Aim: Smartphone-based psychological interventions for mental health conditions provide the individual with treatment options beyond the therapy room. Smartphone apps may address symptoms of disorders, or target underlying mechanisms that cut across diagnostic boundaries. Emotion regulation is a mechanism commonly targeted in the treatment of personality disorders that may be addressed in a transdiagnostic or disorder-specific manner. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine (a) which mechanisms are most effectively targeted using smartphone apps and (b) whether transdiagnostic or disorder-specific smartphone interventions are more effective in the treatment of mental health conditions.
Method: Four databases (PsycINFO, Medline, Web of Science and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) were searched from 2006 to October 2022. Controlled trials of smartphone app interventions targeting symptoms of mental health conditions or transdiagnostic mechanisms were included. Participants in these trials were aged over 12 and had subclinical symptoms or a diagnosed mental health condition according to validated measures.
Results: The search yielded 6626 articles, 501 of which were screened at a full-text level. Data extraction of around 100 articles is currently underway. Random-effects meta-analyses are planned to estimate controlled treatment effects on transdiagnostic mechanisms and compare effects between transdiagnostic and disorder-specific interventions.
Conclusions: This presentation will include key findings from the largest review ever conducted on transdiagnostic smartphone interventions. The presentation will also include a broader discussion on options for both transdiagnostic and disorder-specific treatment approaches to emotion dysregulation.