A TEXTING INTERVENTION FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS EXPERIENCING PARENTAL DIVORCE

Parental divorce while in college affects young adults in numerous ways, especially the increased pressure of maintaining parent-child relationships. This study tests the feasibility of conducting a texting intervention for college students experiencing parental divorce. Young adult participants (N=6) received daily text messages that taught skills on how to cope with their parents’ divorce, including Muscle Relaxation, Cognitive Restructuring, Mindfulness, and Communication. Results of the study indicated that there were some barriers to administering a texting intervention such as the ability to follow the text message handbook, and the repetitiveness of receiving daily text messages. Participants stated that the intervention was easily accessible since it was completely over the phone and that it felt personal as they were able to reflect on the coping skills presented in the videos on their own time. The current study has implications for developing a successfully administered texting intervention. A TEXTING INTERVENTION FOR STUDENTS EXPERIENCING PARENTAL DIVORCE 3 Introduction ‘Gray Divorce’, or divorce after age 50, has steadily increased by 25% since 1990, while the national divorce rate has decreased (Brown & Lin, 2012). Given that the age at first divorce among adults in increasing, it also follows that when children are involved they are older as well and are frequently attending a higher education institution. Previous research has found that parental divorce in later life can lead to problems in adult offspring such as an increase in stress levels, pressure to maintain parental relationships, and relationship changes between the parent and young adult (Bulduc, Caron, & Logue, 2007; Cain, 1989; Greenwood, 2014). The changes to parent-offspring relationship may be due to young adults over the age of 18 no longer having the court to make parenting time decisions. They often feel pressure to decide how they are going to spend their time with each parent (Bulduc, et al., 2007; Cain, 1989; Greenwood, 2014). The decisions that young adults make often result in father-child relationships faltering or disappearing altogether (Cooney, 1994). Furthermore, the only resource that is available to assist young adults with coping with their parents’ divorce is individual counseling, and only approximately 14% of college students utilize this resource for this reason (Cooney, Smyer, Hagestad, & Klock, 1986). Given the limited resources and high distress associated with a parental divorce, there lies a need to develop an empirically based and accessible intervention for young adults experiencing a parental divorce in college. “Transitions,” is an online program for college students who have experienced a parental separation/divorce within the past year that aims to reduce stress and improve the parent-offspring relationship through teaching relaxation training, cognitive restructuring, mindfulness, and communication training (Shanholtz, Messer, Horan, & Randall, 2017). A previous randomized controlled trial for this online intervention found that this A TEXTING INTERVENTION FOR STUDENTS EXPERIENCING PARENTAL DIVORCE 4 intervention was effective in reducing distress surrounding parental divorce in a sample of college students at a university in the American southwest (Shanholtz, et. al., 2017). The use of online interventions is efficacious in delivering treatment in the privacy and comfortability inhome, the flexibility of the timing of the delivery, and the affordability of not having to pay for a therapist or the transportation costs that go along with the service (Wantland, Portillo, Holzemer, Slaughter, & McGhee, 2004). The “Transitions” program demonstrated barriers to it being fully online. Considering that participants logged into the program on their own time, there was no way to track their daily participation of the learned coping skills. Additionally, findings noted that participants did not watch all of the videos to their full length because they were too long. Texting Interventions Given the benefits of technology, previous research has explored cell phone texting as a way to deliver mental health services. Texting is effective because of the high prevalence of cell phones with texting capability. For example, 78% of teenagers have a cell phone, and 47% of which have smart phone technology (Markowitz, et. al., 2014). Texting is convenient because 95% of phones have SMS texting capability (Muench, 2013). Further, 99% of text messages are opened, and 90% of which are opened within the first 3 minutes of being received. Additionally, receiving messages releases dopamine that appeals to individuals’ desires to receive messages (Hall, 2015). Texting can offer accessibility and targeted treatments. Mobile text messaging interventions can provide the same kind of comfortability that online interventions offer, as texting interventions can be used with