A Smartphone-app intervention for Stress Reduction and Well-being Enhancement

Work-related stress is one of the biggest health hazards in the workplace. In the last years increasing attention has been paid to workplace safety and mental health issues, particularly in identifying new approaches to improve them with the help of m-health solutions. The following study aims to test the efficacy of a smartphone-based intervention, based on the principles of mindfulness and positive psychology, in reducing perceived stress and psychosomatic malaise and in increasing the resources of Psychological Capital, life satisfaction and mindfulness, in a sample of university students.  Employing a controlled randomized trial, 98 students were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n=46), who used the app, and a control (n=52) group. Results showed that the smartphone-based intervention has significantly reduced perceived stress and psychosomatic malaise and increased the level of the Psychological Capital related to hope, resilience, and optimism.