What is the efficacy of therapist-guided and self-guided internet-delivered treatment for young adults (18-24) with symptoms of anxiety and depression?

A randomized controlled trial of the effects of self-guided vs. guided Internet-administered treatment on symptoms of anxiety and depression in Australian young adults (18-24).

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12613000915752

Acronym

MMRCT1

Enrollment

192

Registered

2013-08-16

Start date

2013-09-05

Completion date

2015-04-28

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

This project is part of a research program funded by beyondblue to develop and evaluate Internet based treatment programs for young adults (18-24) with anxiety and depression. This project examines the relative efficacy of guided and self-guided internet delivered treatment. We expect that the guided interventions will result in superior outcomes to the unguided interventions.

Interventions

In this trial Australian young adults (18-24) with symptoms of anxiety and depression will be randomly allocated to one of two groups. The two groups are: Group 1: Self-guided - treatment. Participants in this group will complete the treatment in a self-guided format, that is, without support from a therapist. Group 2: Guided - treatment. Participants in this group will complete the treatment in a guided format, that is, with weekly telephone or email support from a therapist. Over the 5 weeks, all participants will be directed to read 4 online lessons about management of symptoms. One lesson will be completed every 7 to 14 days. Each lesson will take about 15 minutes to read. Participants will also have access to summaries and homework assignments for each lesson, and will read stories about people with similar symptoms, taking a further 20 minutes per week. Participants in all groups will also receive automatic emails providing reminders about the course and encouragement to continue. Study questionnaires will be administered at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at 3 and 12 post-treatment. These will take about 10-15 minutes to complete. Participants will also complete brief measures of mood, anxiety and adaptive coping techniques before each lesson. The treatment materials include cognitive behavioural treatment (CBT) skills.

Study design

Allocation

Randomised controlled trial

Intervention model

Parallel

Primary purpose

Treatment

Masking

Blinded (masking used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to 24 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Resident of Australia. 2. Aged between 18 to 24 years years old. 3. No current participation in cognitive behavioural treatment for anxiety or depression. 4. Provides informed consent. 5. Reliable access to the Internet.

Exclusion criteria

1. Severe depression at application (score of 23 or greater on PHQ-9) 2. Suicidal intent or plan at application (either reporting suicidal intent or responding >2 to Question 9 [suicidal ideation] on the PHQ-9) 3. Principal presenting problem not symptoms of anxiety or depression

Outcome results