Mental Health and General Well-being, Mental Health Difficulties, Mental Health Help-Seeking
Conditions
Keywords
Parenting Skills, Parental Self-Efficacy, Digital Mental Health, Pilot Study, Usability, Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Brief summary
Parents play an important role in supporting their children's mental health but often feel unsure how to respond to emotional or mental health difficulties. To address this need, the PsyGes project developed the Youngsters Upbringing Mental Health Information and Counselling App (YOUCA), a smartphone app that provides parents with information, practical guidance, daily tips, communication strategies, a mental health glossary, and a directory of support services. This study aims to evaluate the usability and potential effectiveness of YOUCA in improving parenting skills and parental self-efficacy (confidence in supporting a child). In this mixed-methods randomized waitlist-controlled pilot study, approximately 25 parents of children with mental health difficulties will participate. Participants will use the app over a four-week period and complete questionnaires before and after use. App usability and satisfaction will also be assessed. Interviews with parents and a focus group with psychosocial experts will provide additional feedback to support further app development and future larger-scale evaluation.
Detailed description
Parents play a key role in supporting their children's mental health and emotional well-being. However, many parents feel uncertain about how to respond when their child is experiencing emotional or mental health difficulties. They may struggle to communicate effectively, lack confidence in their parenting abilities, experience concerns about stigma, or have difficulty identifying appropriate support services. To address these challenges, the project PsyGes developed the Youngsters Upbringing Mental Health Information and Counselling App (YOUCA), a smartphone application designed to provide parents and caregivers with accessible information, practical guidance, and support. The YOUCA app aims to strengthen parenting skills, increase parents' confidence in supporting their children, and improve awareness of available support services. The app includes tailored daily tips, strategies for communicating with children and maintaining positive parent-child relationships, a searchable glossary of mental health terms, and a directory of support services. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usability and potential efficacy of the YOUCA app. Specifically, the study will examine how parents perceive the app's usability and usefulness and whether using the app for four weeks may improve parenting skills and parental self-efficacy. Parental self-efficacy refers to a parent's confidence in their ability to support and guide their child. The researchers expect that regular use of the app will help parents feel more capable and better equipped to manage challenges related to their children's mental health. This study is a mixed-methods randomized waitlist-controlled pilot trial. Approximately 25 parents or caregivers of children with mental health difficulties will be recruited, with at least 20 participants expected to complete the study. Participants will be randomly assigned either to receive immediate access to the app or to a waitlist group that will receive access later. This allows researchers to compare outcomes between participants who have used the app and those who have not yet used it. The study will take place over eight weeks and include three assessment points: before app use begins, after the first study period, and after the second study period. Participants will complete questionnaires measuring parenting skills and parental self-efficacy before and after using the app. The usability of and satisfaction with the app will also be assessed after app use. Additionally, participants are required to maintain a usage diary to document their interactions and experiences with the app during app use. In addition, at least ten participants will be invited to take part in voluntary interviews about their experiences using the app. These interviews will provide detailed feedback on the app's strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. A focus group with approximately five psychosocial experts will also be conducted to gather professional perspectives on the app's content and usefulness. Participation involves minimal risk. Some participants may find it emotionally challenging to reflect on their child's mental health difficulties, but no medical or invasive procedures are involved. Participants may withdraw from the study at any time without consequences. The findings from this pilot study will help researchers improve the YOUCA app and determine whether it shows sufficient promise for evaluation in a larger trial. Ultimately, the study seeks to contribute to the development of accessible digital tools that support parents and promote the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.
Interventions
DEVICEApp YOUCA (prototype)
Youngsters Upbringing Mental Health Counseling App (YOUCA) to provide parents and caregivers with accessible professional guidance. YOUCA aims to strengthen parenting skills, to empower parents by helping them with strategies to support their children, particularly in times of emotional difficulty and provide the opportunity to seek professional help.
