The Impact of Video-Based Microinterventions on Attitudes Toward Mental Health and Help Seeking in Youth: Web-Based Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Mental health (MH) problems in youth are prevalent, burdening, and frequently persistent. Despite the existence of effective treatment, the uptake of professional help is low, particularly due to attitudinal barriers. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effectiveness and acceptability of 2 video-based microinterventions aimed at reducing barriers to MH treatment and increasing the likelihood of seeking professional help in young people. METHODS: This study was entirely web based and open access. The interventions addressed 5 MH problems: generalized anxiety disorder, depression, bulimia, nonsuicidal self-injury, and problematic alcohol use. Intervention 1 aimed to destigmatize and improve MH literacy, whereas intervention 2 aimed to induce positive outcome expectancies regarding professional help seeking. Of the 2435 participants who commenced the study, a final sample of 1394 (57.25%) participants aged 14 to 29 years with complete data and sufficient durations of stay on the video pages were randomized in a fully automated manner to 1 of the 5 MH problems and 1 of 3 conditions (control, intervention 1, and intervention 2) in a permuted block design. After the presentation of a video vignette, no further videos were shown to the control group, whereas a second, short intervention video was presented to the intervention 1 and 2 groups. Intervention effects on self-reported potential professional help seeking (primary outcome), stigma, and attitudes toward help seeking were examined using analyses of covariance across and within the 5 MH problems. Furthermore, we assessed video acceptability. RESULTS: No significant group effects on potential professional help seeking were found in the total sample (F2,1385=0.99; P=.37). However, the groups differed significantly with regard to stigma outcomes and the likelihood of seeking informal help (F2,1385=3.75; P=.02). Furthermore, separate analyses indicated substantial differences in intervention effects among the 5 MH problems. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to promote help seeking for MH problems may require disorder-specific approaches. The study results can inform future research and public health campaigns addressing adolescents and young adults. TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00023110; https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00023110.

Development of decision rules for an adaptive aftercare intervention based on individual symptom courses for agoraphobia patients.

As other mental illnesses, agoraphobia is associated with a significant risk for relapse after the end of treatment. Personalized and adaptive approaches appear promising to improve maintenance treatment and aftercare as they acknowledge patients' varying individual needs with respect to intensity of care over time. Currently, there is a deficit of knowledge about the detailed symptom course after discharge from acute treatment, which is a prerequisite for the empirical development of rules to decide if and when aftercare should be intensified. Therefore, this study aimed firstly at the investigation of the naturalistic symptom course of agoraphobia after discharge from initial treatment and secondly at the development and evaluation of a data-driven algorithm for a digital adaptive aftercare intervention. A total of 56 agoraphobia patients were recruited in 3 hospitals. Following discharge, participants completed a weekly online monitoring assessment for three months. While symptom severity remained stable at the group level, individual courses were highly heterogeneous. Approximately two-thirds of the patients (70%) reported considerable symptoms at some time, indicating a need for medium or high-intense therapeutic support. Simulating the application of the algorithm to the data set resulted in an early (86% before week six) and relatively even allocation of patients to three groups (need for no, medium, and high-intense support respectively). Overall, findings confirm the need for adaptive aftercare strategies in agoraphobia. Digital, adaptive approaches may provide immediate support to patients who experience symptom deterioration and thus promise to contribute to an optimized allocation of therapeutic resources and overall improvement of care.

We need to be more critical toward digital interventions for eating disorders: A commentary on McClure et al. (2023).

Over the past two decades, numerous digital interventions (also referred to as "e-mental health" interventions) have been developed for the prevention and treatment of eating disorders and several meta-analyses have summarized the existing evidence on the efficacy and effectiveness of such interventions. Based on the present systematic review of McClure and Colleagues, the question of how and for whom digital interventions for eating disorders actually work, remains unanswered. In the absence of reliable mediators and moderators of outcome, priorities for future research are discussed (e.g., a need for more rigorous RCTs with credible comparators). The resulting research agenda is expansive. However, even though this process will take time and might seem slow (especially, in contrast to the rapidity of technological developments), we should not accept a lowering of the quality bar in research on digital interventions compared to other intervention research.

