Comparing Web, Group, and Telehealth Formats of a Military Parenting Program

The overarching goal of this study is to advance research on family-based prevention of negative child outcomes for reintegrating Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom personnel by evaluating different formats of a parenting program, After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools (ADAPT). The ADAPT program is based upon the Parent Management Training-Oregon Model/PMTO, but adapted for military deployed families. The PI will examine which of three delivery formats of ADAPT is most effective at reducing youth risk behaviors associated with negative childhood outcomes by improving parenting, child, and parent adjustment. There is a clear intent to benefit all subjects in this study (except surveyed teachers), including children.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Parenting
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: ADAPT Self Directed web; Other: ADAPT individualized web-facilitated; Other: Group-based ADAPT

Detailed Description

The overarching goal of this study is to advance research on family-based prevention of negative child outcomes for reintegrating Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom personnel by evaluating different formats of a parenting program, After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools (ADAPT). The ADAPT program is based upon the Parent Management Training-Oregon Model/PMTO, but adapted for military deployed families. The investigators will examine which of three delivery formats of ADAPT is most effective at reducing youth risk behaviors associated with negative childhood outcomes by improving parenting, child, and parent adjustment. There is a clear intent to benefit all subjects in this study (except surveyed teachers), including children.

Combat deployment and related challenges are family stressors, associated with more negative parent-child interactions, ineffective and coercive parenting practices and lower levels of parenting satisfaction. Disrupted parenting practices are well-known predictors of risk for child adjustment difficulties that are precursors to youth substance use, including behavior problems, school failure, deviant peer association, and depression . These child adjustment problems can contribute to continuing parental stress, increasing parental distress, and further disrupting parenting.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 244
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Minnesota
    • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55415
      • Institute for Translational Research in Children's Mental Health

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 100 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Inclusion criteria are:

• one parent has returned from deployment to OIF or OEF
• at least one child ages 5-12 in their custody and living with parent(s) in the home
• high speed internet access at home We will include both single-and two-parent families, as well as families where care is shared between non-partnered adults (e.g. grandparent and mother)

Exclusion Criteria:

• active psychosis
• an open child protection case for abuse or neglect in the family
• a serious child mental health diagnosis
• families who piloted material or participated in or are currently participating in the original ADAPT RCT.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Other: ADAPT Self Directed web; ADAPT Self Directed Web. In the self-directed web-only ADAPT condition, participants have access to the full ADAPT website (10 modules, online discussion forum)	Other: ADAPT Self Directed web; In the self-directed web-only ADAPT condition, participants have access to the full ADAPT website (10 modules, online discussion forum
Other: ADAPT individualized web-facilitated; This condition comprises access to the full ADAPT web program with augmentation of individual facilitator web support (i.e. the facilitator connects via Google Hangout). Facilitators meet with families at a mutually convenient time weekly (10-14 weeks, approximately 3 sessions per month).	Other: ADAPT individualized web-facilitated; This condition comprises access to the full ADAPT web program as described above, with augmentation of individual facilitator web support (i.e. the facilitator connects via Google Hangout). Facilitators meet with families at a mutually convenient time weekly (10-14 weeks, approximately 3 sessions per month).
Other: Group-based ADAPT; Groups will meet weekly for 120 minutes, at a time convenient to participants (usually early evening). Groups cover core ADAPT/PMTO topics	Other: Group-based ADAPT; Groups will meet weekly for 120 minutes, at a time convenient to participants (usually early evening). Groups cover core ADAPT/PMTO topics:

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in parenting practices and parent/child interactions	Observed parenting is coded using FIT (Family Interaction Task) and self-report of parenting using the APQ (Alabama parenting Questionnaire),	Change from Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in child adjustment and substance use	Child adjustment assessed using BASC-2 (teacher, parent, and child self-report); Child intentions and use of substances assess using the Alcohol Use Intentions and Behavior Scale; Child distress measured by CDI (Children's Depression Inventory); Child peer adjustment is measured by 16-item scale assessing loneliness and dissatisfaction with peer relations; Deviant peer association measured using "Describing Friends"	Change from Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
Change in parenting stress and support	Parenting Stress Index-Short Form	Change from Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
Participant report of satisfaction with intervention	Two 10-item measures: (1) group satisfaction and (2) online satisfaction	Change from Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Minnesota
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Abigail Gewirtz, PhD, Institute for Translational Research in Children's Mental Health University of Minnesota

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 30, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): August 30, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 4, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 25, 2016
• First Posted (Estimated): November 28, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 19, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 16, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 1407S52001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED