Consumer Smartphone Apps Marketed for Child and Adolescent Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Content Analysis

Overview

Journal Behav Ther

Publisher Elsevier

Specialties Pharmacology
Psychiatry
Social Sciences

Date 2018 Mar 14

PMID 29530263

Citations 41

Authors

Laura Jane Bry

Tommy Chou

Elizabeth Miguel

Jonathan S Comer

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are collectively the most prevalent mental health problems affecting youth. To increase the reach of mental health care, recent years have seen increasing enthusiasm surrounding mobile platforms for expanding treatment delivery options. Apps developed in academia and supported in clinical trials are slow to reach the consumer marketplace. Meanwhile, proliferation of industry-developed apps on consumer marketplaces has been high. The present study analyzed content within mobile products prominently marketed toward consumers for anxiety in youth. Systematic inventory of the Google Play Store and Apple Store using keyword searches for child and adolescent anxiety yielded 121 apps, which were evaluated on the basis of their descriptive characteristics, mobile functionalities, and adherence to evidence-based treatment principles. Findings revealed that evidence-based treatment content within the sample is scant and few comprehensive anxiety self-management apps were identified. Advanced features that leverage the broader functionalities of smartphone capabilities (e.g., sensors, ecological momentary assessments) were rarely present. Findings underscore the need to increase the prominence and accessibility of quality child anxiety intervention products for consumers. Strategies for improving marketing of supported apps to better penetrate consumer markets are discussed.

Citing Articles

Developing and evaluating a gamified self-management application for inflammatory bowel disease using the ADDIE model and Sukr framework.

Norouzkhani N, Norouzi S, Faramarzi M, Bahari A, Shirvani J, Eslami S BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2025; 25(1):11.

PMID: 39780171 PMC: 11715334. DOI: 10.1186/s12911-024-02842-3.

Decoding anxiety: A scoping review of observable cues.

Smrke U, Mlakar I, Rehberger A, Zuzek L, Plohl N Digit Health. 2024; 10:20552076241297006.

PMID: 39600386 PMC: 11590141. DOI: 10.1177/20552076241297006.

A Systematic Review of Parental Involvement in Digital Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Interventions for Child Anxiety.

Grajdan M, Etel E, Farrell L, Donovan C Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2024; 28(1):22-70.

PMID: 39511110 DOI: 10.1007/s10567-024-00505-3.

A Pilot Controlled Trial of Relaxation Training Combined with a Video Game Reinforcing Emotional Regulation to Improve Anger Management in Children and Adolescents.

Vaudreuil C, Abel M, Barnett Y, DiSalvo M, Hirshfeld-Becker D Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol. 2024; 52(12):1847-1859.

PMID: 39441503 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-024-01259-w.

Outcomes of Providing Children Aged 7-12 Years With Access to Evidence-Based Anxiety Treatment Via a Standalone Digital Intervention Using Immersive Gaming Technology: Real-World Evaluation.

Gee B, Teague B, Laphan A, Clarke T, Coote G, Garner J JMIR Ment Health. 2024; 11:e52866.

PMID: 39437449 PMC: 11526415. DOI: 10.2196/52866.

References

Higa-McMillan C, Francis S, Rith-Najarian L, Chorpita B . Evidence Base Update: 50 Years of Research on Treatment for Child and Adolescent Anxiety. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2015; 45(2):91-113. DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2015.1046177. View

Wang P, Lane M, Olfson M, Pincus H, Wells K, Kessler R . Twelve-month use of mental health services in the United States: results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005; 62(6):629-40. DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.62.6.629. View

Krebs P, Duncan D . Health App Use Among US Mobile Phone Owners: A National Survey. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2015; 3(4):e101. PMC: 4704953. DOI: 10.2196/mhealth.4924. View

Wu P, Goodwin R, Fuller C, Liu X, Comer J, Cohen P . The relationship between anxiety disorders and substance use among adolescents in the community: specificity and gender differences. J Youth Adolesc. 2010; 39(2):177-88. PMC: 2809931. DOI: 10.1007/s10964-008-9385-5. View