A compassion-based treatment for couples with the female partner suffering from current depressive disorder: A randomized-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that depression and interpersonal relationships are interdependently connected and that including the intimate partner in treatment for depression has beneficial effects. Given evidence that compassion is both an interpersonal quality and a promising treatment target, the goal of this study was to examine the effects of a compassion-based, contemplative treatment for couples employing a multi-method approach for evaluation. METHODS: In a pre-post-follow-up design, n = 53 different-sex couples including women with current depression were randomly assigned to a 10-week-long CBCT®-fC (Cognitively-Based Compassion Training/intervention for couples) or treatment-as-usual (TAU) condition. Multi-level linear regression models and post-hoc contrasts were calculated to determine changes in depressive symptoms, mindfulness and self-compassion, interpersonal functioning and neuroendocrine markers collected during a partnership appreciation task (PAT) in the laboratory before and after CBCT-fC treatment. RESULTS: While CBCT-fC led to a comparable decrease of depressive symptoms as TAU, the training specifically increased self-compassion and mindfulness versus TAU. Interestingly, interpersonal functioning did not improve, which was also reflected in participants' preferred self-focus in-between-session practices, instead of practices with interpersonal focus. There were no group-specific changes in psychobiological stress-marker reactivity. CONCLUSIONS: CBCT-fC was effective in decreasing current depressive symptomatology and increasing mindfulness, and self-compassion. Especially the motivation to participate, such as improving interpersonal functioning, should be addressed and intrinsic motives of the partners to be involved. In highly burdened individuals, self-regulation may need to be improved before co-regulation can be addressed, which would requiring longer treatments. Facilitating factors for engaging in the practice between-sessions seem meaningful.

Associations of SLC6A4 methylation with salivary cortisol, salivary alpha-amylase, and subjective stress in everyday life.

Dysregulations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and sympatho-adrenal medullary (SAM) axis are associated with mental and somatic illness. However, there is lack of knowledge regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects. Epigenetic states in the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) were shown to be associated with stress in various forms. We hypothesized that levels of DNA methylation (DNAm) of SLC6A4 would be associated with altered SAM- and HPA regulation in daily life. N = 74 healthy persons participated in the study. An ecological momentary assessment (EMA) approach was used to assess indicators of stress in daily life. Each day included six concurrent assessments of saliva, to quantify cortisol (sCort; HPA axis) and alpha-amylase (sAA; SAM axis), and to assess self-reports on subjective stress. To assess SLC6A4 DNAm, peripheral blood was drawn and analyzed via bisulfite pyrosequencing. All data were assessed in two waves three months apart, each including two days of EMA and the assessment of SLC6A4 DNAm. Data were analyzed using multilevel models. On the between-person level, higher average levels of SLC6A4 DNAm were associated with higher average levels of sAA, but not with average levels of sCort. On the within-person level, higher levels of SLC6A4 DNAm were associated with lower levels of sAA and sCort. There were no associations of subjective stress with SLC6A4 DNAm. The results help to clarify the association between environmental stress and stress axes regulation, pointing towards an important role of differential within- and between-person effects of SLC6A4 DNAm, which might shape this association.

