Child Mental Health, Interparental Conflict
Conditions
Keywords
Parental Separation, Divorce, Interparental Conflict, Co-Parenting, Parent Education, Parenting Intervention, Children of Divorced Parents, Child Internalizing Problems, Child Externalizing Problems, Preventive Intervention, Family Court
Brief summary
This pilot study will evaluate a new intervention for parents who are separated or divorced and have been court ordered to participate in a program addressing interparental conflict. The intervention is designed to teach parents skills to reduce children's exposure to conflict between parents and support children's well-being. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the new intervention or an existing court-based program. The study will examine the feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness, and usability of the new intervention and its effects on interparental conflict, parents' use of protective skills, and children's mental health.
Detailed description
This study is a randomized pilot trial of a new, scalable intervention for separating or divorcing parents experiencing interparental conflict. The intervention was developed by adapting components of existing evidence-based interventions using human-centered design methods. The intervention is designed to teach parents skills for reducing children's exposure to interparental conflict and protecting children's mental health and well-being. Approximately 94 parents who are court ordered to participate in an intervention addressing interparental conflict will be randomly assigned to either the new intervention or an existing court-based program. The new intervention is expected to include an orientation session followed by three or four digital sessions. The pilot study will evaluate implementation outcomes, including feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness, and usability, as well as preliminary effects on interparental conflict and children's internalizing and externalizing problems. The study will also examine parents' use of skills intended to protect children from interparental conflict and interpersonal violence and parents' emotion-regulation skills.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALFamily COMPASS
Family COMPASS (Conflict Management through Purposeful Awareness, Strategies, and Support) is a manualized, trauma-informed parenting intervention designed to reduce children's exposure to interparental conflict following parental separation or divorce. The intervention consists of four highly structured, approximately 30-minute sessions delivered virtually or in person by trained personnel. It focuses on strengthening parents' emotion regulation, communication, co-parenting, conflict management, and safety planning skills.
BEHAVIORALFamilies in Transition (FIT)
FIT is a 90-minute online parent education program developed by the Superior Court of Maricopa County in collaboration with the National Center for State Courts. The program includes four modules, a film, and interactive activities. It validates parents' difficult feelings toward their co-parent while emphasizing behavior change to protect children from interparental conflict. Content addresses the effects of interparental conflict on children, prioritizing children's needs, developing a child-focused vision for the future, and using practical strategies to reduce conflict behaviors.
Sponsors
Arizona State University
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
88 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Age 18 years or older * Fluent in English * Court ordered to attend an intervention to reduce interparental conflict
Exclusion criteria
None
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Child Anxiety Symptoms | Baseline and 30 days after program completion | Parent-reported child anxiety symptoms assessed using the Anxiety subscale of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale-25 Parent Version (RCADS-25-P). The Anxiety subscale contains 15 items rated from 0 (Never) to 3 (Always). Raw scores range from 0 to 45, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety symptoms. |
| Child Depressive Symptoms | Baseline and 30 days after program completion | Parent-reported child depressive symptoms assessed using the Depression subscale of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale-25 Parent Version (RCADS-25-P). The Depression subscale contains 10 items rated from 0 (Never) to 3 (Always). Raw scores range from 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating greater depressive symptoms. |
| Child Irritability/Anger | Baseline and 30 days after program completion | Parent-reported child irritability and anger assessed using the irritability/anger item of the DSM-5 Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure-Parent/Guardian-Rated Measure for Children Ages 6-17. The item is rated from 0 (Not at all) to 4 (Nearly every day). Scores range from 0 to 4, with higher scores indicating greater irritability/anger. |
| Child Attention Problems | Baseline and 30 days after program completion | Parent-reported child attention problems assessed using the attention item of the DSM-5 Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure-Parent/Guardian-Rated Measure for Children Ages 6-17. The item is rated from 0 (Not at all) to 4 (Nearly every day). Scores range from 0 to 4, with higher scores indicating greater attention problems. |
| Interparental Conflict | Baseline and 30 days after program completion | Parent-reported interparental conflict assessed using the 13-item intensity and frequency subscales of the Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale, adapted for parent report. Items are rated on a 3-point scale and appropriately reverse-scored. Using summed item scores coded from 0 to 2, total scores range from 0 to 26, with higher scores indicating greater interparental conflict. |
| Intervention Feasibility | Approximately 30 days after program completion | Parent-reported feasibility assessed using the 4-item Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM). Items are rated from 1 (Completely disagree) to 5 (Completely agree), with scores ranging from 4 to 20. Higher scores indicate greater perceived feasibility. |
| Intervention Acceptability | Approximately 30 days after program completion | Parent-reported acceptability assessed using the 4-item Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM). Items are rated from 1 (Completely disagree) to 5 (Completely agree), with scores ranging from 4 to 20. Higher scores indicate greater acceptability. |
| Intervention Appropriateness | Approximately 30 days after program completion | Parent-reported appropriateness assessed using the 4-item Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM). Items are rated from 1 (Completely disagree) to 5 (Completely agree), with scores ranging from 4 to 20. Higher scores indicate greater perceived appropriateness. |
| Intervention Usability | Approximately 30 days after program completion | Parent-reported intervention usability assessed using the 10-item Intervention Usability Scale (IUS). Items are rated on a 5-point agreement scale. Positively and negatively worded items are scored according to standard IUS scoring procedures, and the summed score is multiplied by 2.5. Total scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater perceived intervention usability. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Emotion Regulation Difficulties | Baseline and 30 days after program completion | Parent-reported difficulties in emotion regulation assessed using the 16-item Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Short Form (DERS-SF). Items are rated from 1 (Almost Never) to 5 (Almost Always), with total scores ranging from 16 to 80. Higher scores indicate greater difficulties with emotion regulation. |
| Confidence in Making a Safety Plan for Self | Baseline and 30 days after program completion | Parent-reported confidence in the ability to make a safety plan for oneself, assessed using a single-item rating scale ranging from 0 (Not at all confident) to 100 (Completely confident). Higher scores indicate greater confidence in safety planning. |
| Confidence in Making a Safety Plan for Children | Baseline and 30 days after program completion | Parent-reported confidence in the ability to make a safety plan for one's child or children, assessed using a single-item rating scale ranging from 0 (Not at all confident) to 100 (Completely confident). Higher scores indicate greater confidence in safety planning. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
CONTACTKarey L O'Hara, PhD
CONTACTSharlene A Wolchik, PhD
Outcome results
None listed