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Cited by 37Mobile Health and mHealth ApplicationsDigital Mental Health InterventionsImpact of Technology on Adolescents

Effect of MyTeen SMS-Based Mobile Intervention for Parents of Adolescents: A Randomized Clinical Trial

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Chu, Joanna Ting Wai, Wadham, Angela, Jiang, Yannan, Whittaker, Robyn, Stasiak, Karolina, Shepherd, Matthew, Bullen, Chris·2019·JAMA Network Open
DOI 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.11120PMC PMC6739724
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Abstract

Importance: There is global pressure to respond to the burden posed by adolescent mental health problems. The National Mental Health Commission has made a call for investment in mobile health services directed at prevention and early intervention to relieve the demand on targeted mental health services that are costly to provide. Parents and primary caregivers play a significant role in the lives of adolescents and are important targets for such efforts. Currently, there is no evidence for the effectiveness of programs delivered solely via text message for parents of adolescents. Objective: To evaluate the effects of a text-messaging program (MyTeen) on promoting parental competence and mental health literacy for parents of adolescents. Design, Setting, and Participants: A parallel 2-group randomized clinical trial was conducted in New Zealand. A total of 221 parents and primary caregivers of adolescents aged 10 to 15 years were recruited from March 19 to August 17, 2018, via community outreach and social media and were randomly allocated 1:1 into the control or the intervention group. Statistical analysis was performed on the principle of intention to treat with adjustment for baseline factors and ethnicity. Intervention: A text-messaging program for parents of adolescents (age 10-15 years) to promote parental competence and mental health literacy. Participants received 1 daily text message over 4 weeks. Main Outcomes and Measures: Parental competence, assessed at 1 month after randomization by the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale. Results: In total, 221 participants (214 [96.8%] female) were randomized, 109 to the intervention group and 112 to the control group; 201 participants (91%) completed the trial at 3 months. Significant group difference was observed on the primary outcome at the end of 1 month of intervention, with participants reporting a higher level of parental competence than those in the control group (estimated mean difference, 3.33 points; 95% CI, 1.37-5.29 points; P = .002). Except for knowledge about mental health, all secondary outcomes were significant, including continued improvement in parental competence at 3 months (estimated mean difference, 4.08 points; 95% CI, 1.96-6.20 points; P < .001), knowledge of help seeking (estimated mean difference, 0.99 points; 95% CI, 0.49-1.50 points; P < .001), parental distress (estimated mean difference, -2.39 points; 95% CI, -4.37 to -0.40 points; P = .02), and parent-adolescent communication (estimated mean difference, 2.21 points; 95% CI, 0.48-3.95 points; P = .01), with participants in the intervention group reporting better parenting-related outcomes than the control group at 1 and 3 months after the intervention. Conclusions and Relevance: This text-messaging program for parents of adolescents appears to be an effective and feasible way to facilitate the implementation and delivery of evidence-based information to populations that are not easily reached with other intervention modalities. The program can be easily scaled up for delivery as an early preventive intervention and may represent a less expensive option for service delivery. Trial Registration: anzctr.org.au Identifier: ACTRN12618000117213.

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  • In a recent trial, parents participating in the MyTeen intervention reported higher levels of parental competence relative to the control group, as well as more parent-adolescent communication and less parental distress.

    “In a recent trial, parents participating in the MyTeen intervention reported higher levels of parental competence relative to the control group, as well as more parent-adolescent communication and less parental distress.”

    From Daily Communication Between First-Year College Students and Their Parents: Associations With Perceived Relationship Positivity (2024) · cites this paper as Chu et al., 2019

  • MyTeen is a text messaging intervention targeting parents of adolescents that provides parenting tips via text messages, as well as evidence-based resources.

    “MyTeen is text messaging intervention targeting parents of adolescents that provides parenting tips via text messages (e.g., how to develop and maintain high-quality parent-child relationships; how to recognize symptoms of depression), as well as evidence-based resources (Chu et al., 2019).”

    From Daily Communication Between First-Year College Students and Their Parents: Associations With Perceived Relationship Positivity (2024) · cites this paper as Chu et al., 2019

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Chu, J. T. W., Wadham, A., Jiang, Y., Whittaker, R., Stasiak, K., Shepherd, M., & Bullen, C.
Affiliations
  • University of Auckland (NZ)
  • Massey University (NZ)
Corresponding author
Chu, Joanna Ting Wai
ORCID
Venue
JAMA Network Open
Publisher
American Medical Association (AMA)
Published
2019-09-11
Volume
2
Issue
9
Pages
e1911120
ISSN
2574-3805 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.11120
PMC
PMC6739724
OpenAlex
W2972858471
Cited by
37
References
8
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 1
FWCI
6.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • JAMA Network Open (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
Keywords
text messaging, mobile health, parenting skills, mental health literacy, adolescents, parents of adolescents, parental distress, adolescent mental health, early intervention, primary caregivers
MeSH terms
Grandparents, Help-Seeking Behavior, Psychological Distress, Adolescent, Child, Communication, Feasibility Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Mental Health, New Zealand, Parent-Child Relations, Parents, Personal Satisfaction, Self Concept, Parenting, Self Efficacy, Health Literacy, Text Messaging

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