A Quantitative and Qualitative Study on PSU Severity, Therapist Opinions of PSU, and PSU Treatment in North Texas
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.1752Keywords:
PSU, Problematic Smartphone Use, Adolescents, CBT, Therapy, Interviews, Therapists, SurveyAbstract
Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU), or the excessive use of smartphones, has become a widespread issue among adolescents especially in the US. Although researchers have tested different therapy approaches to treat PSU, there is scant literature on therapist views of its treatment, a great hindrance in developing effective solutions to combat PSU. Therefore, this study examines the views of therapists treating Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU) in North Texas on strategies used in PSU therapy for adolescents ages 14-18. With quantitative surveying for highschoolers ages 14-18 (n=364) and semi-structured interviewing with therapists (n=3) representative of their larger North Texas populations, this study specifically aims to determine the severity of PSU among adolescent participants, compile therapist views on PSU and its treatment, and discover the specific approaches therapists implement in treatment of PSU. Upon calculating descriptive statistics and Confidence Intervals for the survey data, results pointed to a moderate level of PSU severity within the group of adolescents. Additionally, thematic analysis yielded five themes that detail therapist views on PSU and its treatment: Importance of Community, Peer Support, and Social Interaction; Importance of CBT, Family Therapy, and Parental support; Treatment is unique to each patient; PSU is Rooted in Other Issues; and Recommendations for Adolescents. Therapy approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Family Therapy, Person-Centered Therapy (PCT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) were implemented by therapists in their therapy sessions. Future research should focus on gathering opinions from a diverse set of therapists to uncover different perspectives on treatment, determine the reasons for quantitative inconsistencies with past literature, conduct test interventions utilizing the therapy strategies extracted from this study to discover their effectiveness, and continue to gather therapist opinions for the betterment of PSU treatment for adolescents in the future.
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