Hedman E, Alaoui S, Lindefors N, Andersson E, Ruck C, Ghaderi A . Clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Internet- vs. group-based cognitive behavior therapy for social anxiety disorder: 4-year follow-up of a randomized trial. Behav Res Ther. 2014; 59:20-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2014.05.010. View

Chorpita B, Daleiden E . Mapping evidence-based treatments for children and adolescents: application of the distillation and matching model to 615 treatments from 322 randomized trials. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2009; 77(3):566-79. DOI: 10.1037/a0014565. View

Sareen J, Jagdeo A, Cox B, Clara I, Have M, Belik S . Perceived barriers to mental health service utilization in the United States, Ontario, and the Netherlands. Psychiatr Serv. 2007; 58(3):357-64. DOI: 10.1176/ps.2007.58.3.357. View

Siegel R, La Greca A, Harrison H . Peer victimization and social anxiety in adolescents: prospective and reciprocal relationships. J Youth Adolesc. 2009; 38(8):1096-109. DOI: 10.1007/s10964-009-9392-1. View

Westfall J, Mold J, Fagnan L . Practice-based research--"Blue Highways" on the NIH roadmap. JAMA. 2007; 297(4):403-6. DOI: 10.1001/jama.297.4.403. View

10.

Kamel Boulos M, Wheeler S, Tavares C, Jones R . How smartphones are changing the face of mobile and participatory healthcare: an overview, with example from eCAALYX. Biomed Eng Online. 2011; 10:24. PMC: 3080339. DOI: 10.1186/1475-925X-10-24. View

11.

Mohr D, Ho J, Duffecy J, Baron K, Lehman K, Jin L . Perceived barriers to psychological treatments and their relationship to depression. J Clin Psychol. 2010; 66(4):394-409. PMC: 2907887. DOI: 10.1002/jclp.20659. View

12.

Ehrenreich-May J, Rosenfield D, Queen A, Kennedy S, Remmes C, Barlow D . An initial waitlist-controlled trial of the unified protocol for the treatment of emotional disorders in adolescents. J Anxiety Disord. 2016; 46:46-55. DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2016.10.006. View

13.

Pramana G, Parmanto B, Kendall P, Silk J . The SmartCAT: an m-health platform for ecological momentary intervention in child anxiety treatment. Telemed J E Health. 2014; 20(5):419-27. PMC: 4011472. DOI: 10.1089/tmj.2013.0214. View

14.

Whiteside S . Mobile Device-Based Applications for Childhood Anxiety Disorders. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2015; 26(3):246-51. DOI: 10.1089/cap.2015.0010. View

15.

Silverman W, Ollendick T . Evidence-based assessment of anxiety and its disorders in children and adolescents. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2005; 34(3):380-411. DOI: 10.1207/s15374424jccp3403_2. View

16.

Crawford A, Manassis K . Anxiety, social skills, friendship quality, and peer victimization: an integrated model. J Anxiety Disord. 2011; 25(7):924-31. DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2011.05.005. View

17.

Link Egger H, Angold A . Common emotional and behavioral disorders in preschool children: presentation, nosology, and epidemiology. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2006; 47(3-4):313-37. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01618.x. View

18.

Hilty D, Cobb H, Neufeld J, Bourgeois J, Yellowlees P . Telepsychiatry reduces geographic physician disparity in rural settings, but is it financially feasible because of reimbursement?. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2008; 31(1):85-94. DOI: 10.1016/j.psc.2007.11.010. View

19.

Woodward L, Fergusson D . Life course outcomes of young people with anxiety disorders in adolescence. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2001; 40(9):1086-93. DOI: 10.1097/00004583-200109000-00018. View

20.

Mohr D, Tomasino K, Lattie E, Palac H, Kwasny M, Weingardt K . IntelliCare: An Eclectic, Skills-Based App Suite for the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety. J Med Internet Res. 2017; 19(1):e10. PMC: 5247623. DOI: 10.2196/jmir.6645. View