Development & Validation of a Life Balance Program for Parents of Preschoolers: A Pilot Study

June 21, 2026 updated by: Yun-Ling Chen, Chung Shan Medical University

A Wonderful Life is Not a Dream-A Pilot Study on the Development and Effectiveness Validation of the Life Balance Improvement Program for Parents of Preschool Children

This study aims to examine the relationships among life balance, parenting stress, and mental health in parents of preschool children, and to develop an individualized life balance promotion program for this population. Parents of preschool children will be recruited to support program development and to evaluate its feasibility and effectiveness.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study is a feasibility and preliminary effectiveness study of the life balance promotion program for parents of preschool children developed in the first year of the project. A one-group pretest-posttest design will be used. The overall study design and recruitment procedure are shown in Figure 1. The program is designed as a group-based intervention combined with individualized goal setting and telephone follow-up consultation to address each participant's personal life balance needs. Parents will be recruited through parenting centers or childcare centers. A total of 20 parents are expected to complete the study. Assuming a screening rate of 30%, 30 parents will be recruited. The intervention will consist of weekly group sessions conducted once per week, 2 hours per session, for 8 weeks in an appropriate setting, with individualized consultation provided during the intervention period. Because the program includes a group intervention format and optimal group size is considered, the study will be conducted in two cohorts, with 10 participants in each cohort. In addition, the researcher will provide telephone follow-up consultation 1 to 3 days before each group session.

At baseline (T0), the researcher will explain the study purpose, obtain informed consent, and conduct depression and anxiety screening to confirm that participants have at least mild levels of depression or anxiety and are able to participate in the study. A basic information form and the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure will then be administered to identify each participant's major life goals. Based on the assessment results, the researcher will adjust the group intervention content to ensure that it meets the individualized needs of participants in each cohort. Before the intervention begins, pretest data will be collected, including the basic information form, Occupational Balance Questionnaire, Occupational Questionnaire, Parenting Stress Scale, depression scale, and anxiety scale. The total assessment time is expected to be approximately 30 minutes. Posttest assessment will be conducted immediately after the intervention (T1), and follow-up assessments will be conducted at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the intervention (T2, T3, and T4). The questionnaires administered at T1, T2, T3, and T4 will include the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, Occupational Balance Questionnaire, Occupational Questionnaire, Parenting Stress Scale, depression scale, and anxiety scale. At T1, participants will also be interviewed regarding their experiences of program participation. The procedures for the second cohort will be the same as those for the first cohort. Recruitment is expected to take approximately 2 months. Including program planning, implementation, and follow-up assessments for a single cohort, the study is expected to take 8 months, and the entire project is expected to be completed about 12 months. After study completion, participants will receive feedback and appreciation for their participation. Changes in questionnaire scores will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the life balance promotion program, and the interview data collected at T1 will be used to assess the feasibility of the program.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

30

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 Contact

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 aged 18 to 65 years who have at least one preschool child aged 0 to 6 years
  • The primary caregiver of the child
  • Self-perceived poor life balance or high parenting stress
  • Self-perceived depressive or anxiety symptoms, with at least mild depression as indicated by the Beck Depression Inventory, or at least mild anxiety as indicated by the Beck Anxiety Inventory
  • Able to communicate in Mandarin Chinese and comply with the study procedures, including interviews and self-administered questionnaires

Exclusion Criteria:

  • The child has been diagnosed by a physician with a major physical illness, mental illness, or neurodevelopmental disorder
  • The parent has been diagnosed by a physician with a major physical or mental illness requiring long-term treatment

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Occupational Balance Promotion Program
Participants will receive an 8-week group-based occupational balance promotion program combined with individualized goal setting and telephone follow-up consultation. Group sessions will be conducted once weekly for 2 hours each.
Behavioral: Occupational Balance Promotion Program
An 8-week group-based occupational balance promotion program for parents of preschool children, combined with individualized goal setting and telephone follow-up consultation. The program will be delivered once weekly in 2-hour group sessions, with telephone consultation provided 1 to 3 days before each session to address participants' individual needs related to occupational balance.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in OBQ11-C Score From Baseline to Post-Intervention and Follow-Up
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the intervention
The OBQ11-C will be used to assess participants' perceived occupational balance. Changes in scores from baseline to post-intervention and follow-up assessments will be used to evaluate the effects of the intervention.
Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in BDI-II Score From Baseline to Post-Intervention and Follow-Up
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the intervention
The BDI-II will be used to assess depressive symptoms. Changes in scores from baseline to post-intervention and follow-up assessments will be analyzed.
Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the intervention
Change in BAI Score From Baseline to Post-Intervention and Follow-Up
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the intervention
The BAI will be used to assess anxiety symptoms. Changes in scores from baseline to post-intervention and follow-up assessments will be analyzed.
Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the intervention
Change in PSI-4-SF Score From Baseline to Post-Intervention and Follow-Up
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the intervention
The PSI-4-SF will be used to assess parenting stress. Changes in scores from baseline to post-intervention and follow-up assessments will be analyzed.
Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Chung Shan Medical University

Collaborators

National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Yun-Ling Chen, PhD, Chung Shan Medical University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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 (Estimated)

July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 21, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 21, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 25, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 25, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 21, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CS1-24167

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

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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