Predictors of depression outcomes among university students following brief smartphone-based interventions

Xuanchen Liu; WuYi Zheng; Leonard Hoon; Sunil Gupta; Svetha Venkatesh; Helen Christensen; Jill Newby; Alexis E. Whitton; Vibe Up Trial Consortium

doi:10.1038/s44184-026-00208-3

Predictors of depression outcomes among university students following brief smartphone-based interventions

Xuanchen Liu, WuYi Zheng, Leonard Hoon, Sunil Gupta, Svetha Venkatesh, Helen Christensen, Jill Newby, Alexis E. Whitton^*, Vibe Up Trial Consortium

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Smartphone-delivered interventions offer a scalable solution for university students experiencing depression, yet outcomes remain inconsistent. This study examined predictors of depression remission and response in the AI-enhanced Vibe Up adaptive trial of brief smartphone-based interventions in 1282 Australian university students (mean age 23.52 years; 78.39% women) with elevated distress (Kessler-10 ≥ 20). After a two-week monitoring period, participants were randomised to two-week self-guided smartphone-based interventions targeting sleep hygiene, mindfulness, physical activity, or an ecological momentary assessment control intervention. Predictors of depression remission (DASS-21 in normal range) and response (≥50% reduction) were examined using hierarchical logistic regression. At post-intervention, 40.87% achieved remission and 29.88% showed response. Baseline depression severity, quality of life, general practitioner visits, and pre-intervention credibility predicted remission and/or response across all intervention arms. Higher baseline anxiety specifically predicted poorer remission in the sleep hygiene arm. Individual factors modestly predicted outcomes. Trajectory-based predictors may be needed to improve outcome prediction.

Original language	English
Article number	25
Pages (from-to)	1-12
Number of pages	12
Journal	npj Mental Health Research
Volume	5
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s44184-026-00208-3
Publication status	Published - Dec 2026

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10.1038/s44184-026-00208-3Licence: CC BY

Publisher version (open access)Final published version, 602 KBLicence: CC BY

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@article{43109c5f3364447a9e5ce186746901ac,

title = "Predictors of depression outcomes among university students following brief smartphone-based interventions",

abstract = "Smartphone-delivered interventions offer a scalable solution for university students experiencing depression, yet outcomes remain inconsistent. This study examined predictors of depression remission and response in the AI-enhanced Vibe Up adaptive trial of brief smartphone-based interventions in 1282 Australian university students (mean age 23.52 years; 78.39\% women) with elevated distress (Kessler-10 ≥ 20). After a two-week monitoring period, participants were randomised to two-week self-guided smartphone-based interventions targeting sleep hygiene, mindfulness, physical activity, or an ecological momentary assessment control intervention. Predictors of depression remission (DASS-21 in normal range) and response (≥50\% reduction) were examined using hierarchical logistic regression. At post-intervention, 40.87\% achieved remission and 29.88\% showed response. Baseline depression severity, quality of life, general practitioner visits, and pre-intervention credibility predicted remission and/or response across all intervention arms. Higher baseline anxiety specifically predicted poorer remission in the sleep hygiene arm. Individual factors modestly predicted outcomes. Trajectory-based predictors may be needed to improve outcome prediction.",

author = "Xuanchen Liu and WuYi Zheng and Leonard Hoon and Sunil Gupta and Svetha Venkatesh and Helen Christensen and Jill Newby and Whitton, \{Alexis E.\} and \{Vibe Up Trial Consortium\} and Akash Agarwal and Joshua Asbury and Beames, \{Joanne R.\} and Julian Berk and Stuart Cameron and Henry Cutler and Omar Dabash and Kupper, \{Joost Funke\} and Jin Han and Kit Huckvale and Stefanus Kurniawan and Rena Logothetis and Andrew Mackinnon and Kon Mouzakis and Simon Rosenbaum and Artur Shvetcov and Manisha Senadeera and Aimy Slade and Eileen Stech and Rajesh Vasa and Aliza Werner-Seidler",

note = "{\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2026. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.",

year = "2026",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1038/s44184-026-00208-3",

language = "English",

volume = "5",

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AU - Liu, Xuanchen

AU - Zheng, WuYi

AU - Hoon, Leonard

AU - Gupta, Sunil

AU - Venkatesh, Svetha

AU - Christensen, Helen

AU - Newby, Jill

AU - Whitton, Alexis E.

