Transdiagnostic Sleep and Circadian Intervention for Adolescents Plus Text Messaging: Randomized Controlled Trial 12-month Follow-up

ABSTRACT

Objective

The Transdiagnostic Sleep and Circadian Intervention for Youth (TranS-C) was developed to improve sleep and circadian functioning in adolescents. This study examined the 12-month effects for TranS-C compared with psychoeducation (PE). We also investigated whether a text messaging intervention can promote maintenance of treatment effects.

Method

At the baseline, adolescents (58% female, average age = 14.8 years) with an eveningness chronotype were randomized to TranS-C (n = 89) or PE (n = 87). At 6-month follow-up, participants were randomized to receive text messages that had repeated treatment information (n = 47), text messages that prompted the recall of treatment information (n = 50), or no text messages (n = 47).

Results

Relative to PE, TranS-C was associated with a reduced eveningness (b = 2.06, p = .005, d = 0.29) from the baseline to a 12-month follow-up. TranS-C treatment effects, relative to PE, were augmented by receiving text messages, compared to no text messages, for eveningness from baseline to 12-month follow-up (b = 1.38, p = .008, d = 0.28) and from 6- to 12-month follow-up (b = 1.07, p = .046, d = 0.21). Neither TranS-C nor text messages were significantly associated with other primary outcomes. TranS-C and text messages were significantly associated with improvements on selected secondary sleep and health outcomes through follow-up.

Conclusions

For adolescents with an eveningness chronotype, improved sleep and circadian functioning on selected outcomes were maintained over 12 months for TranS-C compared with PE. Text messages boosted the effects of TranS-C through 12-month follow-up.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development R01HD071065 (AGH), National Institute of Mental Health T32MH020006 (EAD), and a fellowship from the Mental Illness Research and Education Clinical Center of the US Veterans Health Administration (EAD). We are grateful to the team for their assistance with the project setup, project coordination, conducting assessments, and providing treatment. We are also grateful to the families who participated in this study.

Disclosure Statement

AGH has received research support from the National Institutes of Health and book royalties from the American Psychological Association, Guilford Press, and Oxford University Press. All other authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Supplementary Material

Supplemental material for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2021.1978295

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; National Institute of Mental Health; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.