An Intervention Study: Shaping a Healthier Child

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The aim of this study is to identify parent-children communication in relation to health risk behaviors (smoking, drinking and illegal drug taking) in adolescents, and to enhance better parental skills in preventing these behaviors in children.

Detailed Description
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Previous research found that parent-children communication is the best predictor of health risk behaviors among adolescents. However, longitudinal studies of parent-adolescent communication on the subject of health risk behavior such as alcohol, tobacco and other drug use (ATOD) remain relatively scarce, and none of this kind of work has been done among Chinese sample. Such information is urgently needed given the increasing trend of drug use among adolescents in Hong Kong, and the severe burden of morbidity and mortality related to ATOD. The study aims to examine parent-children communication in relation to health risk behaviors and to explore the potential efficacy of a brief intervention which is designed to assist parents of primary school children to communicate with their children about issues in the prevention of health risk behaviors. The efficacy of the intervention will be compared with a waiting-list control group using a randomized controlled trial. There will then be two telephone follow-ups to reinforce learnt strategies and skills for home practice in between the two workshops. There will also be assessments post-intervention and at 1 year follow-up. Evaluation focus groups will also be conducted after the intervention program.

Official Title
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A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Brief Intervention by Parents to Prevent Their Children From Experimenting With Health Risk Behavior: a Pilot Study

Conditions
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Parent-Child Relationship

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Brief Parental Training Intervention


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Parent of a child in primary five or six Cantonese-speaking Consent to their participation in the program and the inclusion of their children in the assessments Exclusion Criteria: none
Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Brief Parental Training Intervention<br>Participants will have to attend two 3-hour Brief Parental Training Intervention Programme, with three weeks apart. There will also be two telephone follow-up sessions to reinforce learnt strategies and skills for home practice between workshops. | Other: Brief Parental Training Intervention<br>* The workshop was designed to assist parents to communicate with their children about issues in the prevention of health risk behaviours- alcohol, tobacco and other drug use (ATOD), by equipping them with the appropriate interaction skills and encouraging them to build relationships with their children.<br>|
| Other: Wait-list Group<br>Participants will receive the same Brief Parental Training Intervention Programme as the intervention group. However, they will wait until the questionnaires have been completed by the intervention group for the second time (i.e. immediately after intervention) before they receive their programme. | Other: Brief Parental Training Intervention<br>* The workshop was designed to assist parents to communicate with their children about issues in the prevention of health risk behaviours- alcohol, tobacco and other drug use (ATOD), by equipping them with the appropriate interaction skills and encouraging them to build relationships with their children.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Readiness of parents to communicate with their children about preventing health risk behaviour | Measured by Parent Questionnaire (PQ) - the sections on their (a) intention to take action, (b) self-efficacy in taking action, (c) plan of the action, (d) action to change (modified from Sniehotta, Scholz et al. 2002). | At 1 year | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Quality of parent-child communication | Measured by Parent Questionnaire (PQ)- the section on parent-adolescent communication (Caprara, Pastorelli, Regalia, Scabini & Bandura, 2005) as well as the Chidren Questionnaire (CQ)- the section on parent-adolescent communication (Caprara et al, 2005) | At 1 year | 
| Parents' attitudes towards positive parenting | Measured by Parent Questionnaire (PQ)- the section on parenting patterns (Rohner, 1986; Chen, Rubin & Li, 1997) | At 1 year | 
| Quality of parent-child relationships | Measured by Parent Questionnaire (PQ)- the section on parent-child relationships (Schumm, Paff-Bergen et al., 1986) as well as the section on Children Questionnaire (CQ)- the section on parent-child relationships Schumm et al., 1986) | At 1 year | 
| Children's health risk behaviour | Measured by Children Questionnaire (CQ)- the sections on health risk behaviour - smoking (Mak et al, 2005; Abdullah et al, 2006); alcohol use (Ewing, 1984); and illicit drug use (Kolbe, Kann & Collins, 1999; Lee & Tsang, 2004) | At 1 year | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Parent-child communication, Health risk behaviors, Randomized controlled trial