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Introduction: Previous research has not explored features and behavior change techniques (BCTs) in physical activity (PA) promotion interventions among adolescents, including mobile health (mHealth) applications.

Purpose: This study aims to conduct a narrative literature review of adolescent PA promotion apps, examining their theoretical foundations, key BCTs, primary features, and their influence on PA adherence and maintenance. Methods: The review includes peer-reviewed studies published from 2012 to December 2024, employing qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Included studies examined healthy adolescents, focusing on PA app features and their relationship to PA promotion.

Results: A total of twenty-one studies were analyzed: ten reviews, eight qualitative studies, and three app quality assessments. Findings indicate that mHealth tools and wearable trackers yield variable impacts on PA engagement.

Conclusion: Future research must adopt higher methodological standards. Comparative studies on PA interventions require caution due to limitations such as insufficient research, inadequate compliance assessment tools, potential biases, and the absence of randomized controlled trials. The inconsistent outcomes from current intervention studies highlight the necessity for developing PA programs guided by intervention mapping or the Behavior Change Wheel, emphasizing high-quality methodologies tailored to specific target demographics.

Purpose: This study explores how children and adolescents perceive physical activity (PA) and PA apps. We aim to understand their perceptions, past experiences, and expectations of PA and PA apps.

Methods: Participants (N=39) aged 11-15 from five European countries: Netherlands (NL), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Spain (ES), and Sweden (SWE) participated in the study. They provided insight regarding Behaviour Chance Techniques (BCTs) that enhance app engagement.

Results: The results offer valuable insights for creating fun and engaging adolescent PA apps that meet diverse user preferences. They also provide invaluable guidance for designing PA apps that boost adolescents' enjoyment, fun, and engagement while considering a broad spectrum of user preferences. Key BCTs identified as significantly impacting app engagement included self-monitoring, rewards, feedback, social support, action planning, and reminders - preferences and suggestions varied by gender, age, and PA levels.

Conclusions: Findings in the present study inform the MOVE4FUN project that contributes to understanding how BCTs promote sustained PA in adolescents. It underscores the pivotal role of personalised app design and a supportive climate in fulfilling individual needs and intrinsic goals. These insights contribute significantly to developing educational tools that encourage regular PA and nurture the holistic development of physically educated citizens.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether different levels of immersion while playing a computer game affect the participant's experiences of flow and presence. Understanding how different levels of immersion influence the experiences of flow and presence can shed light on the intricate interplay between these constructs and provide valuable insights into the factors that contribute to engaging and immersive gameplay. The independent variable, immersion, was manipulated in three conditions (high, moderate, and low) in a between-subject design within the video game Minecraft. Participants were asked to complete 15 minutes of gameplay and then fill out the questionnaires concerning flow and presence. The experiment was conducted remotely on a video-sharing platform. Bayesian analysis revealed an effect of immersion level on flow, while no evidence of an effect was found for the experience of presence. This study provides evidence in favor of a relation between flow and immersion while supporting a presumed double dissociation of immersion from presence. Future research using a Bayesian approach is encouraged to build further knowledge on this research topic.

Introduction: The negative cognitive effects of the startle response are not yet fully understood. Ecological observations in the aviation field indicate risk for severe outcomes in complex or pressured situations, while sparse previous research suggests milder negative effects on simple cognitive tasks. Neuroticism is proposed as a factor related to the level of negative effects following startle.

Methods: This study examined the effects of startle on performance in a choice reaction time task and analyzed relations between performance, neuroticism, and physiological stress.

Results: Our results indicate that reaction time directly following startle was not affected, but reaction time in subsequent trials was significantly slower. Neuroticism and physiological stress were both unrelated to this performance effect.

Discussion: We argue that higher complexity/demand tasks are necessary to complement the research on base cognitive functioning in relation to startle. If neuroticism is related to startle effects, this is more likely to be found in these higher demand situations.

Esports are a rapidly growing phenomenon and understanding of factors underlying game performance are therefore of great interest. The present study investigated the influence of satisfaction of basic psychological needs (competence, autonomy, and relatedness), type of motivation (amotivation, external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, integrated regulation, and intrinsic motivation), and number of matches played (time on task) on individuals' performance on a matchmaking rating (MMR) in the video game Defence of the Ancients 2 (Dota 2). Collected data from 315 participants was included in the analyses. A web-based questionnaire was used to collect data and structural equation modelling (SEM) was performed to analyze the data. The results show that perceived competence and autonomy were the only significant predictors of MMR performance beyond matches played. Fulfillment of relatedness, as well as motivational factors, were not found to be predictors of MMR scores. The strong effect of matches played, used as proxy of time on task, emphasize the effect of time and practice as a critical aspect of video-game expertise.

Background and purpose: Yoga has shown promise as a treatment for depression and anxiety. The present pilot study investigated the feasibility of an eight-week grouptreatment integrating emotion-focused psychoeducation, compassion-focused therapy, and Virya yoga for depression and anxiety in primary healthcare.

Materials and methods: Patients seeking treatment for depression and anxiety in a primary healthcare centre completed either an integrative group-treatment (N = 14) or treatment as usual (TAU, N = 17). Outcome measures were analysed pre- and posttreatment. Correlations in the intervention group were investigated between treatment outcomes and amount of yoga practice between sessions.

Results: Large within-group effect sizes on all outcome measures were found at posttreatment. Symptom reduction did not differ between groups (p = 0.155). Improvement in alexithymia correlated significantly (p < 0.05) with amount of yoga practice between sessions.

