Help me help myself: examining an electronic mental health self-monitoring system in college students

• Published in: Higher education 2022-01, Vol.83 (1), p.163-182
• Main Authors: Gatto, Alyssa J., Miyazaki, Yasuo, Cooper, Lee D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety; College Students; Control Groups; Degradation; Education; Electronic monitoring; Feedback; Health aspects; Higher Education; Implementation; Measurement Techniques; Mental Disorders; Mental Health; Mental health care; Mental health services; Mental illness; Monitoring systems; Online Systems; Prevention; Prevention programs; Psychological aspects; Psychological distress; Self control; Self regulation; Selfmonitoring; Social networks; Social Support Groups; Stress; Support networks; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Technology application
• ISSN: 0018-1560; 1573-174X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10734-020-00646-8

The high prevalence of mental illness in college students results in adverse consequences that have led to developing prevention programs, with the potential of self-monitoring (SM) to reduce symptomatology. SM as indicated in this study intends to help individuals set goals, increase self-regulation, and provide awareness of personal psychological difficulties along with available support networks. In two studies, an electronic monitoring system was first tested on a bi-weekly basis (SM-B; N  = 100), then implemented on a weekly basis (SM-W; N  = 186). Monitoring was shown to be feasible in the pilot and showed promising reductions in stress and anxiety in the SM-B condition. While there were reductions in symptoms across experimental and control groups, SM-W significantly reduced anxiety and stress compared with controls. These studies support that implementation of a basic electronic monitoring and feedback system could help protect against mental health degradation over the course of a student’s time in college. Important implications for prevention of psychological distress in college students are discussed.