Helping Toddlers and Parents Together

Treating ADHD Parents and Their Infants Via Telehealth: Developing an Early Parenting Intervention Using a Deployment-focused Intervention Design

Using stakeholder feedback (i.e., behavioral health providers & caregivers), the goal of this study is to develop a behavioral parenting program that focuses on both parent mental health and parenting for parents of toddlers (12-35 months old). Using a deployment focused intervention model, this study will : (1) develop an early parenting intervention for parents of at-risk toddlers which integrates a focus on parent mental health with evidence-based behavioral parenting strategies, and (2) examine context-specific factors related to the intervention, including feasibility and acceptability to design a more practice-ready intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Withdrawn
• Conditions: ADHD; Parenting
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Behavioral Parent Training

Detailed Description

Very early identification of children and families at risk of developing psychopathology can lead to early prevention/intervention to address challenging behaviors before they become more severe, likely reducing the length and cost of interventions. Using the information provided by the stakeholder group, the current study will implement in an open trial the early parenting intervention for ADHD parents of at-risk toddlers (n = 10 families) via telehealth by primary care co-located psychologists. Investigators will examine implementation factors including fidelity, feasibility (utility, adherence) and acceptability (facilitators, barriers) of the early parenting intervention. Quantitative data (adherence checklists, symptom measures, observational parenting measures) will be used to assess the extent to which primary care providers and office staff adhere to the intervention manual, as well as changes in toddler and parent behavior resulting from the intervention. Qualitative data (interviews/ focus groups) with stakeholders (behavioral health providers and caregivers of toddlers) will inform a refined intervention model and assess perceptions of utility, fit, and satisfaction of the intervention components. This mixed-methods approach will offer the most comprehensive examination of an early parenting intervention model for parents of at-risk toddlers in a pediatric primary care setting.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • District of Columbia
    • Washington, DC, District of Columbia, United States, 20010
      • Children's National Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 1 year to 55 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

- To be included in the stakeholder group, participants must work at a CNMC primary center or must be a parent with a toddler.

For inclusion to participate in the pilot intervention, a full-time guardian must, at the time of screening:

1. Sign informed consent online
2. Be between 21-55 years old (inclusive) and be English or Spanish-speaking
3. Meet full DSM-5 criteria for ADHD, any subtype as determined by the SCID-5
4. Have current CGI-S-ADHD rating ≥ 4 and < 7
5. Commit to the entire study
6. Be able to complete all study assessments virtually (i.e., they must have a device that connects to the internet with a camera)

Parents with common comorbid conditions will be included provided that: (a) they do not report active suicidal ideation with intent; and (b) if receiving an antidepressant medication, their medication is well-tolerated and has not changed within 30 days.

For inclusion to participate in the pilot intervention, toddlers must:

1. be between ages of 12 - 35 months at time of consent
2. score above the 75th percentile on the BITSEA problem scale

Exclusion Criteria:

• Parents will be excluded on the basis of current bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, psychoses, or other primary psychiatric disorder requiring other immediate treatment.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Behavioral Parenting Training	Behavioral: Behavioral Parent Training; Parents will receive sessions of behavioral parent training with components specifically targeted toward parents with ADHD. The number of sessions will be informed based on stakeholder feedback. Treatment will be delivered via telehealth.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Acceptability	Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8)- higher scores indicate more satisfaction	up to 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Maryland, College Park
• Collaborators: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH); Children's National Research Institute
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Andrea M Chronis-Tuscano, PhD, University of Maryland, College Park

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Chronis-Tuscano A, O'Brien KA, Johnston C, Jones HA, Clarke TL, Raggi VL, Rooney ME, Diaz Y, Pian J, Seymour KE. The relation between maternal ADHD symptoms & improvement in child behavior following brief behavioral parent training is mediated by change in negative parenting. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2011 Oct;39(7):1047-57. doi: 10.1007/s10802-011-9518-2.
• Bagner DM, Coxe S, Hungerford GM, Garcia D, Barroso NE, Hernandez J, Rosa-Olivares J. Behavioral Parent Training in Infancy: A Window of Opportunity for High-Risk Families. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2016 Jul;44(5):901-12. doi: 10.1007/s10802-015-0089-5.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 22, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): March 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 23, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 27, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): April 29, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 15, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 10, 2025
• Last Verified: April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: R01MH118320-02S1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No