Supporting Parents & Kids Through Lockdown Experiences (SPARKLE).
- Conditions
- Mental Health IssueChild Behavior Problem
- Interventions
- Behavioral: Parent Positive
- Registration Number
- NCT04786080
- Lead Sponsor
- King's College London
- Brief Summary
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, reduced access to childcare, money- and health-related worries and extended confinement and social isolation have placed great pressure on many families. There is evidence that many parents in the UK have struggled to manage their children's behaviour. For instance, Co-SPACE, an ongoing UK-wide study led by the University of Oxford, found a significant increase in parents reporting behavioural problems in children and an increase in family-related stress in response to various local and national lockdowns. Co-SPACE has also found up to 70% of parents reported wanting additional support.
The SPARKLE (Supporting Parents and Kids through Lockdown Experiences) study aims to address this pressing need. SPARKLE is a rapid-deployment randomised controlled trial evaluating whether a digital public health parenting intervention can help parents to manage their children's behaviour problems, as impacted by the COVID-19 UK pandemic and lockdowns.
We aim to evaluate whether the negative effects of the pandemic can by reversed by providing parenting advice digitally, using a specially-designed app, Parent Positive. The Parent Positive app will provide advice to parents through animations, delivering messages carefully selected by parents and experts in the field. The messages will be supplemented with practical parenting resources and an opportunity to network with other parents for peer support. The animations are light-hearted, humorous and non-judgmental and are delivered by eight high-profile celebrities who are also parents.
The SPARKLE study will involve 616 Co-SPACE parents, half of whom will receive access to the Parent Positive app and half who won't.
- Detailed Description
Not available
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- COMPLETED
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 646
- The Co-SPACE inclusion criteria will apply: participant is willing and able to give informed consent, must be at least 18 years old and lives in the UK.
- SPARKLE-specific criteria will be: participant (parent/caregiver) has a child aged 4-10 years and has access to a smartphone or tablet with operating system OS 8-9 or higher (Android devices) or iOS 12-13 or higher (Apple devices).
- There will be no exclusion criteria. Participants will not be selected on the basis of pre-existing child conduct problems.
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Parent Positive Parent Positive This is an app developed for use on a smartphone providing a flexible digital space where parents can get support and advice to help them manage their children's behaviour. The app will be free and parents will be able to access the information when needed and in the order they choose. Parents in the intervention group will receive access during the immediate post-randomisation period.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997) Conduct Problems Measured at one month post-randomisation (T2). Parent-rated conduct subscale of the SDQ; a five item subscale measuring oppositional, defiant and disruptive behaviour rated on a 3-point Likert scale (not true, somewhat true, and certainly true), with a mix of positive and negatively phrased items. Individual items' scores are summed to derive an overall symptoms subscale score. This measure is also collected at baseline (T1), prior to randomisation.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method SDQ Conduct Problems Measured at two months post-randomisation (T3). Parent-rated conduct subscale of the SDQ; a five item subscale measuring oppositional, defiant and disruptive behaviour rated on a 3-point Likert scale (not true, somewhat true, and certainly true), with a mix of positive and negatively phrased items. Individual items' scores are summed to derive an overall symptoms subscale score. This measure is also collected at baseline (T1), prior to randomisation.
Family conflict Measured at one (T2) and two months (T3) post-randomisation. This is based on three items routinely collected in Co-SPACE relating to arguments between parents, parents and children and siblings which are measured on a 4-point Likert scale (not at all, a bit, a lot, completely). The three questions are summed to generate a total score. This measure is also collected at baseline (T1), prior to randomisation.
SDQ Emotional Problems Measured at one (T2) and two months (T3) post-randomisation. Parent-rated emotional problems subscale of the SDQ; a five item subscale measuring fearfulness and anxiety rated on a 3-point Likert scale (not true, somewhat true, and certainly true) with positively phrased items. Individual items' scores are summed to derive an overall symptoms subscale score. This measure is also collected at baseline (T1), prior to randomisation.
Parental child-related stress and worries levels Measured at one (T2) and two months (T3) post-randomisation. This is based on five items routinely measured in Co-SPACE regarding children's behaviour, wellbeing, screen time use, education and future using a 4-point Likert scale (not at all, a little, quite a lot, a great deal). Individual questions' scores are summed to generate a single score. This measure is also collected at baseline (T1), prior to randomisation.
Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) parental psychological distress Measured at one (T2) and two months (T3) post-randomisation. This is a widely validated 21-item self-report questionnaire measuring adult depression, anxiety and stress. Each of the subscales consists of seven items rated on a 4-point Likert scale (did not apply to me at all; applied to me to some degree, or some of the time; applied to me to a considerable degree, or a good part of the time, applied to me very much, or most of the time), which are summed to obtain a single subscale score. The subscales scores will be summed and multiplied by two to form a single psychological distress measure comparable to the DASS-42 measure. This measure is also collected at baseline (T1), prior to randomisation.
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
King's College London
🇬🇧London, United Kingdom