New technologies (including smartphones) have significantly influenced our lives: they have changed the way we work, relate, communicate, and they are now starting to change the way we intervene on certain psychophysical health conditions. In recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in stress management interventions, moving from traditional interventions (e.g. face-to-face) to interventions delivered through new technologies, including smartphones. Smartphone-based interventions have many strengths. First, they allow researchers and professionals to reach a larger number of users and to ensure their anonymity. Second, they allow the customization of the contents according to the users’ needs and preferences. Finally smartphone-based interventions are often cheaper than traditional interventions.
Scientific research has identified several limitations related to the partial effectiveness of smartphone-based interventions. Among these limitations, there is the lack of a solid theoretical background to guide these interventions and the absence of an in-depth assessment of personal and environmental factors influencing users’ acceptance and their consequent intention to use new technology. WellBe! is a smartphone app based on the principles of Positive Psychology that allow the users to acquire useful tools and resources for stress management. This project’s objective is twofold: creating a smartphone app based on scientifically validated theoretical frames and the analysis of the factors that influence the use and effectiveness of smartphone-based interventions aimed at promoting well-being and stress management.
