A Pilot Trial Examining Digital Parent Training Programs
Condition: Child Behavior Problem; Parenting; Engagement, Patient
MeSH terms: Problem Behavior
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of this pilot study is to preliminary examine the impact of a design mechanism
      aimed at increasing engagement in an unguided digital parent training program for child's
      behavior problems. Parents will be enrolled into one of two digital parent training
      intervention arms, dedifferentiated by their level of correspondence with the related deign
      mechanism.
    

Detailed description: 
      The purpose of this pilot study is to preliminary examine the impact of a design mechanism
      aimed at increasing engagement in an unguided digital parent training program for child's
      behavior problems. The design mechanism manipulated in this pilot relates to the extent to
      which program design promotes a positive behavior change. To achieve these goal two unguided
      digital parent training interventions, differentiated by their level of design (DPT-Standard
      vs. DPT-Enhanced), will be tested. This pilot aims to recruit 40-60 parents who report
      behavior problems in their children who will randomly receive one of the two interventions
      for 10 weeks.

      The impact of DPT-E on user engagement and reported child behavior problems will be assessed
      based on comparison with DPT-Standard. Parental behaviors and sense of competence will be
      collected to assess the impact of intervention design on these mechanisms of change. In
      addition, the role of parents' motivation, and their ability to invest effort in making
      changes during the intervention will be assessed, to examine whether these variables moderate
      the impact of intervention's design on the aforementioned relationships. The investigators
      also aim to explore whether the relationship between usage and clinical outcomes is stronger
      in those using DPT-E compared with DPT-Standard.
    

Intervention name(s): DPT-Standard; DPT-Enhanced
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The parent training intervention includes 7 modules, recommended to be completed within 7- to 10-weeks period. Module's content includes videos and texts guiding the parent through the training process; interactive features, such as multiple-choice questions with direct feedback. Additional features embedded within the platform include downloadable materials, and a Q&A section that contains frequently asked questions.; DPT-Enhanced will include all the ingredients of DPT-Standard, but with additional features. The program itself is based on pre-defined decision rules that are either event or time based based on evidence based practice in promoting effective parental engagement. Each component includes a short learning phase, followed by a 1-2 week focusing phase. The focusing phase is designed to encourage and help parents to practice and acquire learned skills in their day-to-day lives, by making these skills more salient in their mind.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Treatment