Study Features and Response Compliance in Ecological Momentary Assessment Research in Borderline Personality Disorder: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by frequent and intense moment-to-moment changes in affect, behavior, identity, and interpersonal relationships, which typically result in significant and negative deterioration of the person's overall functioning and well-being. Measuring and characterizing the rapidly changing patterns of instability in BPD dysfunction as they occur in a person's daily life can be challenging. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is a method that can capture highly dynamic processes in psychopathology research and, thus, is well suited to study intense variability patterns across areas of dysfunction in BPD. EMA studies are characterized by frequent repeated assessments that are delivered to participants in real-life, real-time settings using handheld devices capable of registering responses to short self-report questions in daily life. Compliance in EMA research is defined as the proportion of prompts answered by the participant, considering all planned prompts sent. Low compliance with prompt schedules can compromise the relative advantages of using this method. Despite the growing EMA literature on BPD in recent years, findings regarding study design features that affect compliance with EMA protocols have not been compiled, aggregated, and estimated. OBJECTIVE: This systematic meta-analytic review aimed to investigate the relationship between study design features and participant compliance in EMA research of BPD. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted on November 12, 2021, following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) and MOOSE (Meta-analyses of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) guidelines to search for articles featuring EMA studies of BPD that reported compliance rates and included sufficient data to extract relevant design features. For studies with complete data, random-effect models were used to estimate the overall compliance rate and explore its association with design features. RESULTS: In total, 28 peer-reviewed EMA studies comprising 2052 participants were included in the study. Design features (sampling strategy, average prompting frequency, number of items, response window, sampling device, financial incentive, and dropout rate) showed a large variability across studies, and many studies did not report design features. The meta-analytic synthesis was restricted to 64% (18/28) of articles and revealed a pooled compliance rate of 79% across studies. We did not find any significant relationship between design features and compliance rates. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show wide variability in the design and reporting of EMA studies assessing BPD. Compliance rates appear to be stable across varying setups, and it is likely that standard design features are not directly responsible for improving or diminishing compliance. We discuss possible nonspecific factors of study design that may have an impact on compliance. Given the promise of EMA research in BPD, we also discuss the importance of unifying standards for EMA reporting so that data stemming from this rich literature can be aggregated and interpreted jointly.

The impact of COVID-19 related lockdown measures on self-reported psychopathology and health-related quality of life in German adolescents.

The impact of school-closings on adolescents' mental health and well-being in the management of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is subject to ongoing public debate. Reliable data to inform a balanced discussion are limited. Drawing on a large ongoing multi-site project in Germany, we assessed differences in self-reported psychopathology in a matched convenience-sample of adolescents assessed pre- (November 26, 2018 to March 13, 2020; n = 324) and post the first lockdown (March 18, 2020 to August 29, 2020; n = 324) early 2020 in Germany. We found no evidence for an increase in emotional and behavioral problems, depression, thoughts of suicide or suicide attempts, eating disorder symptoms, or a decrease in general health-related quality of life. Reported suicide plans significantly decreased from 6.14 to 2.16%. Similarly, conduct problems decreased in the post-lockdown period. Family risk-factors did not moderate these findings. The influence of socioeconomic status on emotional and behavioral problems as well as depression decreased during the lockdown. Based on the present findings, the first school-closing in Germany had no immediate and severe impact on adolescents' well-being. However, caution is warranted as our data covers a fairly small, affluent sample over a limited time-span and long-term consequences cannot be ruled out.

Psycholinguistic changes in the communication of adolescent users in a suicidal ideation online community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, increases in suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in adolescents have been registered. Many adolescents experiencing suicidal ideation turn to online communities for social support. In this retrospective observational study, we investigated the communication-language style, contents and user activity-in 7975 unique posts and 51,119 comments by N = 2862 active adolescent users in a large suicidal ideation support community (SISC) on the social media website reddit.com in the onset period of the COVID-19 pandemic. We found significant relative changes in language style markers for hopelessness such as negative emotion words (+ 10.00%) and positive emotion words (- 3.45%) as well as for social disengagement such as social references (- 8.63%) and 2nd person pronouns (- 33.97%) since the outbreak of the pandemic. Using topic modeling with Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), we identified significant changes in content for the topics Hopelessness (+ 23.98%), Suicide Methods (+ 17.11%), Social Support (- 14.91%), and Reaching Out to users (- 28.97%). Changes in user activity point to an increased expression of mental health issues and decreased engagement with other users. The results indicate a potential shift in communication patterns with more adolescent users expressing their suicidal ideation rather than relating with or supporting other users during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Help-seeking attitudes and behaviours for mental health problems in adolescents before and during the first COVID-19 school closures in Germany.

