Parent-Child Relations
Conditions
Brief summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the effect of the Strength at Home Parents intervention to treatment as usual in veterans enrolled for care at VA facilities in VISN 17 on parenting stress and parenting behaviors. The participant population will have elevated PTSD symptoms and parent-child functioning difficulties with an index child between the ages of 3-12. The main question\[s\]it aims to answer are: • Does Strength at Home Parents improve parenting stress and parenting behaviors in comparison to a no-treatment control condition? • Are gains maintained over time and is there a gender difference in efficacy? Participants will complete 4 online assessments, and if randomized to the intervention group they will complete an 8 week tele-health group program. If randomized to the control group participants will receive a link to the VA parenting resources website and any referrals they would like to have. Researchers will compare Strength at Home Parents to VA treatment as usual see if the group intervention improves parenting stress and behaviors above and beyond the existing resources.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALStrength at Home Parents
Strength at Home parents is an 8 week trauma-informed and cognitive behavioral tele-health group intervention that aims to improve parenting behaviors and overall parent-child and family functioning among U.S. military Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms
BEHAVIORALVA treatment as usual
VA treatment as usual includes referral to the online resources at veterantraining.va.gov/parenting .
Sponsors
United States Department of Defense
University of Texas at Austin
VISN 17 Center of Excellence
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Eligible participants are veterans enrolled in any VA VISN 17 facility who meet the following inclusion criteria: Current parent to a child between the ages of 3 and 12 (the index child), who resides with the participant or spends at least two days per week with the participant, elevated PTSD symptoms and Parent-child functioning problems.
Exclusion criteria
Major neurocognitive disorder likely to impact comprehension of material, including severe TBI .
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Parenting Stress Index total score | Time 2: 8-16 weeks | The Parenting Stress Index, 4th edition (PSI) has 120 items scored on a 5-point scale, yielding a parent and child domain scale measuring stress related to parent and child characteristics. These scale scores are combined to yield a total stress score. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Laxness subscale on the Parenting Scale | Time 2: 8-16 weeks | The laxness scale is comprised of 11 items measuring permissive, inconsistent discipline |
| Over reactivity subscale on the Parenting scale | Time 2: 8-16 weeks | The over reactivity scale (10 items) measures use of emotional, harsh discipline |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| PTSD Symptom Checklist score | Time 2: 8-16 weeks | We will measure PTSD with the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5; PCL-5, a 20-item measure on a 5-point scale assessing PTSD symptom severity. Scores range from 0 to 80 with higher scores reflecting increased endorsement of PTSD symptoms. |
| Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms | Time 1: 8-16 weeks | We will use the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms (QIDS). The QIDS includes 16 items that capture the severity of nine depressive symptoms in the last 7 days. |
| Total Family Problems Score | Time 2: 8-16 weeks | The Systematic Clinical Outcome Routine Evaluation (SCORE-15) Index of Family Functioning and Change is a 15-item, self-administered instrument that assesses family problems and includes subscales for family strengths, family difficulties, and family communication. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale where 1 = Describes us: Very well and 5 = Describes us: Not at all. The scores from all individual items can be added together into a total family problem score. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed