Development of a technological intervention tool to strengthen positive psychological resources

KLOS, MARÍA CAROLINA; LEMOS, VIVIANA

Virtual

Congreso; 32º International Congress of Psychology (ICP); 2021

Introduction The inclusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in psychological treatment and intervention programs is being increasingly carried out, offering the possibility of expanding the scope of Effective Psychological Treatment (TPE), that is, those treatments with empirical support. Interventions based on Positive Psychology (PPI) are defined as treatment methods, strategies or intentional activities that aim to cultivate feelings, behaviors or thoughts. In recent years, the use of ICTs in PPIs has increased, reaching a large number of people with quality supports and low cost, responding to health system needs. The term "Positive Technology" (PT) refers to the "scientific and applied approach that technology uses to improve the quality of our personal experience in order to increase well-being and build strengths and resilience in people, organizations and society? (Botella, Gaggioli, Wiederhold, Alcañiz & Baños, 2012). ObjetiveThis study introduces the development of a mobile app to foster positive emotions (e.g., gratitude), positive relationships (e.g., compassion), and self-care (e.g., self-compassion) in Argentinian adolescents, with the aim of contributing to their psychological well-being.Methodology In the first place, for the development of the app, a literature review was done on the intervention strategies that were used to enhance positive emotions, positive relationships, and self-care, and then a review on the interventions that used apps as resources.It was decided to use an online journal which, among other functions, allows the formation of personal challenges, the users? self-recording, the visualization of achievements and the access to material related to psychoeducation. The prototype was assessed by 8 expert judges: 5 psychologists, 1 designer and 2 programmers. Besides, 15 university students did an evaluation of the final version. ResultsFeedback from the expert judges enabled an optimization of the app as well as some adjustments regarding: -the relevance of the proposal (a section of materials on psychoeducation was included)-the design (the size of the font was changed in a few sections and a bar chart was added in order to visualize the accomplishments)-the friendliness of the interface and the existence of an intuitive operation (an information button was added in the section destined to generate challenges, as well as a few guiding texts such as ?to edit the text, press here?) The adjusted version of the app was assessed by 15 university students (10 in a group workshop and 5 in a psychotherapy environment). Students in the group workshop tried (or tested) the downloading process and each section. The adjustments that were necessary for the IOS system were recorded in the downloading process. On the other hand, the students who performed the test in the psychotherapy environment were able to give feedback on the follow-up, the usage and the weekly challenges. In this instance, no necessary changes to the adjustment were recorded, but it was important in order to supervise the central control panel of the app. Conclusion Technologic tools such as mobile apps can be a valuable resource in psychological interventions, especially when dealing with adolescents. It allows for a flexible use, since they can be used at an individual level in a psychotherapy context, with follow-up activities, or at a group level, in an educational facility.In this poster, the process of development of the app was described. The app will be used in a group intervention as a follow-up activity. In a future pilot control trial study, data regarding the effectiveness of the intervention will be reported. We hope that the development of this app may help to strengthen postivie emotions, positive relationships and self-care in adolescents.