AIM: Comparing measures of psychological wellbeing and help-seeking in youths before and within the first school closures due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic enables a better understanding of the effects the pandemic has for those seeking professional help for mental health problems. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Germany-based ProHEAD school study. Pre-lockdown and lockdown samples (n = 648) were compared regarding pupils' psychological wellbeing, help-seeking attitudes and help-seeking behaviour. RESULTS: Participants from the lockdown sample showed greater positive attitudes towards seeking professional help, whereas psychological wellbeing and help-seeking behaviour remained stable. CONCLUSIONS: Possible explanations may include an increased public discourse on mental health or self-selection bias for participation during lockdown.

Reasons for non-participation of children and adolescents in a large-scale school-based mental health project.

Background: Non-participation in mental health studies is an under-explored but very important topic. Investigating reasons for non-participation holds promise for the planning of future study designs and recruitment strategies. This study aimed at investigating reasons for children and adolescents (C&A) not participating in a school-based mental health research project. Methods: Data collection took place within the school-based recruitment of a large-scale multi-site project ("ProHEAD-Promoting Help-seeking using E-technology for Adolescents") in Germany. Participants were N = 534 C&A aged ≥ 12 years attending secondary schools. The present cross-sectional study analyzed anonymous survey data of C&A who themselves or whose parents, respectively, did not provide written consent to participate in the mental health research project. The questionnaire consisted of 14 items covering potential reasons for non-participation, and four free text fields. Besides descriptive statistics, free text field answers were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Students indicated an average of M = 2.94 (SD = 1.75) reasons for their non-participation in the project. In the descriptive analysis of indicated items, the three most frequently reported reasons for non-participation included students reporting to not be concerned by the topic "mental health" (n = 290, 54.3%), not having returned the consent form to the teacher (n = 175, 32.8%), and not having time for participation (n = 149, 27.9%). In the qualitative content analysis, the most frequently assigned categories were organizational reasons (n = 216, 57.1%), general disinterest in study participation (n = 139, 36.8%), and personal attitudes toward the topic "mental health" (n = 84, 22.2%), such as not being concerned with the topic "mental health" (n = 23, 6.1%) or being too concerned with the topic "mental health" (n = 16, 4.2%). Conclusion: The study provides unique insights into reasons for C&A and their caregivers not participating in a large federally funded mental health research project. The results suggest that in order to increase participation rates, stigma should be reduced, parents as well as teachers should be involved where possible, and the use of incentives might be helpful. The study highlights the importance of assessing reasons for non-participation, especially in online intervention studies on mental health.

Estudio piloto de un programa basado en Internet para la prevención e intervención temprana de la depresión en adolescentes / Feasibility and effectiveness of an Internet-based program for the prevention and early intervention of depression inInternet adolescents

Resumen Antecedentes: la alta prevalencia de depresión en la adolescencia y sus graves consecuencias, asociadas a su falta de detección y tratamiento, estimulan el interés en la investigación respecto a su prevención e intervención tempranas. Las intervenciones basadas en las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC), dada su flexibilidad y capacidad de difusión, representan oportunidades innovadoras; no obstante, en Latinoamérica hay poca evidencia sobre su impacto y eficacia. Objetivo y metodología: se realiza un estudio piloto cuantitativo cuasiexperimental que busca evaluar la factibilidad del programa basado en Internet "Cuida tu Ánimo", mediante las variables de uso y aceptabilidad, y la estimación del efecto, en 215 adolescentes (103 grupo activo, 112 grupo control) de dos instituciones educativas de la ciudad de Medellín. Se evaluaron las interacciones de los adolescentes con el Programa, su uso-aceptabilidad, el nivel de sintomatología depresiva y otros aspectos relacionados. Resultados: los adolescentes reportan alta aceptación y uso muy moderado del Programa. Señalan el aprendizaje sobre depresión y detección temprana del riesgo que les proporcionó el Programa; y recomiendan aumentar la interactividad de la plataforma web, generar contenidos más diversos y entretenidos, y aumentar los niveles de presencialidad de la intervención. Conclusiones: los programas basados en las TIC pueden ser un complemento favorable para la prevención e intervención tempranas de la depresión en adolescentes. Dada la dificultad de asociar la estimación del efecto del Programa con su uso, se recomienda en estudios futuros utilizar un diseño que permita relacionar los indicadores de uso con los de resultado (dosis-efecto).

