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Efficacy of a Mobile App-Based Coaching Program for Addiction Prevention among Apprentices: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

Author

Listed:
  • Severin Haug

    (Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction, Zurich University, Konradstrasse 32, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland)

  • Nikolaos Boumparis

    (Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction, Zurich University, Konradstrasse 32, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland)

  • Andreas Wenger

    (Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction, Zurich University, Konradstrasse 32, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland)

  • Michael Patrick Schaub

    (Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction, Zurich University, Konradstrasse 32, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland)

  • Raquel Paz Castro

    (Marie Meierhofer Children’s Institute, Pfingstweidstrasse 16, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland)

Abstract

Background: Addictive behaviors such as tobacco/e-cigarette smoking, at-risk alcohol consumption, cannabis use or compulsive internet use are common among apprentices. ready4life is a mobile app-based preventive intervention program for apprentices that promotes life skills and reduces risky behavior. The present study tested the efficacy of ready4life for addiction prevention among apprentices in Switzerland within a controlled trial. Methods: Two-arm, cluster-randomized controlled trial including assessments at baseline and follow-up after 6 months. Participants of the intervention group received coaching by a conversational agent for 16 weeks. The main outcome measure was a composite score for addictive behaviors, which included (1) at-risk drinking, (2) tobacco/e-cigarette smoking, (3) cannabis use and (4) problematic internet use. Results: A total of 2275 students from 159 vocational school classes in Switzerland, were invited for study participation. Of these, 1351 (59.4%) students with a mean age of 17.3 years and a male proportion of 56.6% provided informed consent to participate. The follow up assessment at month 6 was completed by 962 (71.2%) study participants. The results concerning the primary outcome showed a stronger decrease of addictive behaviors between baseline and follow up in the intervention group compared to the control group. In particular, significant effects were observed for at-risk drinking and problematic Internet use, while no significant effects were observed for tobacco/e-cigarette smoking and cannabis use. Conclusions: The majority of apprentices invited for program participation within vocational schools participated in the ready4life program for addiction prevention. The mobile app-based coaching was effective in reducing risk behaviors such as at-risk drinking and problematic Internet use in a group of adolescents who have an especially high risk of engaging in addictive activities.

Suggested Citation

  • Severin Haug & Nikolaos Boumparis & Andreas Wenger & Michael Patrick Schaub & Raquel Paz Castro, 2022. "Efficacy of a Mobile App-Based Coaching Program for Addiction Prevention among Apprentices: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-12, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:23:p:15730-:d:984707
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. van Buuren, Stef & Groothuis-Oudshoorn, Karin, 2011. "mice: Multivariate Imputation by Chained Equations in R," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 45(i03).
    2. Bates, Douglas & Mächler, Martin & Bolker, Ben & Walker, Steve, 2015. "Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using lme4," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 67(i01).
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    1. Severin Haug & Nikolaos Boumparis & Andreas Wenger & Raquel Paz Castro & Michael Patrick Schaub, 2023. "Mobile App-Based Coaching for Alcohol Prevention among Adolescents: Pre–Post Study on the Acceptance and Effectiveness of the Program “MobileCoach Alcohol”," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-13, February.

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