1 - (IOP 40) Feasibility, Acceptability, and Initial Efficacy of Providing Personalized Feedback on Real-time Monitoring Data to Reduce Mental Health Symptom Severity

Mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, are common among college students. However, despite the presence of accessible university mental health services, fewer than half of students with diagnosable conditions typically engage in mental health treatment. The use of technology-based and/or single-session interventions may address low rates of help-seeking—for instance, ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is increasingly used to assess participants’ current experiences, contexts, and symptoms. However, no studies have tested whether providing participants with personalized feedback on their self-monitored data patterns is clinically useful.

The present study examined (1) the feasibility/acceptability of providing personalized feedback on EMA data; and (2) if participants who received personalized feedback had stronger decreases in depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation over the next three months than participants in the control condition. A sample of 146 at-risk students (M = 21.4 years, 80.8% cisgender women, 64.4% White, 39.7% Hispanic, 44.5% heterosexual, 58.2% with baseline suicidal ideation) completed a one-week EMA protocol and were randomly assigned to a feedback (n = 72) or control (n = 74) condition. The feedback condition received a personalized report on their mental health symptoms, risk factors, and risk-relevant mental health tips/resources. Follow-ups were completed after one week, one month, and three months.

Participants reported (on a 1-7 scale) that the self-monitoring was easy to use (M=5.99) and that they would like to continue self-monitoring (M=4.93), but that it was somewhat cumbersome (M=4.68). They noted that the reports were generally easy to understand (M=6.13), personally relevant (M=5.44), and accurately reflected their daily patterns (M=5.47) while not providing too much information (M=2.60). However, although it was helpful (on a 0-7 scale) in understanding (M=4.58) and becoming aware (M=4.78) of daily patterns, it only modestly motivated behavior change (M=3.75). Self-monitoring was associated with decreases in depression (B = -.82, SE = .15, p < .001), anxiety (B = -.84, SE = .15, p < .001), and suicidal ideation (B = -.67, SE = .13, p < .001) in both conditions; however, those who received feedback had greater decreases in depression (B = -1.14, SE = .20, p < .001) across the follow-up period than those in the control condition (B = -.43, SE = .23, p = .065). Follow-up analyses will explore differences by EMA response rate, mental health treatment, and baseline psychopathology.

These findings support the benefits of self-monitoring and provide initial evidence for the utility of providing personalized feedback to individuals to improve mental health symptoms, particularly depression, over time. Clinical implications, limitations, and future directions will be discussed.