Testing the effectiveness and acceptability of Strong Families – Iran

Impact of a brief family skills training programme (Strong Families) on child mental health, resilience and parenting skills in Iran: a multisite randomized controlled trial

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN50189190

Enrollment

Registered

2021-08-20

Start date

2019-11-18

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2023-09-18

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Prevention of negative social outcomes, including drug use, child maltreatment, poor mental health and childhood aggression in families living in Iran Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Interventions

The Strong Families programme is a group intervention for children and their primary caregivers with sessions attended over 3 weeks (one session per week). Up to two parents or main caregivers attend

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Primary caregiver with a child between 8 and 12 years 2. Speaking Farsi 3. Willing to take part in the Strong Families programme 4. Being in the town for the duration of the whole study and measurement meetings

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Having taken part in any other family skills training programme during the last 24 months 2. The primary caregiver and child lived separately

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
1. Child mental health measured through a paper-based questionnaire, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at baseline (1 week before the start of the intervention), at 2 weeks after programme completion and then 6 weeks post-intervention 2. Parenting skills measured through a paper-based questionnaire, Parenting and Family Adjustment Scales (PAFAS) at baseline (1 week before the start of the intervention), at 2 weeks after programme completion and then 6 weeks post-intervention 3. Social-ecological resilience self-reported through children through the paper-based Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-R) at baseline (1 week before the start of the intervention), at 2 weeks after programme completion and then 6 weeks post-intervention 4. For stratification, baseline characteristics were collected using a paper-based Family Demographics Questionnaire at baseline	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Child mental health measured through a paper-based questionnaire, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at baseline (1 week before the start of the intervention), at 2 weeks after programme completion and then 6 weeks post-intervention 2. Parenting skills measured through a paper-based questionnaire, Parenting and Family Adjustment Scales (PAFAS) at baseline (1 week before the start of the intervention), at 2 weeks after programme completion and then 6 weeks post-intervention 3. Social-ecological resilience self-reported through children through the paper-based Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-R) at baseline (1 week before the start of the intervention), at 2 weeks after programme completion and then 6 weeks post-intervention 4. For stratification, baseline characteristics were collected using a paper-based Family Demographics Questionnaire at baseline

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Implementation process evaluated based on the number of sessions provided by coordinators in the field, and information on fidelity, dose received, reach and inputs provided by facilitators and independent observers at the end of each session of the Strong Families programme (after completion of each of the three sessions with families during the actual intervention period)	—

Countries

Iran

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026