Evaluating the Effects of Self-Guided Interventions for Parents of Young Children With Anxiety
Massachusetts General Hospital
Summary
The investigators are doing this research to test whether parents of children ages 2-7 can better manage their child's anxiety by completing a brief, online, self-guided parent education program. One way to provide anxiety management skills to more children, and to potentially prevent worsening outcomes, is to offer online and self-guided educational programs that parents can complete without a clinician. This randomized trial will evaluate the effects of two brief, online, self-guided parent education programs designed to improve parents' understanding of anxiety and teach parents way to help their children cope with anxiety. Parents will be randomly assigned to one of the three programs. The main aim of the study is to examine whether the parent programs, compared to an educational control reduce parental accommodation of anxiety across a 1-, 4-, and 8-month follow-up period. As a secondary aim, the investigators will explore whether the parent programs reduce children's anxiety symptoms over the 8-month follow-up period. Results will inform the development of a scalable, low-cost model for promoting access to evidence-based treatment to young children.
Description
Anxiety disorders are very common in children, affecting as many as 30% by adolescence. Even 10% of preschool-age children are already affected. These disorders cause distress and can interfere with academic, social, and family functioning. There are very effective treatments for anxiety disorders, but, on average, kids suffer for four years between onset of their anxiety symptoms and proper diagnosis and treatment. Young children often do not receive treatment because pediatricians, parents, and teachers do not realize that treatment can benefit them and because there is a shortage of provide…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: Parents will be eligible to participate if: 1. Their child is between the age of 2 and 7 years-old 2. Their child scores in the elevated range on an age-approrpiate anxiety screening measure 3. Parents are English-speaking 4. Parents are over the age of 18 years old Exclusion Criteria: Parents will be excluded if: (1) Their child shows symptoms of suicidal or homicidal ideation, psychosis, or primary severe mood or behavior disorder (i.e., if treatment for another disorder other than anxiety is indicate prior to treatment for anxiety)
Interventions
- BehavioralProject EMPOWER
Project EMPOWER is a web-based, self-administered program for parents that takes about 20 minutes to complete.
- BehavioralBeing Brave Parent Education
Being Brave Parent Education is an online, self-guided program which consists of three brief video-recorded lessons (approximately 20 minutes each) with accompanying knowledge checks and workbook on implementing parent-directed cognitive-behavioral therapy.
- BehavioralSharing Feelings
A self-guided 20-minute educational control, that teaches parents about the importance of sharing feelings and about helpful versus unhelpful expression of emotion.
Location
- Massachusetts General HospitalBoston, Massachusetts