Evaluation of the effectiveness of a 7-week minimal guided and unguided cognitive behavioral therapy-based stress-management APP for students
Abstract Stress during academic training is a significant issue for students, which intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Internet-based stress management programs are an attractive, low-threshold and cost-effective option for students at universities. The present randomized controlled intervent...
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| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-07-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23399-4 |
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| author | Elisabeth Margarete Weiss Mona Harder Siegmund Staggl Bernhard Holzner Verena Dresen Markus Canazei |
| author_facet | Elisabeth Margarete Weiss Mona Harder Siegmund Staggl Bernhard Holzner Verena Dresen Markus Canazei |
| author_sort | Elisabeth Margarete Weiss |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Stress during academic training is a significant issue for students, which intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Internet-based stress management programs are an attractive, low-threshold and cost-effective option for students at universities. The present randomized controlled intervention study examined the efficacy of a newly developed seven-week minimal guided (with optional e-Coach support) and unguided stress management training (iSMT) App based on cognitive behavioral therapy techniques (CBT) for university students. Participants (guided iSMT version: n = 118; unguided iSMT version: n = 123) were compared to a previous study’s passive psychoeducation group (n = 123) and waiting control group (n = 130). Participants were tested at pre- and post-intervention with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), the Response Styles Questionnaire (RSQ) and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Both iSMT interventions significantly reduced perceived stress compared to the psychoeducation group and the waiting-list control group (all ps < .001; all ηp2 > .056), but no significant differences were found between the two versions of the iSMT. All intervention groups further showed improved emotion regulation (higher reappraisal) and coping (lower symptom-related rumination) strategies, with a small effect. These findings support iSMT as a cost-effective, accessible intervention for student stress management, offering benefits beyond traditional psychoeducation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a68fb536fefe4da8bab561827df12ecb |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-a68fb536fefe4da8bab561827df12ecb2025-08-20T03:42:02ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582025-07-0125112010.1186/s12889-025-23399-4Evaluation of the effectiveness of a 7-week minimal guided and unguided cognitive behavioral therapy-based stress-management APP for studentsElisabeth Margarete Weiss0Mona Harder1Siegmund Staggl2Bernhard Holzner3Verena Dresen4Markus Canazei5Department of Psychology, University of InnsbruckDepartment of Psychology, University of InnsbruckDepartment of Psychology, University of Innsbruck Department of Psychiatry II - Institution for mental and psychosomatic illnesses, Medical University of InnsbruckDepartment of Psychology, University of InnsbruckDepartment of Psychology, University of InnsbruckAbstract Stress during academic training is a significant issue for students, which intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Internet-based stress management programs are an attractive, low-threshold and cost-effective option for students at universities. The present randomized controlled intervention study examined the efficacy of a newly developed seven-week minimal guided (with optional e-Coach support) and unguided stress management training (iSMT) App based on cognitive behavioral therapy techniques (CBT) for university students. Participants (guided iSMT version: n = 118; unguided iSMT version: n = 123) were compared to a previous study’s passive psychoeducation group (n = 123) and waiting control group (n = 130). Participants were tested at pre- and post-intervention with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), the Response Styles Questionnaire (RSQ) and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Both iSMT interventions significantly reduced perceived stress compared to the psychoeducation group and the waiting-list control group (all ps < .001; all ηp2 > .056), but no significant differences were found between the two versions of the iSMT. All intervention groups further showed improved emotion regulation (higher reappraisal) and coping (lower symptom-related rumination) strategies, with a small effect. These findings support iSMT as a cost-effective, accessible intervention for student stress management, offering benefits beyond traditional psychoeducation.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23399-4Web-based stress management interventionGuided self-helpEmotion regulationCoping skills |
| spellingShingle | Elisabeth Margarete Weiss Mona Harder Siegmund Staggl Bernhard Holzner Verena Dresen Markus Canazei Evaluation of the effectiveness of a 7-week minimal guided and unguided cognitive behavioral therapy-based stress-management APP for students BMC Public Health Web-based stress management intervention Guided self-help Emotion regulation Coping skills |
| title | Evaluation of the effectiveness of a 7-week minimal guided and unguided cognitive behavioral therapy-based stress-management APP for students |
| title_full | Evaluation of the effectiveness of a 7-week minimal guided and unguided cognitive behavioral therapy-based stress-management APP for students |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of the effectiveness of a 7-week minimal guided and unguided cognitive behavioral therapy-based stress-management APP for students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of the effectiveness of a 7-week minimal guided and unguided cognitive behavioral therapy-based stress-management APP for students |
| title_short | Evaluation of the effectiveness of a 7-week minimal guided and unguided cognitive behavioral therapy-based stress-management APP for students |
| title_sort | evaluation of the effectiveness of a 7 week minimal guided and unguided cognitive behavioral therapy based stress management app for students |
| topic | Web-based stress management intervention Guided self-help Emotion regulation Coping skills |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23399-4 |
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