AU - Vibe Up Trial Consortium

AU - Agarwal, Akash

AU - Asbury, Joshua

AU - Beames, Joanne R.

AU - Berk, Julian

AU - Cameron, Stuart

AU - Cutler, Henry

AU - Dabash, Omar

AU - Kupper, Joost Funke

AU - Han, Jin

AU - Huckvale, Kit

AU - Kurniawan, Stefanus

AU - Logothetis, Rena

AU - Mackinnon, Andrew

AU - Mouzakis, Kon

AU - Rosenbaum, Simon

AU - Shvetcov, Artur

AU - Senadeera, Manisha

AU - Slade, Aimy

AU - Stech, Eileen

AU - Vasa, Rajesh

AU - Werner-Seidler, Aliza

N1 - © The Author(s) 2026. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

PY - 2026/12

Y1 - 2026/12

N2 - Smartphone-delivered interventions offer a scalable solution for university students experiencing depression, yet outcomes remain inconsistent. This study examined predictors of depression remission and response in the AI-enhanced Vibe Up adaptive trial of brief smartphone-based interventions in 1282 Australian university students (mean age 23.52 years; 78.39% women) with elevated distress (Kessler-10 ≥ 20). After a two-week monitoring period, participants were randomised to two-week self-guided smartphone-based interventions targeting sleep hygiene, mindfulness, physical activity, or an ecological momentary assessment control intervention. Predictors of depression remission (DASS-21 in normal range) and response (≥50% reduction) were examined using hierarchical logistic regression. At post-intervention, 40.87% achieved remission and 29.88% showed response. Baseline depression severity, quality of life, general practitioner visits, and pre-intervention credibility predicted remission and/or response across all intervention arms. Higher baseline anxiety specifically predicted poorer remission in the sleep hygiene arm. Individual factors modestly predicted outcomes. Trajectory-based predictors may be needed to improve outcome prediction.

AB - Smartphone-delivered interventions offer a scalable solution for university students experiencing depression, yet outcomes remain inconsistent. This study examined predictors of depression remission and response in the AI-enhanced Vibe Up adaptive trial of brief smartphone-based interventions in 1282 Australian university students (mean age 23.52 years; 78.39% women) with elevated distress (Kessler-10 ≥ 20). After a two-week monitoring period, participants were randomised to two-week self-guided smartphone-based interventions targeting sleep hygiene, mindfulness, physical activity, or an ecological momentary assessment control intervention. Predictors of depression remission (DASS-21 in normal range) and response (≥50% reduction) were examined using hierarchical logistic regression. At post-intervention, 40.87% achieved remission and 29.88% showed response. Baseline depression severity, quality of life, general practitioner visits, and pre-intervention credibility predicted remission and/or response across all intervention arms. Higher baseline anxiety specifically predicted poorer remission in the sleep hygiene arm. Individual factors modestly predicted outcomes. Trajectory-based predictors may be needed to improve outcome prediction.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105036655344

UR - https://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/2024796

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DO - 10.1038/s44184-026-00208-3

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SN - 2731-4251

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JO - npj Mental Health Research

JF - npj Mental Health Research

IS - 1

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ER -

Predictors of depression outcomes among university students following brief smartphone-based interventions

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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Other files and links

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CRE (UNSW led): CORE-DEP: Centre of Research Excellence in Depression Treatment Precision

Cite this

Predictors of depression outcomes among university students following brief smartphone-based interventions

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

CRE (UNSW led): CORE-DEP: Centre of Research Excellence in Depression Treatment Precision

Cite this