Abstract Background: the high prevalence of depression in adolescence and its serious consequences, associated with its lack of detection and treatment, stimulate interest in research regarding its early prevention and intervention. Interventions based on information and communication technologies (ICT), given their flexibility and capacity for dissemination, represent innovative opportunities; however, in Latin America there is little evidence on their impact and efficacy. Objective and Methods: a quasi-experimental quantitative pilot study was carried out to evaluate the feasibility, through the variables of use and acceptability, and the estimated effect of the Internet-based program "Cuida tu Ánimo", in 215 adolescents (103 active group, 112 control group) from two educational institutions. The adolescents' interactions with the program, its use-acceptability, and the level of depressive symptomatology and other related aspects were evaluated. Results: the adolescents report high acceptance and very moderate use of the Program. They point out that the program allowed them to learn about depression and early detection of risk; also, they recommend increasing the interactivity of the web platform, designing more diverse and entertaining content, and increasing the presence of the intervention. Conclusions: Internet-based programs such as Cuida tu Ánimo can be a favorable complement for the prevention and early intervention of depression in adolescents. Considering the difficulty in relating the estimation of the Program's effect with its use, it is recommended that future studies include a design that permits associating the use indicators with the outcome indicators (dose-effect).

Anger instability and aggression in Borderline Personality Disorder - an ecological momentary assessment study.

BACKGROUND: Anger and aggression are core features of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), contributing strongly to the individual as well as the societal burden caused by the disorder. Across studies, patients with BPD have shown increased, more frequent and prolonged episodes of anger and reported an increased prevalence of reactive aggression. However, only a few studies have investigated anger and aggression in the patients' everyday lives and did not consider anger instability. In order to contribute knowledge about aggression and its association with anger intensity and anger instability in real-life in BPD the aim of the present study was to better characterize days with and without aggressive behaviors with regard to the patients' experienced anger. METHODS: Patients with BPD and high aggression as well as healthy participants took part in an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study assessing state anger and aggression three times per day over two weeks. Multilevel modeling was conducted and anger instability was operationalized by squared successive differences. RESULTS: As expected, patients with BPD reported greater instability in their experienced anger compared to healthy participants. Most interestingly, in the BPD group the occurrence of aggressive behavior was significantly associated with anger intensity as well as anger instability. More precisely, on days when patients with BPD acted out aggressively, they reported higher anger intensity as well as greater anger instability than on days when they did not act out aggressively. CONCLUSION: Knowledge about what characterizes days with aggressive behaviors may help to improve interventions to reduce aggressive behavior and thus relieve the burden aggression causes for patients with BPD, their surroundings and society.

