Single-session digital intervention for adolescent depression, anxiety, and well-being: outcomes of a randomized controlled trial with Kenyan adolescents
A single session of reading and writing activities covering growth mindset, gratitude and value affirmation reduced depressive symptoms in Kenyan adolescents at two-week follow-up (d = 0.50), with a larger effect among those starting with moderate to severe symptoms (d = 0.83).
One session, and a depression effect larger than the average for full-length therapy - with three important caveats.
One hundred and three Kenyan high school students were randomised to Shamiri-Digital - reading and writing activities covering growth mindset, gratitude and value affirmation - or to a study-skills control, both delivered electronically in schools.
Compared with control, the intervention produced a greater reduction in depressive symptoms in the full sample (d = 0.50) and in the subsample with moderate to severe symptoms (d = 0.83). The authors note these exceed the mean effects reported in meta-analyses of full-length face-to-face psychotherapy for youth depression.
Now the caveats, all of which the authors state themselves.
- Gratitude was one of three ingredients. This study cannot tell you what gratitude did alone.
- Anxiety, well-being and happiness showed no significant effects. Only depression moved.
- Follow-up was two weeks. Durability is unknown.
It is included here because it is the strongest evidence that very brief, very cheap writing interventions can do something real - and because it is honest about which outcome moved and which did not.
Gratitude was one of three components, so this cannot show what gratitude contributed on its own. There were no significant effects on anxiety, well-being or happiness. Follow-up was two weeks, which says nothing about durability, and the authors call for replication with extended follow-up before the strength of the effect is judged.
Summarized by Tiago Martins · Last updated: · How we write these
