Meta analysis of the efficacy of digital psychological therapies on depressive symptoms among adolescents
10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2026120
- VernacularTitle:数字心理疗法对青少年抑郁症状疗效的Meta分析
- Author:
YANG Xuan, YANG Dong, CAI Rui, TANG Yuping, YE Sheng, LUO Yaoyue
1
Author Information
1. School of Nursing, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410208, Hunan Province,China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Depression;
Intervention;
Meta analysis;
Databases,bibliographic;
Adolescent
- From:
Chinese Journal of School Health
2026;47(4):531-537
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To systematically evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and maintenance effects of digital psychological therapies on depressive symptoms among adolescents, so as to provide a reference for clinical practice.
Methods:Randomized controlled trial(RCT) investigating digital psychological therapies to improve depressive symptoms among adolescents were searched across databases, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database, VIP database, and SinoMed, from database inception to November 20, 2025. Following literature screening, quality assessment, and data extraction, a Meta analysis was performed using Stata 18.0 software.
Results:A total of 20 studies involving 2 042 adolescents aged 11-19 were included. The Meta analysis revealed that digital psychological therapies significantly alleviated depressive symptoms in adolescents ( SMD =-0.59, 95% CI =-0.85 to -0.32, P <0.01). The therapeutic effect was sustained at long term follow up ( SMD =-0.21, 95% CI =-0.34 to -0.09, P <0.01). Furthermore, depression scores in the intervention group showed a continued decrease from post intervention to long term follow up ( SMD =-0.28, 95% CI =-0.41 to -0.14, P <0.01). Egger s linear regression test indicated possible publication bias (Kendall s tall=0.28, P <0.01).
Conclusions:Digital psychological therapies can effectively improve depressive symptoms among adolescents, with stable long term efficacy. However, current evidence remains limited and exhibits substantial heterogeneity. Therefore, further large sample, high quality RCTs are warranted to validate the effectiveness of this intervention.