individuals at their own convenience, at varying times of the day, and when needed. Texting interventions are more effective than being administered A TEXTING INTERVENTION FOR STUDENTS EXPERIENCING PARENTAL DIVORCE 5 online because of their accessibility. Considering the prevalence of individuals with cell phones, the intervention would be easily available, and contact would be immediate. Further, mobile interventions can be targeted toward individual needs. They can be individually tailored for content and timing as well as for a range of variables, including age or gender (Pine, 2015). Text messaging interventions are a favored form of communication, with individuals demonstrating a higher chance of reading text messages than emails (Pine, 2015). They are multiple, repeated, brief interventions that provide check-ins which focus on minimal contact over longer periods of time (Muench, et.al., 2013). Texting interventions are often used for addiction behavioral treatments as well as mental health treatments (Pine, 2015). Individuals with addictions are often in different stages towards quitting, which is a reason why texting interventions are used to provide individually targeted approaches. Mental health texting interventions are targeted towards encouraging healthy lifestyles (Pine, 2015). Texting interventions are adaptable because of their convenience and flexibility in the ability to send and receive messages. Feasibility Feasibility studies are conducted to determine the potential success of accurately delivering an intervention before conducting a larger randomized controlled trial (Bowen, et. al., 2009). Feasibility studies are often used when there is only a small amount of information published on a specific topic, or if there is an already-existing study that is being tested for improvement (Bowen, et. al., 2009). Feasibility focuses on acceptability, practicality, demand, and implementation, which are determined by how individuals react to the intervention that will be implemented. Furthermore, feasibility studies address adaptation, integration, expansion, and A TEXTING INTERVENTION FOR STUDENTS EXPERIENCING PARENTAL DIVORCE 6 limited-efficacy testing, which determine the program’s effectiveness in a given population and focuses on the ways it is successful or unsuccessful in such a setting (Bowen, et. al., 2009). Previous research examines the feasibility of using texting interventions. One study focused on smoking cessation and analyzed the effects of getting users to quit through a texting intervention that was specifically targeted towards the quitting stage of the user. The messages addressed behavioral tips and provided motivational support, and there was overall improvement found in mood symptoms of nicotine withdrawal (Bock, et. al., 2013). Another study used a smartphone app intervention for participants struggling with schizophrenia. The app used notifications to send tips and treatment target assessments, which resulted in a reduction of positive symptoms of schizophrenia, and general symptoms of psychopathology and depression (Ben-Zeev, et. al., 2014). A randomized controlled trial such as the smoking cessation texting intervention sought to utilize text messaging as a means of administering messages to participants according to their needs. In the smoking cessation study, messages were sent according to what stage participants were in towards quitting smoking. Researchers measured the acceptability and demand of the study by measuring participants’ interactions with the intervention. In addition, they measured for the expansion of a feasibility study, which showed them that a texting intervention can be used in a diverse group of adult smokers (Bock, et. al., 2013). The other feasibility study which used a smartphone app for individuals with schizophrenia used an on-demand intervention that provided resources to manage and regulate schizophrenic symptoms. They measured the acceptability of participants’ usage of the app, and implementation of the new program’s successful deliverance to participants (Ben-Zeev, et. al., 2014). The app found reduction of A TEXTING INTERVENTION FOR STUDENTS EXPERIENCING PARENTAL DIVORCE 7 positive symptoms of schizophrenia, and general symptoms of psychopathology and depression (Ben-Zeev, et. al., 2014). Current Study The goal of the current study is to determine the feasibility of adapting “Transitions” to a texting intervention to help college students cope with their parents’ divorce. We will be measuring feasibility in terms of acceptability, practicality, and demand in a small, intensively studied sample of 6 college students. The acceptability of the feasibility study will focus on the participants’ response to the study, including any barriers to the intervention. The practicality of the study will track the completion of the intervention by participants. Finally, the demand of the study will determine how much time is spent with each participant. Analyzing the results of the feasibility study is im