NCT06039514

Mobile App for Eating Disorders in Adolescents

Promoting Mental Health in Adolescents Through Mobile Apps: the Case of Eating Disorders.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 93 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Valencia · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 13 Years – 15 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of GGTCA-AD to decrease the maladaptive beliefs associated with eating disorders (ED) in non-clinical adolescent population. Specifically, a randomized controlled trial with parallel design and two groups (experimental and control) will be carried out in adolescents aged 13-15 years to assess the changes pre and post use of the app. It is expected that after the use of the GGTCA-AD app for 14 days, at the primary level, a: decrease in the degree of ascription to dysfunctional beliefs associated with ED; and at the secondary level: increase in body satisfaction and self-esteem; decrease in eating symptomatology; and no changes in emotional symptomatology. These results are also expected to be maintained in subsequent follow-up at 1 month.

Detailed description

There is a digital platform called GGtude, which is composed of different modules, each of them aimed at working with different mental health problems. The goal is to provide an easy-to-use tool as a CBT complement to work on the self-dialogue that relates to the core beliefs associated with the psychological problem in particular. To achieve this target, a cognitive training exercise is performed: different sentences appear in the form of beliefs, and the person must identify and accept those beliefs that are functional, adaptive and positive, dragging them to the lower part of the screen; and reject those that are dysfunctional, maladaptive and negative dragging them to the upper part of the screen. The GGTCA app is a module of GGtude that was developed to work on dysfunctional beliefs associated with eating disorders. Previous research showed that the app produced a statistically significant decrease of mean scores in maladaptive beliefs associated with ED and a statistically significant increase in self-esteem in adult population. Furthermore, adolescence is a developmental stage vulnerable to the development of these disorders, so it's relevant to adapt the GGTCA application to the adolescent population (GGTCA-AD) and to evaluate its effectiveness.

Conditions

• Eating Disorders in Adolescence

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	GGTCA-AD mobile app	The intervention will be done through an adaptation of the GGTCA app for teenagers: GGTCA-AD. This app is used to work on the dysfunctional beliefs that are associated with eating disorders. The app is made up of a series of levels comprising the topics that are normally worked on in cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in relation to eating disorders. At each level, affirmations in the form of beliefs appear on the screen, and the person must accept them if they are functional, adaptive and positive; or reject them if they are dysfunctional, maladaptive and negative.
DEVICE	GGNeutra mobile app	the control group will complete another module belonging to the GGTUDE digital platform. Specifically, this app is called GGNEUTRA, and the statements that compose it are totally independent of the target of the study. The operation is similar, sentences appear in the center of the screen, but in this case, the person must accept those sentences that are true, for example: "Madrid is the capital of Spain", by dragging it to the top of the screen; and reject those that are false, for example: "Tokyo is the capital of Spain", by dragging it to the bottom of the screen.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-04-09
• Primary completion: 2024-05-23
• Completion: 2024-05-23
• First posted: 2023-09-15
• Last updated: 2024-06-18

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Spain