Smartphone-assisted guided self-help cognitive behavioral therapy for young people with distressing voices (SmartVoices): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The long-standing view that auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) or hearing voices is a sign of schizophrenia has been challenged by research demonstrating that they lie on a continuum ranging from normal to pathological experience related to distress and need for care. Hearing voices is more prevalent in adolescence than in later life, and hearing voices during adolescence indicates a risk for severe psychopathology, functional impairments, and suicide later in life. While there is increasing evidence for the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy for voices (CBTv) in adults with schizophrenia, research on psychological treatments for youth with distressing voices has been scarce. The aim of the current study is to examine the efficacy of CBTv, delivered using smartphone-based Ecological Momentary Assessment Intervention (EMI) in a transdiagnostic sample of youth. METHODS: This is a superiority randomized controlled trial comparing 8 weeks of CBTv-based EMI in addition to treatment as usual (TAU) versus TAU only. TAU covers both no treatment and any form of psychiatric/psychological treatment. In the EMI condition, participants will be prompted twice a day to complete an EMA survey, and receive one intervention proposal per assessment. One-hundred fifty-four youth aged 14-25 years with distressing voices will be recruited from psychiatric clinics, local private practices, internet forums, and advertisements in print and social media. Before and after the intervention phase, participants will undergo a 9-day EMA. Single-blinded assessments will be conducted at baseline (T0) and at 3-month (T1) and 6-month (T2) follow-up. The primary outcome is the distress dimension of the Auditory Hallucinations subscale of the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales at T1. Secondary outcomes include perceived hostile intention, power, and dominance of voices, passive, aggressive, and assertive relating to voices, and negative core beliefs about the self. DISCUSSION: Adolescence provides a crucial window of opportunity for early intervention for hearing voices. However, youth are notoriously reluctant help-seekers. This study offers a low-intensity psychological intervention for youth with distressing voices beyond diagnostic boundaries that, using a mobile technology approach, may match the treatment preferences of the generation of "digital natives." TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00026243. Registered on 2 September 2021.

Moderators of pre-post changes in school-based mental health promotion: Psychological stress symptom decrease for adolescents with mental health problems, knowledge increase for all.

Background: School-based mental health promotion aims to strengthen mental health and reduce stress. Results on the effectiveness of such programs are heterogeneous. This study realized a school-based mental health promotion program (StresSOS) for all students and aimed to identify moderators (mental health status, gender, grade level) of pre- to post-changes in stress symptoms and knowledge. Methods: Participants were N = 510 adolescents (from 29 classes; 46.7% female) aged 12-18 years (M = 13.88, SD = 1.00; grade levels 7-10). They were without mental health problems (65.9%), at risk for mental health problems (21.6%), or with mental health problems (12.5%) and participated in a 90 min per week face-to-face training with 8 sessions in class at school. Demographic variables, mental health status, stress symptoms, and knowledge about stress and mental health were collected at baseline. Program acceptance, stress symptoms, and knowledge were collected post-intervention. Multilevel mixed effects models were conducted with the fixed effects time (within factor), mental health status, gender, and grade level (between factors). Random effects for students within classes were included. Results: In the pre-post comparison, mental health status moderated the changes on psychological stress symptoms (p < 0.05). In adolescents with mental health problems the largest reduction in stress symptoms was observed between pre- and post-assessment. Gender and grade level were less relevant. For all adolescents knowledge gains were revealed (p < 0.001). Program acceptance was moderated by mental health status and grade level (p < 0.01). Mentally healthy adolescents and within the group of adolescents at-risk or with mental health problems, especially younger students (7th/8th grade), rated program acceptance higher. Conclusion: Psychological stress symptoms decreased among adolescents with mental health problems and not among adolescents at risk for or without mental health problems. Mental health-related knowledge increased for all adolescents. The results add to knowledge on school-based mental health intervention research and practice. Its implications for different prevention strategies (universal, selective or a combination of both) are discussed.

Knowledge and Myths about Eating Disorders in a German Adolescent Sample: A Preliminary Investigation.

