An online intervention that aims to reduce hopelessness and strengthen perceived agency in youth with anxiety and depression by teaching them to manage their mood via engagement in valued, enjoyable activities.
Blueprints: Promising
Jessica Schleider, Ph.D., Director
Lab for Scalable Mental Health
Northwestern University
625 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago IL 60611
jessica.schleider@northwestern.edu
jessica.schleider@gmail.com
For program access via Project Yes:
www.schleiderlab.org/yes
Jessica Schleider
Northwestern University
ABC Project is a self-guided, online, 20-30-minute intervention designed for youth showing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and COVID-19-related trauma. The program aims to reduce hopelessness and strengthen perceived agency among high-symptom youth by teaching them behavioral activation skills (i.e., the practice of managing one's mood via engagement in valued, enjoyable activities).
ABC Project is a self-guided, online, 20-30-minute intervention designed for youth showing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and COVID-19-related trauma. The program aims to reduce hopelessness and strengthen perceived agency among high-symptom youth by teaching them behavioral activation skills (i.e., the practice of managing one's mood via engagement in valued, enjoyable activities).
The program includes five elements: (1) an introduction to the program's rationale - that engaging in values-based activities that build pleasure and accomplishment can combat sad mood and low self-esteem, (2) psychoeducation about depression, including how behavior shapes feelings and thoughts, (3) a life values assessment, where youth identify key areas (family relationships, friendships, school, or hobbies) from which they draw (or once drew) enjoyment and meaning, (4) the creation of an activity action plan, where youth identify (from pre-generated lists) and personalize (in guided exercises) three activities to target for change, and (5) an exercise in which youths write about benefits that might result from engaging in each activity, an obstacle that might keep them from doing the activities, and a strategy for overcoming the identified obstacles.
Primary Evidence Base for Certification
Study 1
Schleider et al. (2022) found that, relative to the control group, students in the ABC Project intervention group showed significantly greater improvements in:
Primary Evidence Base for Certification
The one study Blueprints has reviewed meets Blueprints evidentiary standards (specificity, evaluation quality, impact, dissemination readiness). The study was done by the developer.
Study 1
Schleider et al. (2022) used a randomized controlled trial to compare a sample of 2,452 youth assigned to one of three conditions: (1) ABC Project; (2) Project Personality; and (3) control. Assessments at baseline, posttest, and three-month follow-up measured depression, anxiety, and COVID-19-related trauma symptoms, as well as perceived agency, hopelessness, and restrictive eating.
See also: ABC Project Logic Model (PDF)
Subgroup differences in program effects by race, ethnicity, or gender (coded in binary terms as male/female) or program effects for a sample of a specific race, ethnic, or gender group.
Sample demographics including race, ethnicity, and gender for Blueprints-certified studies:
No training is necessary as this is a fully self-guided, online, free-of-charge intervention that may be accessed anywhere, anytime by an individual with an internet-equipped device. ABC Project is available in English, Spanish, Turkish and Haitian Creole.
Source: Washington State Institute for Public Policy
All benefit-cost ratios are the most recent estimates published by The Washington State Institute for Public Policy for Blueprint programs implemented in Washington State. These ratios are based on a) meta-analysis estimates of effect size and b) monetized benefits and calculated costs for programs as delivered in the State of Washington. Caution is recommended in applying these estimates of the benefit-cost ratio to any other state or local area. They are provided as an illustration of the benefit-cost ratio found in one specific state. When feasible, local costs and monetized benefits should be used to calculate expected local benefit-cost ratios. The formula for this calculation can be found on the WSIPP website.
No training or materials are necessary as this is a fully self-guided, online, free-of-charge intervention that may be accessed anywhere, anytime by an individual with an internet-equipped device. ABC Project is available in English, Spanish, Turkish and Haitian Creole.
The Lab for Scalable Mental Health is available to offer guidance on technical support/implementation, although these needs are often non-existent, given the self-guided nature of the program.
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Jessica SchleiderAssociate ProfessorNorthwestern UniversityLab for Scalable Mental Health625 N. Michigan AvenueChicago, IL 60611United Statesjessica.schleider@northwestern.edu
An online intervention that aims to reduce hopelessness and strengthen perceived agency in youth with anxiety and depression by teaching them to manage their mood via engagement in valued, enjoyable activities.
