Psychological distress among college students is increasing and more than 50% of U.S. college students report significant symptoms of depression, anxiety or stress.1 Many of these students do not receive professional help due to the long waiting time and lack of resources for mental health services at universities. As a result, they may experience poor performance in college, drop out of college, or even die of suicide. It is thus, crucial to provide new interventions that are aligned with the needs of college students. C-STRESS addresses the mental health needs of college students with an innovative mobile application to deliver Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT), a mind-training intervention that builds skills of attention, mindfulness, and traditional cognitive behavioral techniques, actualized through meditation, to cultivate compassion for self and others. The ultimate goal of C-STRESS is to revolutionize the delivery of CBCT and strengthen college students? cognitive resilience to stress and improve mental health outcomes. C-STRESS, a potential digital treatment intervention for depressive symptoms, incorporates 3 key innovative components: 1. Micro-learning content, 2. Audiovisual library, and 3. Virtual drop-ins, allowing college students with on-demand access to the structured, research-based CBCT program, CBCT meditation recordings, and a virtual room to interact with fellow CBCT practitioners and a CBCT instructor. We hypothesize that depressed college students who receive C-STRESS will have significant decreases in depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress at 10 and 16 weeks. !
Formative research conducted for the development of C-STRESS and results from pilot testing in Phases I and II will in the short-term guide the development of an mHealth treatment intervention that specifically caters to the needs of college students who are experiencing stress, anxiety, or depression. In the long-term, C- STRESS has the potential to increase access to mental health care, reduce depressive symptoms, and achieve improved mental health outcomes among a diverse group of college students, who are otherwise unlikely to receive care. !
