Hybrid Delivery to Increase Access and Sustainability: Evaluating ezParent Implementation (ezParent FT)

The goal of this study is to evaluate the effects of the hybrid ezParent program (e.g., web-based training program plus synchronous group sessions) on parent and child outcomes in a community setting serving parents of children 2-5 years old. Parent participants will complete surveys at baseline, and 10 and 24-weeks post baseline.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Parenting; Prevention; Program Implementation; Early Childhood
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: ezParent

Detailed Description

Positive parenting practices (e.g., supportive, consistent, responsive) buffer the negative effects of early adverse experiences by developing safe, stable, and nurturing environments. Positive parenting practices are important in strengthening and creating positive childhood and supporting optimal child social and behavioral development. Parent training (PT) is the gold standard for supporting and strengthening parenting practices and preventing and treating child behavior problems. The PT program proposed in this study is the web-based adaptation of the evidence-based based Chicago Parent Program (CPP), called ezParent. The purpose of this study is to test the effects of hybrid delivery of ezParent versus a waitlist control on parent and child outcomes. Hybrid ezParent combines the self-administered ezParent with virtual or in-person group meetings. Hybrid ezParent lasts ~ 8 weeks and includes four 1-1.5 hour group sessions led by trained facilitators, held via Zoom or in person. Facilitators follow a discussion guide to reinforce content, build community, and support program use.

A cluster-randomized trial will be conducted with 16 organizations (sites) randomized to either the intervention (hybrid ezParent) or control condition (waitlist control). There will be 8 sites per condition. Each site will recruit approximately 32 parents of children aged 2-5 years, for a total sample size of approximately 516 parents. All participating parents within a given site will receive the condition assigned to that site. Once sites are randomized to intervention or waitlist control, parents are invited to participate through recruitment materials. Outcome data will be collected from parents at 3 timepoints over 6 months at baseline, and 10 and 24- weeks post-baseline. Outcome data includes parenting skills and self-efficacy, parent-child relationship, and reductions in child behavior problems.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 516
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Susan M Breitenstein, PhD; Phone Number: 614-688-4614; Email: breitenstein.5@osu.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Ohio
    • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43210
      • The Ohio State University
      • Contact: Susan M Breitenstein, PhD; Phone Number: 614-688-4614; Email: breitenstein.5@osu.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Parent or legal guardian of a 2-5-year-old child receiving services at the partnering organization site.
• Speaks English.
• Has a smartphone, tablet, or computer with Wi-Fi access to receive the ezParent program.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Parents who have previously participated in CPP or ezParent will be excluded.

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

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control; Participants receive usual services for parents and families at their agency during the study period.
Experimental: Hybrid ezParent Intervention; Hybrid ezParent includes the web-based ezParent program and 4 synchronous group sessions. ezParent is a 6-module digital delivery of the group-based Chicago Parent Program (CPP). The purpose of the program is to strengthen parenting, decrease child behavior problems, and increase child prosocial behavior. Each module includes: a video narrator describing parenting strategies; video vignettes of parents and children as examples of how parenting strategies work; questions following each vignette for parents to reflect upon; interactive activities for parents to complete; knowledge questions to assess parent understanding of the strategies; and practice assignments. Parents are instructed to complete modules independently between synchronous group sessions. Group sessions are 1-1.5 hours and follow a discussion guide to reinforce key content, build community, and support parents in using ezParent. Trained facilitators lead groups of about 10 parents either in-person or virtual.	Behavioral: ezParent; Hybrid ezParent includes the web-based ezParent program and 4 synchronous group sessions. ezParent is a 6-module digital delivery of the group-based Chicago Parent Program (CPP). The purpose of the program is to strengthen parenting, decrease child behavior problems, and increase child prosocial behavior. Each module includes: a video narrator describing parenting strategies; video vignettes of parents and children as examples of how parenting strategies work; questions following each vignette for parents to reflect upon; interactive activities for parents to complete; knowledge questions to assess parent understanding of the strategies; and practice assignments. Parents are instructed to complete modules independently between synchronous group sessions. Group sessions are 1-1.5 hours and follow a discussion guide to reinforce key content, build community, and support parents in using ezParent. Trained facilitators lead groups of about 10 parents either in-person or virtual.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Multidimensional Assessment of Parenting Scale (MAPS) Parent-form - Version 2.0	A 35-item scale measures parenting practices constituting both positive and negative dimensions of warmth/hostility and behavioral control appropriate for parents of children across the developmental span from young childhood through adolescence. Parents respond to each item on a 5-point scale from "Never" to "Always". Possible range= 0-175	Baseline, 10- and 24-weeks post-baseline
Child-Parent Relationship Scale-Short Form (CPRS-SF)	The CPRS-SF has 15 items that parents rate their perception of their relationship with their child. The measure taps into positive and negative aspects of parent-child relationships. The CPRS-SF is rated on a 5-point scale with two subscales of closeness and conflict. Possible range= 0-35	Baseline, 10- and 24-weeks post-baseline
Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC)	The Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC) has 17 items, with 2 subscales: satisfaction (person's liking of the parenting role) and efficacy (person's perceived competence in the parenting role). Scale: 6-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 6 = strongly agree) Minimum item score = 1 Maximum item score = 6 Subscale scoring (satisfaction and efficacy): Higher scores means a better outcome	Baseline, 10- and 24-weeks post-baseline
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)	The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is 25-items with five subscales: emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity-inattention, peer problems, and prosocial behavior. A total difficulties score (TDS) is generated from the emotional, conduct, hyperactivity- inattention, and peer problems scales. Scale: 3-point scale (not true, somewhat true, and certainly true). Minimum item score = 0 Maximum item score = 2 Minimum subscale score = 0 Maximum subscale score = 10 Subscale scoring - Prosocial subscale: Higher score means a better outcome All other subscales (emotional, conduct, hyperactivity, peer): Higher scores means a worse outcome	Baseline, 10- and 24-weeks post-baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Klein Buendel, Inc.
• Collaborators: Johns Hopkins University; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD); Ohio State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): August 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 30, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 30, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 10, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 10, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): February 18, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 27, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 24, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 0352; 1R42HD116627-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Deidentified data for the shared database will be made available after the main findings from the final dataset have been accepted for publication.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: The data that is shared will be openly accessible via LDbase.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

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