Drumming Groups for Parents of Autistic Children (DG_PAC)

April 27, 2026 updated by: Eugenia Hernandez-Ruiz, Arizona State University
This project aims to encourage a sense of belonging, community, and emotional support for parents of autistic children through a group drumming (music therapy) intervention.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This pilot one-group pretest-posttest study will investigate the limited efficacy and acceptability of an 8-week drumming group on immediate stress (pre-post session) as measured by the STAI-S Short Form scale (Spielberger, 1977); on anxiety and depressive symptoms, as measured by the K-10 scale (Kessler et al., 2002) before and after the 8-week program, and group cohesion and acceptability as measured by the Group Therapy Experience Scale (GTES, Marziliano et al., 2018) after the program. As a group setting, this program does not substitute clinical treatment.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

10

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Arizona
      • Tempe, Arizona, United States, 85287
        • Gateway Building, Room 361 & 363, Arizona State University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • parents or main caregivers of children in the Autism Spectrum,
  • able to read and write in English.
  • 18 years or older

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Paid caregivers
  • Unable to speak, read and write in English
  • Unable to follow instructions in English

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention
Parents will participate in drumming sessions that teach stress management techniques, sense of belonging, and coping skills for depression and anxiety.
Behavioral: Group Drumming
This Drumming program is based on HealthRhythms®, a drumming protocol that has been used extensively in clinical and community populations and has research support (e.g., Grab et al., 2023; Stevens & Fowl, 2024; Wachi et al., 2007). Adaptations will be derived from the PI's clinical and research experience with parents of autistic children. Each drumming session will have the following structure: introduction to the program, light movement & music, icebreakers with small percussions, technique pointers for percussion instruments, rhythmic introductions (sharing names with a percussive rhythm), free group drumming, soundscapes (creating visualizations with drumming), verbal processing, closing drumming exercise. The soundscapes are creative outlets to "paint a picture" with music. These exercises promote community, engagement, emotional expression, and creative thinking, which reduce stress. Specific strategies will include reflecting, mirroring, validating, and solution reframing.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
K-10
Time Frame: Pretest at the beginning of the first weekly session, and posttest at the end of the 8th weekly session.
Anxiety and depressive symptoms, as measured by the K-10 scale (Kessler et al., 2002). Maximum score is 50, with each of the 10 items scored 1 to 5. Higher scores indicate higher distress. Optimal cutoff scores for clinically significant nonspecific psychological distress and need for treatment: total score =12, Depression = 7, and Anxiety = 3/4 (Lace et al., 2019).
Pretest at the beginning of the first weekly session, and posttest at the end of the 8th weekly session.
STAI-S
Time Frame: Pretest at the beginning of the first weekly session, and posttest at the end of the 8th weekly session.
Measures of state anxiety as measured by the State Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults- Short Form Y1 (STAIAD-S Y1) scale (Spielberger, 1977). Maximum score is 40, with each of the 10 items scored 1 to 4, and four reverse-coded items. Higher scores indicate less anxiety (more wellbeing).
Pretest at the beginning of the first weekly session, and posttest at the end of the 8th weekly session.
GTES
Time Frame: Posttest at the end of the 8th weekly session.
Group cohesion and acceptability as measured by the Group Therapy Experience Scale (GTES, Marziliano et al., 2018). Maximum score is 80 with each of the 16 items scored from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicate better group experience.
Posttest at the end of the 8th weekly session.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Arizona State University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Eugenia Hernandez Ruiz, PhD, Arizona State University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 31, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 14, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 21, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

January 29, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 1, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 27, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • STUDY00022914 (OHSU Knight Cancer Institute)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Researchers will make the data available upon written request

IPD Sharing Time Frame

January 2027 -December 2031

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Investigators with a minimum of a PhD education and institutional affiliation may request aggregated, anonymized data. Raw, anonymized data would be available to researchers in reputable research organizations if an approved study protocol for secondary data analysis is shared with the PI.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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