The program targets youth aged 11-17 who display elevated symptoms of depression. Youth in the study certified by Blueprints were aged 13-16.
Subgroup differences in program effects by race, ethnicity, or gender (coded in binary terms as male/female) or program effects for a sample of a specific race, ethnic, or gender group.
Sample demographics including race, ethnicity, and gender for Blueprints-certified studies:
Hopelessness, perceived agency, involvement in valuable and enjoyable activities
*Risk/Protective Factor was significantly impacted by the program
ABC Project is a self-guided, online, 20-30-minute intervention designed for youth showing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and COVID-19-related trauma. The program aims to reduce hopelessness and strengthen perceived agency among high-symptom youth by teaching them behavioral activation skills (i.e., the practice of managing one's mood via engagement in valued, enjoyable activities).
ABC Project is a self-guided, online, 20-30-minute intervention designed for youth showing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and COVID-19-related trauma. The program aims to reduce hopelessness and strengthen perceived agency among high-symptom youth by teaching them behavioral activation skills (i.e., the practice of managing one's mood via engagement in valued, enjoyable activities).
The program includes five elements: (1) an introduction to the program's rationale - that engaging in values-based activities that build pleasure and accomplishment can combat sad mood and low self-esteem, (2) psychoeducation about depression, including how behavior shapes feelings and thoughts, (3) a life values assessment, where youth identify key areas (family relationships, friendships, school, or hobbies) from which they draw (or once drew) enjoyment and meaning, (4) the creation of an activity action plan, where youth identify (from pre-generated lists) and personalize (in guided exercises) three activities to target for change, and (5) an exercise in which youths write about benefits that might result from engaging in each activity, an obstacle that might keep them from doing the activities, and a strategy for overcoming the identified obstacles.
The program is based on Self-Determination Theory, which suggests that people can become self-determined when their needs for competence, connection, and autonomy are fulfilled, and relies on behavioral activation (a skill often taught as part of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that encourages engagement in valued, enjoyable activities to manage one's mood).
Primary Evidence Base for Certification
The one study Blueprints has reviewed meets Blueprints evidentiary standards (specificity, evaluation quality, impact, dissemination readiness). The study was done by the developer.
Study 1
Schleider et al. (2022) used a randomized controlled trial to compare a sample of 2,452 youth assigned to one of three conditions: (1) ABC Project; (2) Project Personality; and (3) control. Assessments at baseline, posttest, and three-month follow-up measured depression, anxiety, and COVID-19-related trauma symptoms, as well as perceived agency, hopelessness, and restrictive eating.
Primary Evidence Base for Certification
Study 1
Schleider et al. (2022) found that, relative to the control group, students in the ABC Project intervention group showed significantly greater improvements in perceived agency and hopelessness from baseline to posttest, and depressive symptoms, restrictive eating, and hopelessness from baseline to three-month follow-up.
Primary Evidence Base for Certification
Study 1
Schleider et al. (2022) found that, relative to the control group, students in the ABC Project intervention group showed significantly greater improvements in:
Study 1 (Schleider et al., 2022) reported effect sizes for ABC Project that were small in size and ranged from d = 0.15 (past-month restrictive eating at three-month follow-up) to 0.31 (perceived agency at posttest).
One study meets Blueprints standards for high-quality methods with strong evidence of program impact (i.e., "certified" by Blueprints): Study 1 (Schleider et al., 2022). The sample included youths ages 13-16 with elevated depression symptoms who were recruited from all 50 U.S. states, and the study compared the treatment group to a supportive therapy control group.
Study 1 (Schleider et al., 2022) randomized youth to three groups: 1) ABC Project, 2) Project Personality, and 3) control. This evaluation methodology write-up reports on youth assigned to ABC Project versus control.
Project Personality has also been certified as Promising by Blueprints.
Blueprints: Promising
Jessica Schleider, Ph.D., Director
Lab for Scalable Mental Health
Northwestern University
625 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago IL 60611
jessica.schleider@northwestern.edu
jessica.schleider@gmail.com
For program access via Project Yes:
www.schleiderlab.org/yes