A multi-method assessment of parent-adolescent relationships and the effectiveness of a Teen Triple P discussion group in promoting adolescent functioning among adolescents with anxiety and conduct disorders.
A pre-post multi-method assessment of parent-adolescent relationships and the effectiveness of the Teen Triple P parent discussion group '"Coping with Teenagers' Emotions" on promoting supportive parenting and improving adolescent functioning among anxiety- and conduct-disordered youths aged 11 to 17.
Parenting and Family Support Centre, The University of Queensland
114 participants
Nov 11, 2017
Interventional
Conditions
Summary
The study aims to investigate the links between the parent-adolescent relationship and adolescent mental health and functioning, and how these variables may be mediated by participation in a brief parenting intervention. One hundred and fourteen (114) parent-adolescent dyads will be recruited. Adolescents will be aged 11 to 17 years and will meet diagnostic criteria for i) an Anxiety Disorder, ii) Conduct Disorder or iii) no psychiatric disorder (No Disorder). The goal is to recruit equal numbers of parent-adolescent dyads within each diagnostic category. The main objectives are: 1) to evaluate the influence of differential aspects of the parent-adolescent relationship, particularly connectedness and hostility, on adolescent mental health; and 2) to assess the effectiveness of the parenting group for promoting supportive parenting, improved parent-adolescent relationships (i.e., increased connectedness and reduced hostility), and improved adolescent functioning. Parent-adolescent dyads will take part in two face-to-face multi-method assessment sessions, approximately six to eight weeks apart. Following the first assessment session (pre-intervention, Time 1), parents will participate a brief, stand-alone 2-hour parenting intervention, the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program discussion group: ‘Coping with Teenagers’ Emotions’. The intervention aims to enhance parenting skills and knowledge and introduce strategies to help parents encourage their teenager to better manage their own emotions. The second assessment session (post-intervention, Time 2) will be held approximately two to four weeks following parent attendance at the parenting group. Parent-adolescent dyads will be followed up via online questionnaires six months after completing the second assessment session (6-month follow-up, Time 3).
Eligibility
Exclusion Criteria8
- The ratio of male to female adolescent participants will be balanced (1:1) as far as possible, within ethical limits and feasibility. For parents, efforts will be made to recruit both mothers and fathers; however, as is typical in parenting research, it is expected that a higher ratio of mothers will participate in the study.
- Participants from non-English speaking backgrounds or whose English is insufficient to participate. This will be determined by the telephone screening process and includes both adolescents and their parents.
- Adolescents who are not in the primary care of their parents. This also applies to adolescents in foster care who are in temporary placements.
- Adolescents and/or their parents who meet diagnostic criteria for one or more of the following disorders: intellectual disability, schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, organic mental disorders, and neurodevelopmental disorders.
- For the clinical sample groups: adolescents with a principal diagnosis of anxiety disorder who also meet criteria for a conduct disorder, and vice versa (based on DSM-IV criteria)*.
- Consistent with the reclassification in DSM-5, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will be excluded from the category of anxiety disorders for the purpose of this research.
- For the no disorder group: participants who have previously accessed a child and/or adolescent service (government or private) for mental health treatment in the past 12 months.
- For this study, interested participants who meet DSM-IV criteria for both an anxiety disorder and conduct disorder will be excluded. This is to control for potential confounding variables presented by comorbid diagnoses and to clarify findings about treatment effects on specific subgroups of the population that are the target of this research, i.e. anxiety- and conduct-disordered adolescents. Those excluded due to not meeting full criteria can be provided with appropriate referrals to other support services.
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Interventions
The intervention is a single time-point, 2-hour discussion group that will be offered to parents as a stand-alone program. The ‘Coping with Teenagers’ Emotions’ discussion group is a 2-hour group (part of the Teen Triple P-Positive Parenting Program) that aims to teach parents strategies to encourage their adolescent to better manage their emotions, to deal with emotional behaviour and to effectively resolve problems that have triggered the emotional behaviour. The group sessions will be facilitated by a by a trained and accredited Triple P practitioner with approximately 10 to 20 parents in attendance per group. During the discussion group, parents will watch DVD segments to prompt group discussion and provide step-by-step suggestions about positive parenting strategies to help prevent problems and to cope with adolescents’ emotions and support the adolescent to deal appropriately with their feelings. The group will include active discussions of the parenting strategies introduced and will involve parents in developing a personalised parenting plan. Parents will be guided through the exercises in the workbook by the facilitator. The tasks have been designed to further parents’ understanding of the strategies introduced and issues raised by the group and to support implementation of the suggested strategies with their family. Every parent will receive a ‘Coping with Teenagers’ Emotions’ workbook that includes information and practical exercises covered during the discussion group. The workbook reinforces the material presented during the group and can be used at home with partners who were unable to attend. Parent-adolescent dyads will take part in two face-to-face multi-method assessment sessions, approximately six to eight weeks apart, pre- and post-intervention. The Time 1 (T1) pre-intervention assessment will commence with a diagnostic interview (A) administered to parents and adolescents to classify families into adolescent mental health categories i.e., Anxiety Disorder, Conduct Disorder, No Disorder. Parents and adolescents will complete questionnaires (B) independently to provide information on demographics, parenting behaviours and practices, parents’ and adolescents’ psychological wellbeing, and the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship. The battery of measures will be prepared in separate parent and adolescent survey packages. Parent-adolescent interactions will then be observed during adolescent completion of a problem-solving puzzle task to assess for the presence of behaviours characteristic of connectedness and hostility in the relationship (C). The video recording of the interactions will be played back to parents and adolescents individually to assess their beliefs, reactions and attributions during the problem-solving task (D). The Time 2 (T2) post-intervention assessment will involve tasks B, C and D. Longitudinal data will be obtained from parent-adolescent dyads at Time 3 (T3), 6 months after T2, via quantitative measures only (B).
Locations(1)
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ACTRN12617001460392