A “growth mindset of mental health” intervention increases the likelihood of initiating self-help on a mental health app: a randomized controlled trial
- 1Department of Psychology, Harvard University
- 2Department of Management, University of Exeter Business School
- 3Intellect Pte Ltd
Abstract
Mental health apps hold potential to improve access to treatment, but engagement remains low. One barrier may be the belief that mental health cannot be meaningfully improved. In a randomized controlled trial (N = 252), we examined whether a brief growth-mindset-of-mental-health intervention—portraying mental health as improvable, not fixed—can initiate mental health app engagement among people with mental health needs. Participants completed baseline well-being measures (stress, anxiety and depression, and positive mental well-being) and were randomly assigned to the growth-mindset-of-mental-health or active control condition. Over the subsequent three months, we tracked whether they re-engaged with the app overall (i.e., completed at least a second self-help feature), and with features categorized as low-, moderate-, and high-intensity. Analyses revealed that participants in the growth-mindset condition (vs. control) with poorer baseline mental well-being (i.e., higher stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and lower positive mental well-being) were significantly more likely to show repeat app engagement. Moreover, those with higher anxiety and depressive symptoms were more likely to show repeat engagement with moderate-intensity features, while those experiencing higher stress and lower positive mental well-being were more likely to do so with both low- and moderate-intensity features. Together, these findings demonstrate the benefits of the growth-mindset intervention for successful initiation of self-help on a mental health app. Trial Registration: The trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT07071311) on July 25, 2025.
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BibTeX
@article{toh2026growth,
title = {{A “growth mindset of mental health” intervention increases the likelihood of initiating self-help on a mental health app: a randomized controlled trial}},
author = {Sean H. Y. Toh and E. J. Horberg and Feodora R. Kosasih and Oliver Sündermann and Paul A. O’Keefe},
journal = {npj Digital Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41746-026-03322-w},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-026-03322-w},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A “growth mindset of mental health” intervention increases the likelihood of initiating self-help on a mental health app: a randomized controlled trial
AU - Sean H. Y. Toh
AU - E. J. Horberg
AU - Feodora R. Kosasih
AU - Oliver Sündermann
AU - Paul A. O’Keefe
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/25
JO - npj Digital Medicine
DO - 10.1038/s41746-026-03322-w
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-026-03322-w
AB - Mental health apps hold potential to improve access to treatment, but engagement remains low. One barrier may be the belief that mental health cannot be meaningfully improved. In a randomized controlled trial (N = 252), we examined whether a brief growth-mindset-of-mental-health intervention—portraying mental health as improvable, not fixed—can initiate mental health app engagement among people with mental health needs. Participants completed baseline well-being measures (stress, anxiety and depression, and positive mental well-being) and were randomly assigned to the growth-mindset-of-mental-health or active control condition. Over the subsequent three months, we tracked whether they re-engaged with the app overall (i.e., completed at least a second self-help feature), and with features categorized as low-, moderate-, and high-intensity. Analyses revealed that participants in the growth-mindset condition (vs. control) with poorer baseline mental well-being (i.e., higher stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and lower positive mental well-being) were significantly more likely to show repeat app engagement. Moreover, those with higher anxiety and depressive symptoms were more likely to show repeat engagement with moderate-intensity features, while those experiencing higher stress and lower positive mental well-being were more likely to do so with both low- and moderate-intensity features. Together, these findings demonstrate the benefits of the growth-mindset intervention for successful initiation of self-help on a mental health app. Trial Registration: The trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT07071311) on July 25, 2025.
SN - 2398-6352
ER -