Child Mental Health
Conditions
Brief summary
The current study examines the impact of ParentCorps in high-poverty district schools in New York City (NYC). The study is conducted within the context of the NYC Department of Education (DOE) Pre-K Thrive initiative. As part of this initiative, the Center for Early Childhood Health and Development (CEHD) at NYU Langone Health is implementing services to strengthen family engagement and support parents and teachers in creating safe, nurturing and predictable environments for young children. All parents of Pre-K students in the 81 district schools will be invited for them and their Pre-K children to participate in the study, which includes 2 school-based assessments in Pre-K over a 10-month period and 1 school-based assessment at the end of Kindergarten, and teacher ratings of children in Pre-K and Kindergarten. Additionally, parents will be invited to consent to the use of their children's NYC DOE administrative records from Pre-K through grade 5 for the purposes of this study. Parents will also be invited to participate by completing surveys with NYU study staff. Parents will be consented to complete two surveys when their child is in Pre-K. Parents may be randomly selected to complete a third survey when their child is in Kindergarten or to participate in a focus group with other parents.
Detailed description
This randomized controlled trial is an evaluation of Thrive Professional Learning plus ParentCorps compared to the Thrive and Inspire Professional Learning tracks in 81 district schools. The study will include families of Pre-K students and Pre-K students. Forty-one (41) district schools are participating in Thrive Professional Learning, delivered by NYU Langone-based staff; 20 of these schools are randomly assigned to implement ParentCorps (in addition to Thrive Professional Learning). Forty (40 district schools) are participating in Inspire Professional Learning and will not implement ParentCorps.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALThrive Professional Learning plus ParentCorps
led by the NYC Department of Education. Professional Learning sessions are tailored to the needs of pre-K teachers and leaders, and include topics aligned with the district's quality standards that support child instructional goals.
BEHAVIORALThrive Professional Learning only
Part of the Professional Learning Track system for all Pre-K for All teachers and leaders. The NYC DOE schedules Thrive Professional Learning training days for staff on non-attendance days. Teachers attend four Professional Learning days annually, and leaders attend three days annually, over a two-year period.
BEHAVIORALInspire Professional Learning
Delivered to leaders in groups of 20 - 40 three times a year over the same two-year period. Content covers best practices in Family Engagement and Social Emotional Learning and includes an experiential approach to behavior change that asks learners to take the perspective of others and consider their own beliefs and assumptions about students, families, teachers and leaders
Sponsors
NYU Langone Health
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
4 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Pre-K students and families who attend one of the 81 district schools in 2019-2020. * Only parents and students who are English or Spanish speaking will be eligible for participation in the study.
Exclusion criteria
* Families in sites other than the 81 district schools randomized to this study are excluded. * Parents or students who do not speak English and/or Spanish will not be eligible to participate. * Teachers and principals from the 81 sites are not considered participants in the study of student and family outcomes.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| NIH Toolbox Emotion Battery Test Anger Subscale Score | End of Kindergarten, on average 22 months | Parents report on the Anger subscale from the NIH Toolbox Emotion Battery. This measure was designed for children ages 3 - 7. The Anger subscale includes 9 items which measure attitudes of hostility and cynicism often associated with experiences of frustration impeding goal-directed behavior. Parents are asked to respond to items on a three-point scale ranging from "Never True" to "Often True". The NIH Toolbox uses a T-score metric where a score of 50 is the mean and 10 is the standard deviation. A higher T-score indicates higher anger. |
| Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) Score | End of Kindergarten, on average 22 months | Parents report on Attention Problems on the PSC. Tis 5-item subscale screens psychosocial functioning in children 4-18 years of age. Parents are asked to rate the frequency of each symptom on a three-point scale ranging from "Never" (0) to "Often" (2). Scores are summed and range from 0-10, with higher scores indicating high attention problems. |
| Social Competence Scale - Parent Version Score | End of Kindergarten, on average 22 months | Parents report on two subscales, Prosocial/Communication Skills and Emotional Regulation Skills, on the Social Competence Scale. This 12-item measure assesses a child's prosocial behaviors, communication skills, and self-control. Parents respond to items on a five-point scale ranging from "Not at All" to "Very well". Scores are summed on both subscales for a total scale score, scores range from 0 to 48. Higher scores reflect higher parent-reported social competence. |