Eating disorder mental health literacy (ED-MHL) refers to knowledge about the symptoms, causes, and treatment of eating disorders (EDs) and is an important factor in people's attitudes towards individuals with EDs and help-seeking for EDs. Associations between ED-MHL, stigma, ED symptomatology, and gender were investigated in a sample of N = 194 German high school students. Knowledge and myths about EDs were assessed with 18 factual statements about EDs and agreement/disagreement with common myths about ED. Students also completed the Universal Stigma Scale (USS), the Weight Concerns Scale (WCS), and demographic items. Students judged M = 8.39 (SD = 3.40) statements correctly, while the average agreement with all ED myths was low (M = 0.19, SD = 0.14). Greater ED-MHL was associated with lower stigmatization of EDs. Male participants were less knowledgeable and more likely to agree with the ED myths. Participants displayed moderate ED-MHL; however, certain aspects such as ED risk factors or symptoms of specific disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa were less well known. These results can inform the design of future MHL interventions for adolescents.

An exploratory investigation of predictors of outcome in face-to-face and online cognitive-behavioural therapy for bulimia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) delivered face-to-face and via the internet reduces bulimia nervosa (BN) symptoms. However, our empirical understanding of factors affecting patient outcomes is limited. METHOD: Using data from a randomised, controlled trial comparing internet-based (CBT4BN, n = 78) with face-to-face (CBTF2F, n = 71) group CBT (97% female, M = 28 years), we examined general treatment (across conditions) and modality-specific predictors of end-treatment and 1-year outcomes (abstinence, binge-eating frequency, purging frequency). RESULTS: Improved eating disorder-related quality of life (EDQOL) during treatment and follow-up predicted abstinence at end-treatment and 1-year assessments. Improved EDQOL, disordered eating cognitions, and anxiety symptoms predicted less frequent binge eating and purging. Previous CBT and being employed predicted more frequent binge eating and purging at both assessments. Higher self-transcendence and self-directedness predicted less frequent binge eating. More severe binge eating and purging at baseline and end-treatment predicted more frequent binge eating and purging at subsequent assessments. Improved EDQOL was more strongly associated with positive outcome in CBT4BN; improved depressive symptoms and health-related QOL predicted positive outcome in CBT4BN but not CBTF2F. DISCUSSION: Symptom improvement and certain character traits predicted positive outcome, whereas more severe presentation and prior CBT experience predicted poorer outcome. Consideration of intreatment symptom improvement may facilitate care recommendations, particularly for internet-based modalities.

Recruitment, adherence and attrition challenges in internet-based indicated prevention programs for eating disorders: lessons learned from a randomised controlled trial of ProYouth OZ.

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence supports the effectiveness of Internet-based prevention programs for eating disorders, but the adjunctive benefit of synchronous peer support has yet to be investigated. In the current study, a randomised controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an indicated Internet-based prevention program (ProYouth OZ) with and without peer-to-peer support in reducing disordered eating behaviours and attitudes. METHOD: Fifty young adults (18-25 years) with eating disorder symptoms were randomised to one of three study conditions: (1) ProYouth OZ (without peer-to-peer support), (2) ProYouth OZ Peers (with peer-to-peer support), and (3) a waitlist control group. Outcomes were assessed at three different time points. Eating disorder symptoms (primary outcome) were measured with the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire. RESULTS: Of 415 screened participants, 73 (17.6%) were eligible and 213 (51.3%) excluded due to severe eating disorder symptoms. Fifteen participants (30%) completed the post-intervention survey. Of the two intervention groups, 20.6% failed to access any component of the program. Of 17 ProYouth OZ Peers participants, 58.8% attended at least one chat session, 20% attended 2-5 sessions, and 11.8% attended all six sessions. Due to limited outcome data, it was not possible to statistically examine between-group differences in outcomes. Visual inspection of individual profiles revealed that both ProYouth OZ Peers participants who completed the post-intervention survey showed a decrease in disordered eating compared with only one of the six completers in ProYouth OZ. CONCLUSION: Findings highlight the challenges of trialling Internet-based eating disorder prevention programs in the community. The study identified a large group of emerging adults with eating disorders who were interested in an Internet-based program, suggesting a high level of unmet need. Future research on synchronous peer-to-peer support in Internet-based prevention for eating disorders is warranted. Further studies are required to identify optimal strategies for reaching this population (e.g., online vs. offline) and evaluating the effectiveness of a range of strategies for promoting engagement. Finally, there is an urgent need to develop innovative widely accessible interventions for individuals who experience clinically relevant eating disorder symptomatology but may not be ready or able to seek professional face-to-face treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN12615001250527, Registered 16 November 2015, https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?ACTRN=12615001250527.

