Evaluating the effectiveness of a brief online parenting program on child behaviour, dysfunctional parenting, and parent well-being

Participants are parents of children aged between 2 and 8 years 11 months of age who are referred (or self-refer) to the Sydney Child Behaviour Research Clinic, and would like assistance managing child disruptive behaviour. The aim of this study is to conduct a RCT of Family Man, a brief, self-directed online parenting program (OPP) that provides parents with evidence-based strategies to manage challenging child behaviour, promote positive parent-child interactions, and support parental teamwork. Participants who meet inclusion criteria will complete a baseline assessment, which will involve completing online questionnaires. Once baseline assessment has been completed, participants will be randomly allocated to the OPP group or to the waitlist control group. Participants randomly allocated to the OPP group will receive access to the website containing the intervention, called Family Man. Family Man is a brief self-directed, online parenting program that is comprised of three modules. The Family Man program has been developed from other evidence-based programs and includes three modules covering strategies to encourage positive behaviour and use rewards (Module 1), manage challenging behaviour and implement consistent effective discipline (Module 2), and generalising parenting strategies to manage high-risk situations (Module 3). The intervention has been designed to be engaging for fathers, who have low rates of participation in parenting interventions. The core intervention content is delivered via three, short (20 minute), animated video episodes, which are embedded with ‘choose-your-own-adventure’-style questions. At the end of each video episode, parents can access additional written content that is relevant to the topics covered in the video episode. For each module, this written content includes a ‘Crash Course’ summarising the key information in the video episode, and a ‘Toolkit’ of tips for implementing the strategies. The three modules will be gradually released, such that after completing one episode, participants will have to wait one week before they can access the next module’s episode and additional content, to provide some time for parents to implement the strategies. In addition to the intervention modules, Family Man contains articles covering a range of topics related to child development, behaviour, and parenting. The 'Crash Course', 'Toolkit' and articles have been designed specifically for the Family Man intervention/study. Parents can access the OPP using a smart phone, tablet, or computer at a time that suits them. Two-parent families are strongly encouraged to complete the OPP together, as research shows this leads to the best outcomes for parents and children. To assess intervention adherence, program user-data (e.g., number of log-ins, pages visited, time between log-ins) will be collected from the OPP site. Parents will also complete a questionnaire about program use and implementation at the post-assessment, following intervention completion. During the four-week intervention period, the trial manager will send weekly email prompts to parents in the OPP group, to remind them to complete each of the three modules. All participants will receive the intervention. Participants randomly allocated to the waitlist control group will be required to wait for 4 weeks before receiving the OPP. All participants will be asked not to participate in any other parenting programs during the waiting/intervention period. All families will be assessed pre- and post-program (or waitlist) and the OPP group will also be assessed at two month follow-up.