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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Positive Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1414948
This article is part of the Research Topic The Impact of Psychological Well-Being on University Students View all 25 articles
A Pilot Study of a New App Based on Self-Compassion for the Prevention and Promotion of Mental Health Among Brazilian College Students
Provisionally accepted- Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil
Introduction: Epidemiological data suggest substantial issues on the mental health of university students worldwide. Self-compassion is associated with lower rates of psychological distress and better positive mental health. Thus, we have developed a app-based intervention based on selfcompassion principles targeting the prevention and promotion of mental health in college students. The current pilot study assessed adherence to intervention, preliminary mental health benefits, and satisfaction and acceptability with the app among Brazilian college students.The study employed a pre-experimental single-group design along with pre-test and posttest assessments (n = 23). A mixed methods approach was utilized to comprehensively assess the outcomes of the intervention.The overall adherence rate for the intervention was 37.87%, with 26.26% of participants successfully completing all modules. Among the 21 outcomes assessed, 15 exhibited statistically significant results. Notably, there was a substantial increase in self-compassion, demonstrating a large effect size (d = 1.15), and a moderate effect size reduction in stress (d = .62) and anxiety (d = .52). All satisfaction indicators for the intervention received scores above 7. The intervention was well-received by participants who completed it, although a potential barrier identified was the volume of text within the app and the need to adopt a more playful and concise format for the intervention. Discussion: Despite a notable participant dropout, the adherence to intervention aligns with patterns observed in other online interventions conducted in real-world settings. The observed mental health benefits, high satisfaction levels, and positive acceptance underscore the rationale for pursuing a subsequent randomized clinical trial.
Keywords: Positive Psychology, self-compassion, APP, Students, Mental Health, intervention
Received: 09 Apr 2024; Accepted: 09 Aug 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Schaab, Cunha, Silveira, Ballejos, Diaz, Kaiser, Calvetti, Cazella, Barros and Reppold. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Bruno Luis Schaab, Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil
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