Abstract
Although online and app-based relationship interventions have been developed to promote relationship well-being, they require a computer, tablet, or smartphone and a high-speed data connection. Instead, text messaging may be a more cost-effective form of delivery. In the current study, 461 participants from three universities, who were mostly female (73%) and white (68%), were randomly assigned to a control group or to a text message treatment condition where they received one text a day for 28 days. Results indicated that text messaging was rated by participants as a favorable method of treatment delivery. However, romantically-involved college students in the treatment condition did not report significantly greater gains in individual or relationship functioning than couples in the control group. Further, although students in the text intervention did not become violent during the study, they reported fewer decreases in violence than the control group.
