Effects of an Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (iCBT) Program in Manga Format on Improving Subthreshold Depressive Symptoms among Healthy Workers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Kotaro Imamura, Norito Kawakami, Toshi A Furukawa, Yutaka Matsuyama, Akihito Shimazu, Rino Umanodan, Sonoko Kawakami and Kiyoto Kasai

PLOS ONE, 2014, vol. 9, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop a new Internet-based computerized cognitive behavior therapy (iCBT) program in Manga format, the Japanese cartoon, for workers and to examine the effects of the iCBT program on improving subthreshold depression using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design among workers employed in private companies in Japan. Method: All workers in a company (n = 290) and all workers in three departments (n = 1,500) at the headquarters of another large company were recruited by an invitation e-mail. Participants who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were randomly allocated to intervention or control groups (N = 381 for each group). A six-week, six-lesson iCBT program using Manga (Japanese comic) story was developed. The program included several CBT skills: self-monitoring, cognitive restructuring, assertiveness, problem solving, and relaxation. The intervention group studied the iCBT program at a frequency of one lesson per week. Depression (Beck Depression Inventory II; BDI-II) was assessed as a primary outcome at baseline, and three- and six-month follow-ups for both intervention and control groups were performed. Results: The iCBT program showed a significant intervention effect on BDI-II (t = −1.99, p

Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0097167 (text/html)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id= ... 97167&type=printable (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0097167

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097167

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in PLOS ONE from Public Library of Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by plosone ().