Evaluation of an implementation intentions intervention for managing university student stress

Leah J Rackemann; Kyra Hamilton; Jacob J Keech

doi:10.1002/smi.3318

Evaluation of an implementation intentions intervention for managing university student stress

Stress Health. 2023 Sep 19. doi: 10.1002/smi.3318. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Leah J Rackemann¹, Kyra Hamilton^{2

3

4}, Jacob J Keech^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Health, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia.
² School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
³ Health Sciences Research Institute, University of California, Merced, California, USA.
⁴ Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.

PMID: 37724051
DOI: 10.1002/smi.3318

Abstract

University students consistently report high levels of stress, which has been associated with a range of adverse outcomes. Promoting adaptive coping behaviours, such as problem-focused coping for managing university stress, is therefore a timely area of investigation. Current coping intervention approaches target reasoned cognitive processes; however, recent research has suggested that automatic processes are more strongly associated with problem-focused coping behaviour. The current study examined the effect of an implementation intentions intervention, a technique that can support behaviour to be performed automatically by facilitating continued repetition of a plan, on problem-focused coping behaviour under stress and stress-related outcomes. Following a pilot study (N = 21), a preregistered randomized controlled trial was conducted with university students (N = 154) using an online survey. Participants completed baseline measures of problem-focused coping behaviour, behavioural automaticity, behavioural intentions, action planning, perceived stress, procrastination, and psychological wellbeing; before receiving the intervention or control condition stimuli, and then at a 2-week follow-up. Behavioural intention and action planning were also measured immediately post-intervention. The intervention had a significant medium-sized effect on action planning for problem-focused coping, but no other significant effects were detected. Exploratory assessment of plan quality revealed medium-sized correlations between plan quality and changes in problem-focused coping behaviour. Findings indicate that implementation intentions may be a promising approach for increasing planning for the use of problem-focused coping. Indicators of plan quality found to be associated with changes in problem-focused coping provide valuable avenues for intervention optimisation in future research.

Keywords: automaticity; behaviour change; dual-process theories; planning; stress.