Usage activity, perceived usefulness, and satisfaction in a web-based acceptance and commitment therapy program among Finnish ninth-grade adolescents

Tetta Hämäläinen; Kirsikka Kaipainen; Päivi Lappalainen; Anne Puolakanaho; Katariina Keinonen; Raimo Lappalainen; Noona Kiuru

Internet Interventions (Sep 2021)

Usage activity, perceived usefulness, and satisfaction in a web-based acceptance and commitment therapy program among Finnish ninth-grade adolescents

Tetta Hämäläinen,
Kirsikka Kaipainen,
Päivi Lappalainen,
Anne Puolakanaho,
Katariina Keinonen,
Raimo Lappalainen,
Noona Kiuru

Affiliations

Tetta Hämäläinen: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland; Corresponding author at: Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland.
Kirsikka Kaipainen: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland; Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences, Tampere University, Finland
Päivi Lappalainen: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Anne Puolakanaho: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Katariina Keinonen: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Raimo Lappalainen: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Noona Kiuru: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 25
p. 100421

Abstract

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Understanding adolescent usage activity and experiences in web-based psychological intervention programs helps in developing universal programs that can be adopted for promotion of adolescent well-being and prevention of mental health problems. This study examined the usage activity, perceived usefulness (i.e., learning of mindfulness, acceptance and value-related skills), and program satisfaction of 157 Finnish ninth-grade adolescents, who participated in a school-based five-week universal acceptance and commitment therapy web intervention called Youth Compass. Individual and growth environment-related antecedents were measured before the five-week intervention, adolescents' usage activity during the intervention, and perceived usefulness and satisfaction after the intervention. The results showed that female adolescents and adolescents with high self-regulation were more active program users and had more positive experiences of the program. Most of the adolescents used the program on at least a moderate level and perceived it to be moderately or highly useful and satisfactory. Four subgroups of adolescents were identified based on their usage activity, perceived usefulness, and satisfaction: adolescents in the satisfied group (41%) had average activity and high perceived usefulness and intervention satisfaction, the dissatisfied group (18%) had low activity and very low perceived usefulness and intervention satisfaction, the active group (8%) had very high activity and average perceived usefulness and intervention satisfaction, and the moderate group (33%) had average activity, perceived usefulness and intervention satisfaction. Gender, academic achievement, closeness to mother and teacher, and conflict with teacher were significantly related to subgroup membership. The results suggested that adolescent usage activity, perceived usefulness, and satisfaction with the Youth Compass program may to some extent be predicted based on different factors.

Published in Internet Interventions

ISSN: 2214-7829 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Technology: Technology (General): Industrial engineering. Management engineering: Information technology; Philosophy. Psychology. Religion: Psychology
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/internet-interventions/

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