Parent-Child Relationship
Conditions
Keywords
Parent-child communication, Health risk behaviors, Randomized controlled trial
Brief summary
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
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.
Interventions
OTHERBrief Parental Training Intervention
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.
Sponsors
Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Tung Chung Integrated Services
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
Yes
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
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Readiness of parents to communicate with their children about preventing health risk behaviour | At 1 year | 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). |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Parents' attitudes towards positive parenting | At 1 year | Measured by Parent Questionnaire (PQ)- the section on parenting patterns (Rohner, 1986; Chen, Rubin & Li, 1997) |
| Quality of parent-child relationships | At 1 year | 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) |
| Quality of parent-child communication | At 1 year | 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) |
| Children's health risk behaviour | At 1 year | 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) |
Outcome results
None listed