Conclusion: Integrating yoga with a psychological group-treatment is a somewhat feasible approach to treatment for depression and anxiety in primary healthcare.

Depression is an increasing public health concern with rising prevalence. Nevertheless, far from everyone seeks help or receives adequate treatment. Although psychotherapy and antidepressants still constitute the bulk of treatments offered, recent research suggests that physical activity (PA) can be a powerful adjunct therapy while sedentary behavior (SB) is a definite risk factor for developing depression. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between PA, SB and depressive symptoms in a population (n = 962) of applicants for an online treatment study. This study hypothesised that there will be; (1) a positive relationship between SB and depressive symptoms, and (2) a negative relationship between PA and depressive symptoms. In addition we investigated whether the combination of a sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity increased the risk for depressive symptoms. Finally, we also examined whether gender, age, marital status, educational level, or medication affected the relationship between PA, SB, and depressive symptoms. The results showed a positive correlation between SB and depression. There was, however, no statistically significant support for a negative relation between PA and depressive symptoms. Even though no conclusions about causality can be drawn, our results suggest that high SB, being a woman, being young, not being in a stable relationship, and current or previous medication are risk factors for depression. To be able to determine the causal direction, that is, whether high SB increases the risk for depressive symptoms, or if depressive symptoms increase the likelihood of high SB, further research is needed.

Background: Population aging motivated a focus in contemporary research on factors, e.g. cognitive functioning, that contribute to ‘aging well.’ However, something that has been overlooked is relation between memory functioning, determined by objective tests as well as subjective memory ratings, and subjective well-being (SWB).

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate cross-sectional and longitudinal (cross-lagged) relationships between episodic memory (both subjective and objective) and SWB.

Method: A total of 586 older individuals (60–90 years) were assessed on multiple measures of the targeted constructs at baseline (Time 1) as part of the Betula cohort study. Five years later (Time 2), 354 of the participants returned for follow-up measurements and were included in cross-lagged panel analyses.

Results: As expected, objective memory and subjective memory showed a pattern of cross-sectional age deficits and a mean level longitudinal decline was observed for objective memory. By contrast, SWB showed stable mean levels both across age and time. No cross-sectional or cross-lagged associations were observed between SWB and objective memory, whereas subjective memory and SWB showed a cross-sectional association.

Conclusion: The results underscore that successful aging is a multifaceted construct with no or only weak associations between the investigated components. However, SWB and rate of change at the individual level should be considered to define successful aging.

The present study investigated the effectiveness of an eight-week integrative group treatment, consisting of Affect school (AS), Compassion-focused therapy (CFT), and Virya yoga in comparison with treatment as usual (TAU), an eight-week cognitive behavioural group treatment. The sample consisted of patients with mild to moderate mixed depression and anxiety (N = 31) in a primary healthcare centre. Correlations were investigated between treatment outcomes, and amount of yoga practice between sessions in the intervention group (n = 14). Results showed that both treatments were equally effective. Both groups improved significantly on measures of depression and anxiety, with large within-group effect sizes. The intervention also group improved significantly on measures of self-compassion and alexithymia, with large within-group effect sizes. Significant correlations were found between improvement in alexithymia and amount of yoga practice; between increased self-compassion and greater quality of life, as well as between increased self-compassion and reductions in anxiety symptoms. The present study highlights the practice of yoga as a potential means to improve alexithymia, and provides additional support for working with self-compassion in psychological treatments. Future research may further investigate the long-term effects and moderating variables influencing potential benefits of integrating AS, CFT, and Virya yoga in psychological treatments.

The aim of this thesis was to evaluate and compare four therapist-supported Internet-administered treatments for depression. Three studies were conducted. The first was a systematic review to determine the most effective mode and dose of physical activity (PA) for treating major depressive disorders (MDDs), and to suggest guidelines and recommendations for clinicians. These recommendations included that the PA needs to be individually customized, performed for at least 30 minutes, preferably under supervision, and with a frequency of at least three times per week to be effective for treating MDDs. Recommendations, however, must be viewed in light of the relatively few studies that match the inclusion criteria. The second study aimed to empirically evaluate and compare the effect of four therapist-supported Internet-administered treatments for mild to moderate depression. Two of the treatments were based on PA and two on behavioural activation (BA). One PA group was provided with a rationale; whereas, the other was not. The treatment in one BA group was based on Lewinsohn’s model and the other on Martell’s model. Results showed that all groups (including the control group) significantly reduced their depressive symptoms. Group comparisons revealed that three of the four treatment groups (all except the PA group that did not receive a rationale) had a significantly greater symptom reduction than the control group. This suggests that some sort of rationale is important for symptom reduction. The third study aimed to examine if a relapse prevention program would affect symptom change during a 24-month follow-up. We also examined if symptom change during the acute phase (AP) treatment period predicted symptom change during the follow-up period. A third and final aim was to examine if the number of symptoms post-AP treatment predicted symptom change during the follow-up period. The initial analysis indicated that the introduction of a relapse prevention program did not affect symptom change during follow-up. The symptom change during AP treatment did predict symptom change during follow-up for three of the four treatment groups (all except one of the BA groups). The number of symptoms post-AP treatment, however, did not predict symptom change during follow-up for any of the treatment groups. The main conclusion from this thesis is that PA seems to be effective for treating and preventing depressive symptoms. PA with a rationale is more effective than without one, and an understanding of the person’s situation is important for a treatment outcome. If a symptom change can be achieved during the acute phase, the likelihood for symptom change during the follow-up increases.