Parents' View About Discussing Health Behaviors

Parents' View About Discussing Health Behaviors With Their Children

It is important to increase understanding of parent views about discussions of health risk behaviors with their children, in order to guide efforts to develop health communication strategies aimed at promoting parent and child discussion of these behaviors. In turn, this may lead to a decrease in youth engaging in health-risk behaviors. This study explores parental views about discussing health risk behaviors with their children and then tests the effects of a discussion tool on parents conversations with their children about unhealthy eating, marijuana use, and sedentary behavior. Participants will include parents living in the United States who have children ages 10 to 17 years old.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Parents of Children Ages 10 to 17 Years Old
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Discussion Tool: Unhealthy Eating; Behavioral: Discussion Tool: Marijuana Use; Behavioral: Discussion Tool: Sedentary Behavior

Detailed Description

Adolescence is often characterized as a particularly difficult time for children. Though adolescents begin to desire independence from their parents, parents still play an integral role in prevention of health-risk behaviors in their children. In fact, the quality of the parent-child relationship continues to serve as a determining factor of whether or not an adolescent will engage in harmful behaviors. Often times, this may lead to the practice of risky and harmful behaviors, such as, poor diet, substance use, unprotected sex, and reckless driving. The quality of the parent-child relationship continues to serve as a determining factor of whether or not an adolescent will engage in harmful behaviors. For instance, weekly parent-child discussions have also been identified as one of the strongest factors in influencing healthier food choices in adolescents. It is important to increase understanding of parent views about discussions of health risk behaviors with their children, in order to guide efforts to develop health communication strategies aimed at promoting parent and child discussion of these behaviors. In turn, this may lead to a decrease in youth engaging in health-risk behaviors.

This study explores parental views about discussing health risk behaviors with their children and then tests the effects of a discussion tool on parents conversations with their children about unhealthy eating, marijuana use, and sedentary behavior. Participants will include parents living in the United States who have children ages 10 to 17 years old. The study will consist of a baseline survey, and then a follow-up survey four weeks later. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three discussion tool conditions that include marijuana use, unhealthy eating, or sedentary behavior. One month later, participants will be invited to complete a follow-up survey that will measure discussion behavior, followed by items from the initial survey. Following the survey completion, participants will read a brief explanation of the study and receive links to websites of national health organizations with information about unhealthy eating and marijuana use.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 318
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Merced, California, United States, 95343
      • UC Merced

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Parent of children ages 10 to 17 years old living in the United States.

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Unhealthy Eating	Behavioral: Discussion Tool: Unhealthy Eating; Parents will randomly be assigned to one of three discussion tools that will provide parents with tools on how to communicate with their children about unhealthy eating, marijuana use, or sedentary behavior.; Other Names: Parent Discussion Tools
Experimental: Marijuana Use	Behavioral: Discussion Tool: Marijuana Use; Parent Discussion Tools
Experimental: Sedentary Behavior	Behavioral: Discussion Tool: Sedentary Behavior; Parent Discussion Tools

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Intentions	The measure of parental intentions to discuss unhealthy eating and marijuana use with their child, adapted from established measures of behavioral intentions (Ajzen, 2002; Gibbons & Gerrard, 1995), included six items, 3 for unhealthy eating, and 3 for marijuana use. The measure began with the stem: "In the next four weeks, to what extent do you plan to discuss unhealthy eating (or marijuana use) with your child?," "In the next four weeks, to what extent will you try to discuss unhealthy eating (or marijuana use) with your child?," and "In the next four weeks, how likely is it that you will discuss unhealthy eating (or marijuana use) with your child?" Ratings ranged from 1 (not at all) to 5 (definitely).	4 weeks
Willingness	This measure was adapted from measures used to assess similar constructs such as within the context of cigarette smoking (Gibbons & Gerrard, 1995). The measure of parental willingness to discuss unhealthy eating and marijuana use with their child included the following stems: "Your child wants to attend a party in four weeks where there would be unhealthy foods (such as, soda, fried foods, chips, candy, ice cream, etc.) (or marijuana). How willing would you be to ask your child to not attend the party within the next four weeks?" "How willing would you be to discuss unhealthy eating (or marijuana use) with your child over the next four weeks?" and "How willing would you be to discuss potential concerns about unhealthy eating (or marijuana use) with your child over the next four weeks?" Ratings ranged from 1 (very unwilling) to 5 (very willing).	4 weeks
Discussion	Participant discussion behavior will be measured in the follow-up survey with 4 items, "Since the last session four weeks ago, did you talk about unhealthy eating (or marijuana use or sedentary behavior) with your child?" Participant will respond with a no (0) or yes (1). If participant answered yes, they will be able to briefly describe what they said to their child for all three conditions.	4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, Merced

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 20, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 10, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): September 10, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 11, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 21, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): June 25, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 16, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 12, 2018
• Last Verified: October 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: UCM2018-36

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No