Evaluation of ACT Now GAIN Later

Evaluation of ACT Now GAIN Later: a Psychologist Guided Self Help Video Parenting Programme Based on Principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

The goal of this Randomised Control Trial is to evaluate a Psychologist Guided Self Help Video Parenting Programme based on principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

The main questions it aims to answer are:

Primary Objectives

1. Is ACT Now GAIN Later: a Psychologist Guided Self Help Video Parenting Programme based on principles of ACT effective in increasing parental psychological flexibility (measured by Psy-Flex, tool which measures psychological flexibility)? Please find attached.
2. Is ACT Now GAIN Later: a Psychologist Guided Self Help Video Parenting Programme based on principles of ACT effective in decreasing child challenging behaviour (measured by the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory)? Please find attached.

Secondary Objectives

1. Is ACT Now GAIN Later: an ACT based Parenting Programme, effective in improving parent-child relationships (measured by the Child-Parent Relationship Scale)? Please find attached.
2. Does ACT Now GAIN Later increase parental well-being as measured by (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, Parenting Stress Index and Goal Based Outcome Tool)? Please find attached.
3. Does ACT Now GAIN Later increase parental self-efficacy (TOPSE and Parental Sense of Competence scale)? Please find attached.

Participants will complete a 7 week psychologist guided parenting intervention. Researchers will compare waitlist groups to see if there are differences in psychological flexibility, child behaviour, parent-child relationships, parental well-being or parental self-efficacy.

Study Overview

• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Conditions: Child Behavior; Psychological Flexibility; Self-efficacy; Well-Being, Psychological; Relationship, Parent Child
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: ACT Now GAIN Later; Other: Control Group

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 150
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Ireland
  • Longford, Ireland
    • Longford Primary Care Centre

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Parents of children from the ages of 3-12 will be included in this study.
• Parents of children with challenging behavior.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Parents of children outside of the age range 3-12 years old
• Parents of children who do not have challenging behavior

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Sequential Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: ACT Now GAIN Later; This group will receive a 7-week psychologist guided parenting intervention.	Behavioral: ACT Now GAIN Later; ACT Now GAIN Later is a Psychologist Guided Self Help Parenting Programme. This has been developed by HSE Senior psychologist,. Dr. Michelle Howard to help parents manage challenging behaviors in their children. Parents of children who are referred to HSE Psychology Services with behavioural difficulties are invited to participate in this 7 week programme.
Active Comparator: Waitlist Group; This group will receive pre and post measures but will not receive an intervention until after the final measures have been administered.	Other: Control Group; Waitlist Group

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Parental Psychological Flexibility	Psy-Flex: The scale ranges from a minimum score of 6 to a maximum score of 30. Higher scores indicate higher levels of psychological flexibility.	Pre and Post Intervention (week 1 and week 7 - end of the intervention). Also 3 and 6 months post intervention.
Child Behaviour	Eyberg Child Behaviour Inventory: The scale ranges from 0 - 36. Higher scores indicate more problematic behaviours at greater frequency. Norms also exist for clinical cut off's.	Pre and Post Intervention (week 1 and week 7 - end of the intervention). Also 3 and 6 months post intervention.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Parent-Child Relationships	Child-Parent Relationship Scale: There are two sub scales; closeness and conflict. On the closeness sub scale, higher scores indicate better/ more positive parent-child relationships. On the conflict sub scale, lower scores indicate less conflict and higher scores indicate more conflict in the relationship.	Pre and Post Intervention (week 1 and week 7 - end of the intervention). Also 3 and 6 months post intervention.
Parental Well-Being	Depression Anxiety Stress Scale: Scale range is 0 - 42. Higher scores indicate more distress. Subscales for anxiety, depression and stress.	Pre and Post Intervention (week 1 and week 7 - end of the intervention). Also 3 and 6 months post intervention.
Parental Self-Efficacy	Parental Sense of Competence Scale: Lower scores indicate lower parental sense of competence and high scores indicate high parental sense of competence.	Pre and Post Intervention (week 1 and week 7 - end of the intervention). Also 3 and 6 months post intervention.
Parental Self-Efficacy	Parenting Stress Index: Scores range from 18-90. Lower scores indicate lower levels of parenting stress.	Pre and Post Intervention (week 1 and week 7 - end of the intervention). Also 3 and 6 months post intervention.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University College Dublin

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): May 12, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 29, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 24, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): April 1, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 16, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 13, 2024
• Last Verified: May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: RRECB0523EC

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