Internet-based prevention programs for eating disorders are effective, but a variety of challenges have been found when offering them in real-world settings. The current study aimed to test ProYouth OZ, an Internet-based eating disorder prevention program consisting of multiple components including peer support. In total, 50 young adults (18­25 years) with eating disorder symptoms were allocated to one of three versions of the program. In total, 21% did not access the program. From 17 participants in the peer support group, 60% attended at least one chat session and 12% attended all six sessions. Given that only fifteen participants (30%) completed the questionnaire after the intervention, it is not possible to draw reliable conclusions about the effectiveness of the program. Findings demonstrate the difficulty of recruiting emerging adults, engaging them with the program and collecting data after participation. The majority of interested participants experienced an eating disorder, suggesting they may be searching for help online. Future studies should investigate the use of peer support, identify strategies for reaching eligible participants and develop approaches to increase engagement. Finally, it is important to develop innovative programs that provide self-help strategies and facilitate help-seeking for those who are experiencing an eating disorder.

Stigmatization and attitudes toward eating disorders: a comparison between native German adolescents, Turkish immigrant adolescents in Germany, and native Turkish adolescents.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes toward eating disorders in native German adolescents (Germans), adolescents with Turkish migration background in Germany (Immigrants), and native Turkish adolescents (Turks). METHOD: A total of 507 adolescents (N = 139 Germans; N = 126 Immigrants; N = 242 Turks) read a vignette describing a 16-year-old female with bulimic symptoms. Participants completed questionnaires on mental health literacy, stigmatization, desirability of eating disorder-related behaviors and acquaintance with bulimic symptoms. RESULTS: Adolescents living in Germany were more likely to recognize the vignette as an eating disorder than Turks. Immigrants were more similar to Germans in mental health literacy of eating disorders than Turks. However, in terms of stigmatizing attitudes, immigrants blamed more than Germans, Turks being intermediate on this variable. In Turks, higher desirability of eating disorder-related behaviors was associated with an increased acquaintance with bulimic symptoms and decreased evaluations of impairment. Higher mental health literacy was associated with less blame in Germans. CONCLUSIONS: Migration background was associated with increased mental health literacy of eating disorders but did not result in reduced stigma. Differences in attitudes toward eating disorders indicate the need for differential interventions across the groups.

Feasibility of an Intervention Delivered via Mobile Phone and Internet to Improve the Continuity of Care in Schizophrenia: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.

Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness associated with a heavy symptom burden and high relapse rates. Digital interventions are increasingly suggested as means to facilitate continuity of care, relapse prevention, and long-term disease management for schizophrenia spectrum disorders. In order to investigate the feasibility of a mobile and internet-based aftercare program, a 2-arm randomized controlled pilot study was conducted. The program could be used by patients for six months after inpatient treatment and included psychoeducation, an individual crisis plan, optional counseling via internet chat or phone and a supportive monitoring module. Due to the slow pace of enrollment, recruitment was stopped before the planned sample size was achieved. Reasons for the high exclusion rate during recruitment were analyzed as well as attitudes, satisfaction, and utilization of the program by study participants. The data of 25 randomized patients suggest overall positive attitudes towards the program, high user satisfaction and good adherence to the monitoring module. Overall, the results indicate that the digital program might be suitable to provide support following discharge from intensive care. In addition, the study provides insights into specific barriers to recruitment which may inform future research in the field of digital interventions for severe mental illness.