Abstract
Purpose
This study evaluates in college students a novel type of mental health intervention designed to both support the recipient and to help the recipient share what they have learned with others. Through sharing intervention content with others, participants of an intervention for applying learning to self and others (I-ALSO) may benefit from the learning-by-teaching effect and expand the reach of an intervention to their broader social network. The learning-by-teaching effect is commonly employed in other fields that promote learning but has not yet been experimentally tested with therapeutic information.
Methods
Participants were randomized (1:1:1) to complete a mental health intervention designed as a typical self-focused intervention or designed as two different versions of an I-ALSO. Specifically, participants completed an intervention in one of three conditions: as a resource to help oneself (n = 71); as an I-ALSO with an opportunity to support one’s peers through teaching via writing (n = 69); or as an I-ALSO with an opportunity to support one’s peers through teaching in-person (n = 69). Participants completed surveys at baseline, post-intervention, and one-week follow-up to assess learning of intervention content, change in putative intervention targets, and theory-informed moderators.
Results
Results indicated that the I-ALSO with an opportunity to support one’s peer through teaching in-person supported recall of mental health intervention content at one-week follow-up but did not affect an ad-hoc measure of comprehension. No between-condition effects on putative intervention targets were detected; however, across conditions, lower perceptions of autonomy during the intervention predicted less benefit, and contrary to hypotheses, heightened social anxiety predicted stronger learning effects.
Conclusions
This study demonstrates that the learning-by-teaching effect can enhance therapeutic learning, a critical process in all cognitive-behavioral interventions. It also offers implementation-relevant insight into the importance of considering college-students’ sense of autonomy during mental health interventions.