Sponsors
Hochschule Campus Wien (University of Applied Sciences Campus Vienna)
NOUS Wissensmanagement FlexCo
Empowermente, Verein für psychische Gesundheit von Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen
Psychotherapie Mantl
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
A mixed-methods randomized waitlist-controlled pilot trial will enroll 25 parents of children with mental health difficulties. Participants will be randomized at baseline (T0) to either an immediate-access intervention group or a waitlist control group. Outcomes will be assessed at three time points: baseline (T0), follow-up 1 (T1), and follow-up 2 (T2). Parenting skills and parental self-efficacy will be measured before and after the intervention period, while usability and satisfaction will be assessed following app use. To complement quantitative findings, a usage diary through the intervention period and optional post-intervention interviews will be conducted with at least 10 participants, and a focus group with five psychosocial experts will be held to obtain additional feedback on the app.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Adult (psychological) parents (Age \> 18 years) of children/adolescents aged 10-17 * AND previously/currently concerned about their child's mental health \& therefore seeking information/support * AND willingness to comply with all study related procedures and provide informed consent * AND owning a smartphone and willing to use it for installing and testing the YOUCA App within the intervention phase * AND situated in the City of Vienna or surrounding areas
Exclusion criteria
* Lack of consent capacity in parents or acute crisis of the participants. No external expert assessment is conducted. An acute crisis is defined as screened by PHQ-4 score rated from 9 to 12 (Kroenke et al. 2009). * Insufficient knowledge of German for questionnaire completion, app use and participation in the interview Inclusion Criteria for Experts in Focus Group * Active work in the field of psychosocial and mental health in the last three years * AND working with children / adolescents between age 10 - 17 in the field of psychosocial and mental health * AND willing to test the app on a private smartphone * AND at least one year of work experience in respective fields * AND situated in the City of Vienna or surrounding areas
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Parenting to Reduce Adolescent Depression and Anxiety Scale Total Score | Baseline (intervention group and waitlist control group) 4 weeks, directly after intervention (intervention group) 4 weeks, directly after waiting time (waitlist control group) 8 weeks, directly after intervention (waitlist control group) | The Parenting to Reduce Adolescent Depression and Anxiety Scale Scale: Mostly 4-point Likert scales across 79 items, assessing either the frequency of a behavior (Never to Often) or the likelihood of a reaction in hypothetical scenarios (Very unlikely to Very likely). Calculation/Assessment: Criterion-referenced scoring. Responses are dichotomized based on clinical guidelines: * 1 point: Concordant with guidelines. * 0 points: Non-concordant with guidelines. * Points are summed up to calculate the total or subscale scores. Unit of measurement: Points (0-79). A higher score indicates greater adherence to preventive parenting guidelines. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Parenting to Reduce Adolescent Depression and Anxiety Scale Subscales | Baseline (intervention group and waitlist control group) 4 weeks, directly after intervention (intervention group) 4 weeks, directly after waiting time (waitlist control group) 8 weeks, directly after intervention (waitlist control group) | 9 validated subscales of the Parenting to Reduce Adolescent Depression and Anxiety Scale allowing for contextualization of findings. Responses are dichotomized based on clinical guidelines: • 1 point: Concordant with guidelines. • 0 points: Non-concordant with guidelines. • Points are summed up to calculate the subscale scores. A higher score indicates greater adherence to preventive parenting guidelines. 1. Parent-Child Relationship (8 items; score range: 0 to 8) 2. Involvement (8 items; score range: 0 to 8) 3. Relationships with Others (6 items; score range: 0 to 6) 4. Family Rules (9 items; score range: 0 to 9) 5. Home Environment (8 items; score range: 0 to 8) 6. Health Habits ((12 items; score range: 0 to 12) 7. Dealing with Problems (10 items; score range: 0 to 10) 8. Coping with Anxiety (9 items; score range: 0 to 9) 8\. Professional Help-Seeking (9 items; score range: 0 to 9) |
| Me as a Parent Scale | Baseline (intervention group and waitlist control group) 4 weeks, directly after intervention (intervention group) 4 weeks, directly after waiting time (waitlist control group) 8 weeks, directly after intervention (waitlist control group) | The Me as a Parent Scale is a 16-item parent-report questionnaire designed to measure parenting self-regulation. It evaluates parents' beliefs about their ability to effectively manage parenting challenges and comprises four subscales: Self-Efficacy (confidence in parenting abilities), Personal Agency (perceived influence over parenting outcomes), Self-Management (ability to regulate behavior and remain goal-directed in the parenting role), and Self-Sufficiency (perceived ability to independently solve parenting problems). Higher scores reflect greater parenting self-efficacy and self-regulatory capacity. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from \[1\] Strongly disagree to \[5\] Points are summed to a total score ranging from 16 to 80 and the subscales score from 4 to 20 each with the reverse-coded items 1, 4, 9, and 16, with higher scores indicating more adaptive parenting self-regulation beliefs. |
Countries
Austria
Contacts
CONTACTCarina Hauser
CONTACTPeter Putz
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORCarina Hauser
Hochschule Campus Wien (University of Applied Sciences Campus Vienna)
Outcome results
None listed