| The Parental Engagement of Families Questionnaire (PEFL) Score | End of Pre-Kindergarten, on average 9 months | Parents report on the Foundational Education sub-scale of the Parental Engagement of Families Questionnaire (PEFL). This measure captures parental engagement designed for and validated with Latino Head Start families. The 20-item Foundational Education sub-scale reflects parents' efforts to teach their children "the basics". Parents respond to each item using a 4-point rating scale ranging from 1 (Never) to 4 (Frequently). Raw summed scores are converted to T-scores where a score of 50 is the mean and 10 is the standard deviation. Higher scores indicates higher parent-reported social competence. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| NIH Toolbox Emotion Battery Test Score | End of Kindergarten, on average 22 months | Parents report on three sub-scales from the NIH Toolbox Emotion Battery. This measure was designed for children ages 3 - 7. The Fear-Over Anxious subscale includes 6 items measuring symptoms of anxiety that reflect autonomic arousal and perceptions of threat. The Fear-Separation Anxiety subscale includes 7 items measuring symptoms of anxiety that reflect autonomic arousal and perceptions of threat. The Sadness subscale includes 7 items measuring low levels of positive affect. Parents are asked to respond to items on a three-point scale ranging from "Never True" to "Often True". All subscales are summed for a total score. The NIH Toolbox uses a T-score metric where a score of 50 is the mean and 10 is the standard deviation. The average of the three sub-scales is calculated. A higher T-score indicates higher anxiety, separation anxiety and sadness. |
| PROMIS-4 Sleep Disturbance Questionnaire Score | End of Kindergarten, on average 22 months | Parents report on the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) -4 sleep disturbance questionnaire. This 4-item questionnaire assesses child's sleep disturbances. Parents report on a 5-point scale ranging from "Never" to "Always". Scores are converted to a T-score, where a score of 50 is the mean and 10 is the standard deviation. Higher T-scores reflect high sleep disturbance. |
| Parent Evidence-Based Strategies Scale | End of Pre-Kindergarten, on average 9 months | Parents report on the Parent Evidence-Based Strategies Scale, which is adapted from the Parent Practices Interview (PPI). This 6-item scale assesses the frequency in which parents apply a range of evidence-based parenting strategies (e.g., behavioral management, promotion strategies). Parents report on a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 (Never) to 5 (Very Often). Items are scored for a total score, scores range from 6-30. Higher scores reflect higher frequency of evidence-based strategies in parenting. |
| Daily Living Routines Subscale of the Child Routines Inventory (CRI) Score | End of Kindergarten, on average 22 months | Parents report on the Daily Living Routines subscale of the Child Routines Inventory (CRI). This measures commonly occurring routines in school-aged children. This 11-item subscale consists of routines around activities of daily living, such as morning routine and bedtime routine. Parents report on a 5-point scale, ranging from "Almost Never" to "Nearly Always". Scores are summed and range from 0-44, with high scores reflecting higher frequency of routines related to daily activities. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORLaurie Brotman, PhD
New York Langone Health
Participant flow
Recruitment details
Parents of pre-K students were invited to participate in the study in Fall 2019. The parent of the pre-K student provided consent for participation for both their pre-K child and themselves, only the parents provided consent. 81 district schools with Pre-K programs were selected for the study in late Spring 2017 by the NYC DOE. 20 schools were randomized to Thrive Professional Learning plus ParentCorps, 21 schools to Thrive Professional Learning only, 40 schools to Inspire Professional Learning.
Pre-assignment details
The Protocol Enrollment, Number Started and Completed reflected dyads.
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | — |
|---|---|
| Age, Continuous | 4.48 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.31 |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Hispanic or Latino | 45 Participants |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Not Hispanic or Latino | 36 Participants |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 1 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) American Indian or Alaska Native | 1 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Asian | 10 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Black or African American | 17 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) More than one race | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 105 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) White | 15 Participants |
| Region of Enrollment United States | 156 participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 178 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 41 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk | EG002 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 81 | 0 / 85 | 0 / 156 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 81 | 0 / 85 | 0 / 156 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 81 | 0 / 85 | 0 / 156 |
Outcome results
None listed