The Effects of Using Psychotherapeutic e-Mental Health Interventions on Men’s Depression and Anxiety

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Bibliographic Data

ID21621463
AuthorsMelissa J Opozda (0000-0001-5424-4738, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, corresponding author), Melissa Oxlad (0000-0001-9067-6706, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute), Deborah Turnbull (0000-0002-7116-7073, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute), Himanshu Gupta (0000-0001-9202-4728, Flinders University), Andrew Vincent (0009-0007-6531-2506, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute), Andrew D Vincent, Samuel Ziesing (0000-0002-3061-1238, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute), Murray E Nankivell (0000-0002-2001-4149, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute), Gary Wittert (0000-0001-6818-6065, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute)
Year2024
Volume43
Issue10
Pages9101-9115
Publication date2024-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCurrent Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1046-1310 • E-ISSN: 1936-4733
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s12144-023-04968-5
OpenAlexW4385652492
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited38

While psychotherapeutic e-mental health interventions may circumvent barriers that many men face in accessing mental health care, the effects of men using these interventions have not been evaluated. We aimed to synthesise the characteristics of psychotherapeutic e-mental health interventions for depression or anxiety that have been trialled and evaluated in men, and synthesise and meta-analyse the effects of these interventions on men’s depression and anxiety, including examining influences of participant, intervention, and study characteristics on outcomes. Seven papers ( N = 552 participant men) identified from systematic literature searches met inclusion criteria. A total 177 studies were excluded because although they met all other inclusion criteria, they did not present analysable data on participant men. The seven included interventions varied in content, length, and format; only one intervention was gender sensitive, having been designed specifically for men. All three randomised controlled trials detected no post-trial difference in men’s depression symptoms between intervention and control participants. All four treatment studies presenting pre-post data reported post-intervention improvements in depression or social anxiety symptoms; this was supported by our meta-analysis of two studies, which found a medium-sized, positive effect of depression treatment interventions on depression symptoms in pre-post data ( g = 0.64, p

Anxiety · Mental health · Meta-analysis · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Clinical Psychology · Digital Mental Health Interventions · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology · Internal Medicine