The impact of a cognitive restructuring smartphone application on the perceived stress levels of undergraduate freshman students

Due to increased stress, university students experience psychological problems that necessitate accessible professional help. The aim of the current study was to determine the effectiveness of a cognitive restructuring model in the “Catch It” smartphone application for stress management of undergraduate freshman students. Out of 53 students screened, 35 met the inclusion criteria for the main study. An experimental design was used, and participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control condition. Participants in the intervention condition practiced cognitive restructuring, for four weeks, through the “Catch It” app. It was hypothesized that participants in the intervention condition would perceive significantly less stress than participants in the control condition and positive automatic thoughts would significantly increase for participants in the intervention condition compared to controls across time. Perceived stress levels and thinking patterns were measured at four time points in both conditions. Based on the resulting analyses, it appears that the cognitive restructuring intervention using the "Catch It" smartphone application did not significantly reduce perceived stress levels or increase positive automatic thoughts compared to the control condition among participants (n = 8). However, a noticeable decrease in stress levels was observed for participants in both conditions after the first two weeks of the intervention. While limited in statistical power, preliminary conclusions are presented from the available data. Subsequent studies will need to address attrition among participants.