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Evaluation Review of Mobile Apps Supporting Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Mental Health

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mHealth and Human-Centered Design Towards Enhanced Health, Care, and Well-being

Part of the book series: Studies in Big Data ((SBD,volume 120))

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Abstract

Supporting adolescents’ and youths’ mental health has become a key priority, especially in Western countries. The pervasive adoption of mobile tools by the younger generations may provide a significant opportunity to increase access to services that promote mental health and well-being. Although, in recent years, several mobile applications were developed, there is limited information available about their psychological quality. In this contribution, we will review mental health apps for adolescents and young adults and assess their quality by utilizing the Evaluation Model Screener, which is a part of the American Psychiatric Association Comprehensive App Evaluation Model. Drawing on the results of this analysis, we will discuss the importance of user experience in developing mHealth tools and conclude with key considerations for the future developments of mHealth for adolescents and young adults.

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Acknowledgements

This research was partially supported by the KA220-YOU—Cooperation partnerships in youth “E+Wellbeing App”.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy

    Milica Petrovic & Marta Landoni

  2. Department for Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Goethe University, Depression Research Centre of the German Depression Foundation, Frankfurt, Germany

    Milica Petrovic

  3. Research Center in Communication Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy

    Flavia Cristofolini & Andrea Gaggioli

  4. Centro Di Ricerca Sulle Dinamiche Evolutive Ed Educative, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, CRIdeeMilan, Italy

    Chiara Ionio

  5. IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy

    Flavia Cristofolini & Andrea Gaggioli

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  1. Milica Petrovic
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  4. Chiara Ionio
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  5. Andrea Gaggioli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrea Gaggioli .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Center for Health and Technology (CHaT), 4D4ALL Lab, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium

    Sofia Scataglini

  2. Dipartimento di Architettura, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

    Silvia Imbesi

  3. Department of Science and Technology, Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Technology and Management School of Oliveira do Hospital, Oliveira do Hospital, Portugal

    Gonçalo Marques

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Petrovic, M., Cristofolini, F., Landoni, M., Ionio, C., Gaggioli, A. (2023). Evaluation Review of Mobile Apps Supporting Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Mental Health. In: Scataglini, S., Imbesi, S., Marques, G. (eds) mHealth and Human-Centered Design Towards Enhanced Health, Care, and Well-being. Studies in Big Data, vol 120. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3989-3_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3989-3_7

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