Adaptation and evaluation of an online intervention for anxiety and depressive symptoms in young adults

• Ano de defesa: 2025
• Autor(a) principal: Nogueira, Juliana Maltoni
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Instituição de defesa: Biblioteca Digitais de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Palavras-chave em Português: Anxiety symptoms; Depressive symptoms; Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy; Intervenção online; Jovens adultos; Online intervention; Sintomas de ansiedade; Sintomas de depressão; Terapia cognitiva-comportamental baseada na internet; Young adults
• Link de acesso: https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/59/59134/tde-27052025-103839/

Brazil has one of the highest global rates for symptoms of anxiety and depression but faces great inequality and challenges in accessing mental health care. Youth is considered a period of psychological vulnerability, requiring special attention. Internet-based cognitivebehavioral therapy (ICBT) has proven to be a promising tool for overcoming barriers to accessing evidence-based interventions, demonstrating efficacy in self-guided, low-intensity formats. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a tailored self-guided intervention for symptoms of anxiety and depression with minimal on-demand support for young Brazilians aged 18 to 24. Two manuscripts are presented in this work addressing this issue. Study 1 presents the study protocol for a randomized clinical trial of the proposed intervention. Study 2 consisted of a two-arm randomized clinical trial pilot with 92 participants aged between 18 and 24, assessing the effectiveness of the adapted intervention in reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms. Secondary outcomes included the intervention\'s effects on stress, insomnia, perfectionism, smartphone and social media use, and quality of life. The intervention based ICBT lasted 8 weeks and was also carried out with on-demand support from a psychotherapist. The treatment group (n=46) proved to be equivalent to the waiting list group (n=46) in the pretest. The results of the multiple regression analyses indicated significant improvements in symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia and quality of life in the treatment group compared to the control group, with moderate to large effect sizes. Based on the presented findings, it can be concluded that an ICBT intervention is a viable tool in the Brazilian context. The intervention demonstrated efficacy in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression among young Brazilians. Future research is needed to replicate these results and explore the effects on other populations.