychologist, 10.1037/amp0001576. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001576
[11] Liu, H., Peng, H., Song, X., Xu, C., & Zhang, M. (2022). Using AI chatbots to provide self-help depression interventions for university students: A randomized trial of effectiveness. Internet Interventions, 27, 100495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2022.100495
[12] Kern, A., Hong, V., Song, J., Lipson, S. K., & Eisenberg, D. (2018). Mental health apps in a college setting: Openness, usage, and attitudes. mHealth, 4(6). https://doi.org/10.21037/mhealth.2018.06.01
[13] Bautista, J., & Schueller, S. M. (2023). Understanding the Adoption and Use of Digital Mental Health Apps Among College Students: Secondary Analysis of a National Survey. JMIR Mental Health, 10(1), e43942. https://doi.org/10.2196/43942
[14] Naderbagi, A., Loblay, V., Zahed, I. U. M., Ekambareshwar, M., Poulsen, A., Song, Y. J. C., Ospina-Pinillos, L., Krausz, M., Kamel, M. M., Hickie, I. B., & LaMonica, H. M. (2024). Cultural and Contextual Adaptation of Digital Health Interventions: Narrative Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 26(1), e55130. https://doi.org/10.2196/55130
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Highlights in Science, Engineering and Technology
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
