Facilitating Thought Progression via a Gamified Mobile Application for Depression: Possible Mediators of Outcomes.

Paola Pedrelli; Joshua Curtiss; Sydney DeCaro; Isabella Henneman; Miranda Zea; Minna Behnan; Shira Baror; Bar Sofer; Shai-Lee Yatziv; Moshe Bar

doi:10.1016/j.beth.2026.06.003

PubMed · 42660574

Facilitating Thought Progression via a Gamified Mobile Application for Depression: Possible Mediators of Outcomes.

Paola Pedrelli·Joshua Curtiss·Sydney DeCaro·Isabella Henneman·Miranda Zea·Minna Behnan·Shira Baror·Bar Sofer·Shai-Lee Yatziv·Moshe Bar

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Abstract

Mobile health interventions represent a scalable and accessible alternative to traditional therapy, which often is out of reach due to high costs and societal stigma. Rumination is considered a key mechanism of emotional disorders and represents a potential treatment target for digital health interventions. The current study investigated the role of rumination as a mediator of the reduction in depression and anxiety reported after the use of a gamified mobile app based on the Facilitating Thought Progression (FTP) framework. One hundred-one adults with mild to moderate depression were randomized to the FTP intervention or a waitlist control group and completed weekly assessments of depression, anxiety, and rumination over 8 weeks. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that reduction in rumination significantly mediated decreases in depression and anxiety in the intervention group but not in the waitlist condition. These findings suggest that the FTP app targeted rumination and further highlights its role as a critical target for interventions for depression and anxiety.

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Adult Female Humans Male Middle Aged Anxiety Depression Mobile Applications Rumination, Cognitive Treatment Outcome Gamification FTP digital intervention mobile health mood disorder rumination Journal Article Randomized Controlled Trial

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Paola Pedrelli, Joshua Curtiss, Sydney DeCaro, Isabella Henneman, Miranda Zea, Minna Behnan, Shira Baror, Bar Sofer, Shai-Lee Yatziv, Moshe Bar. 2026-06-19. Facilitating Thought Progression via a Gamified Mobile Application for Depression: Possible Mediators of Outcomes.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2026.06.003

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Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial resource Adult subject Anxiety subject Depression subject Female subject Gamification subject Humans subject Journal Article subject Male subject Middle Aged subject Randomized controlled trials study

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