Promoting Resilience and Lowering Risk in Early Childhood

An intervention study to provide in-the-moment parenting tips with the goal of increasing healthy parent-child interactions leading to resiliency in high-risk children. Specifically, in a sample of parents participating in HV programs, the investigators will use a smartphone app (mHealth app) to deliver daily tailored messages with tips on monitoring and promoting child development. Daily assessments of parents' emotions, parenting behaviors, and interactions with their children will also be collected via the app. During the 4-week EMA study, parents will receive either 2 weeks of the mHealth intervention + EMA data collection followed by 2 weeks of only EMA data collection or to receive 2 weeks of only EMA data collection followed by 2 weeks of mHealth intervention + EMA data collection.

This is an intervention study to provide in-the-moment parenting tips with the goal of educating parents about monitoring and promoting child development, thereby increasing healthy parent-child interactions leading to resiliency in high-risk children. Specifically, in a sample of parents participating in a HV program, the investigators will use a smartphone app (mHealth app) to deliver twice-daily tailored messages with tips on monitoring and promoting child development. Ecological momentary assessments (EMA) of parents' emotions, parenting behaviors, and interactions with their children will also be collected via the mHealth app. Building off previous work the investigators expect that parents will evidence greater engagement in positive parenting practices on days when they receive the mobile-based parenting tips and strategies relative to on days when they do not receive this content.

The investigators hypothesize that in-the-moment parenting tips delivered around peak times of parent-child interactions (i.e., before work/school, mealtimes, and bedtime) will promote positive parenting practices in a sample of parents at increased risk of adversity exposure. The investigators aim to use EMA methodology to measure both group level differences (i.e., intervention vs. services as usual) and within-person fluctuations in harsh parenting, children's emotional and behavioral functioning, and positive parenting practices. The study will evaluate the following aims and hypotheses:

Aim 1. Conduct a 2-arm, randomized, controlled crossover trial to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of a mobile-based parenting app with parents participating in HV services.

Hypothesis 1a. Parents will report high rates of satisfaction with the mHealth app and individual characteristics of parents and families (e.g., age of child, level of adversity exposure) will predict app utilization outcomes.

Hypothesis 1b. Parents will evidence greater engagement in positive parenting practices on days when they receive the mobile-based parenting tips and strategies relative to on days when they do not receive this content.

Aim 2. Utilize EMA data and follow-up assessments to examine the impact of positive parenting practices on the promotion of child development.

Hypothesis 2a. Children will demonstrate greater emotional and behavioral functioning on days when their parents report more positive parenting practices.

Hypothesis 2b. Children of parents who report greater daily engagement in positive parenting practices will achieve higher levels of development at the follow-up assessment relative to children of parents who report lower daily levels of positive parenting practices.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Any new or currently enrolled parent in Oklahoma or Tulsa County in MIECHV-funded home visiting programs.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Parents residing outside of Oklahoma or Tulsa Counties will not be recruited (although if they move to another county between baseline and follow-up, they may be eligible to complete the follow-up survey at the discretion of the Principal Investigator).
* Parents who cannot read/speak English or Spanish at an 8th-grade level or higher will not be recruited.
* Parents under age 16 will not be recruited. Parents ages 16-17 meeting other eligibility requirements may be recruited using the assent form with signatures from both of his/her parents.