Huberty, J., Green, J., Glissmann, C., Larkey, L., Puzia, M., & Lee, C. (2019). Efficacy of the mindfulness meditation mobile app “Calm” to reduce stress among college students: Randomized controlled trial. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 7(6), Article e14273. https://doi.org/10.2196/14273

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 88

Population:

• Age — Intervention Group: Mean=20.41 years; Control Group: Mean=21.85 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Intervention Group: 25 White/Caucasian, 6 Asian/Asian American, 3 Biracial/Multiracial, 3 Other, 3 Prefer not to respond, and 1 Black; Control Group: 23 White/Caucasian, 9 Asian/Asian American, 7 Biracial/Multiracial, 4 Black, 2 Other, and 2 Prefer not to
• Gender — Intervention Group: 36 Female and 5 Male; Control Group: 43 Female and 4 Male
• Status — Participants were current full-time undergraduate students that were at least 18 years old.

Location/Institution: Arizona State University

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to test the initial efficacy and sustained effects of an 8-week mindfulness meditation mobile app—Calm—compared to a wait-list control on stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion in college students with elevated stress. The purpose was also to explore the intervention’s effect on health behaviors (i.e., sleep disturbance, alcohol consumption [binge drinking], physical activity, and healthy eating [fruit and vegetable consumption]) and the feasibility and acceptability of the app. Participants were either randomly assigned to Calm or to a wait-list control group. Measures utilized include the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the Self-Compassion Survey Short-Form (SCS-SF), and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS). Results indicate that there were significant differences in all outcomes (stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion) between the Calm intervention and control groups after adjustment for covariates postintervention. These effects persisted at follow-up, except for the non-reacting subscale of mindfulness. There was a significant interaction between group and time factors in perceived stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion. Results indicate that there were significant within-group mean differences for perceived stress in the Calm intervention group while there were no significant within-group mean differences in the control group. Similar results were found for mindfulness and self-compassion. Effect sizes ranged from moderate to large across all outcomes. A significant group×time interaction in models of sleep disturbance was found, but no significant effects were found for other health behaviors. The majority of students in the intervention group reported that Calm was helpful to reduce stress and stated they would use Calm in the future. The majority were satisfied using Calm and likely to recommend it to other college students. The Calm intervention group participated in meditation for an average of 38 minutes/week during the intervention and 20 minutes/week during follow-up. Limitations include the sample mostly comprised white, young adult females which limits the generalizability of the findings to more diverse samples; reliance on self-reported measures; and small sample size.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 4 weeks.

The following studies were not included in rating Calm on the Scientific Rating Scale...

Neher, T., Green, J., Puzia, M., & Huberty, J. (2022). Describing the use of a mindfulness-based app for sleep and mental well-being, across age, in children. Child & Youth Care Forum, 51(4), 749–768. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-021-09651-z

The purpose of the study was to describe parents’ reports of how and why their children use the Calm mindfulness meditation app and how using Calm may impact their sleep and mental well-being across age and gender. Participants were either randomly assigned to Calm or to a wait-list control group. Results indicate that approximately half of the parents reported that they used Calm with their child. Older children (13–17 years) were more likely to use Calm independently, preferred content outside of Calm Kids, and were more likely to use Calm to manage emotions. Younger children (2–12 years) most commonly used Calm with their parents and on a parent’s device and preferred Calm Kids Sleep Stories. Limitations include not collecting demographic (i.e., race, ethnicity, income, education) information on the families and thus some potential confounding variables were not accounted for; parents’ perceptions of their child’s app usage may be biased because of their own use of the Calm app; parents may not be aware of how their older children are using Calm if they use it on their own devices; and potential confounding variables that were not collected during this study that may influence the associations identified in this paper. Note: This article was not used in the rating process due to criteria on the Scientific Rating Scale which requires that outcome measures be reliable and valid, and administered consistently and accurately across all subjects.