Revolutionary Mental Health App Targets Depression Prevention in Vulnerable Youth

There is growing global concern regarding the high and rising rates of anxiety and depression among young people. To address this issue, effective and scalable solutions for preventing mental health deterioration in this demographic are necessary, and digital tools like mobile apps are being considered as part of the solution.

Although emerging evidence supports the effectiveness of mental health apps for treating anxiety and depression, this study, spearheaded by the University of Exeter, is the first to thoroughly evaluate a mental health app on such a large scale across four different countries. Two related papers published in Lancet Digital Health detail the outcomes of the ECoWeB-PREVENT and ECoWeB-PROMOTE trials, which were conducted simultaneously over four years as part of the Horizon 2020 funding initiative. Significantly, these studies revealed that a self-help CBT app can help protect at-risk young people from depression.

Professor Ed Watkins from the University of Exeter, who led the project, stated: “For young people at higher risk, our findings indicate that the CBT app has a preventative effect on depression and could be beneficial for public health. The quality-of-life measurements for participants improved, and their work and social functioning also showed enhancements.”

“However, we discovered that making improvements for young individuals who are already coping well is more challenging. Our outcomes strengthen the argument that depression prevention is most effective when we target individuals who are at greater risk instead of adopting a universal strategy. This could involve online self-screening tools or referrals by professionals.”

The £3.3 million project aimed to evaluate the impact of mobile apps on preventing depression and promoting mental wellness in individuals aged 16 to 22. In one of the largest studies of its kind, 3,700 young people from the UK, Germany, Belgium, and Spain participated, and were placed into two trials based on their emotional competency levels at the beginning of the study. As a result, 1,200 participants with lower emotional competency scores indicating a higher risk of depression, characterized by increased worry and overthinking, entered a trial focused on prevention. Meanwhile, 2,500 participants without such risks joined the trial aimed at promoting overall well-being.

Participants in both groups were then randomly assigned to three different apps developed by the study: a self-monitoring app for daily emotional reporting, a self-help app offering personalized emotional competency training, and a self-help app based on CBT techniques. Participants were assessed at intervals of three months and twelve months to track changes in their well-being and symptoms of depression.

The trials indicated that the CBT app successfully prevented increases in depression among the higher-risk group compared to self-monitoring, but no significant differences were observed among any of the interventions within the lower-risk group.

Professor Ed Watkins remarked: “Our findings suggest that even limited use of the self-help app can yield small but significant benefits for young individuals. Given that the app can be scaled to reach large populations cost-effectively, its potential value as a public health intervention is considerable, especially when combined with a wider array of digital and in-person services. The next steps involve identifying the key features of the app that provide these benefits and enhancing user engagement for continued use.”

The project included 13 partners, among them two commercial entities—German voice analysis company audEERING and Danish app developer Monsenso. The primary development and trial locations involved the University of Exeter (UK), LMU Munich (Germany), Ghent University (Belgium), and Universitat Jaume I (Spain). The University of Oxford also contributed by leading the qualitative analysis.