Group Intervention to Improve Parent-Adolescent Relationships

NCT ID: NCT04780620

Last Updated: 2022-12-09

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

60 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-07-28

Study Completion Date

2023-08-31

Brief Summary

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This pilot randomized control trial investigates whether a psychosocial intervention targeting parent-adolescent conflict is feasible and acceptable, in preparation for a future trial that will test whether the intervention can improve treatment outcomes for youth diagnosed with depression.

Detailed Description

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Parent involvement in psychosocial interventions for youth diagnosed with internalizing disorders has been cited as a contributor to better outcomes for these youth, and parent components have been included in several evidence-based interventions for adolescent mental health problems. Additionally, youth experiencing mood and behaviour changes that come about as a result of a depressive episode can lead to frustrated/overprotective reactions from parents, which can contribute to worse outcomes for these adolescents. Interventions focused on addressing parent-adolescent conflict and reducing negative interactions can potentially support recovery from depression and reduce episode relapse. However, there is very little research on including parent components in psychosocial interventions specifically aimed at youth depression. This randomized control trial aims to fill this gap by randomizing parents of youth receiving treatment for depression into either 1) an 8-week virtual or in-person group parent intervention, or 2) usual care.

Participants will be parents or caregivers (for simplicity, the term "parent" is used to refer to parents or caregivers) of adolescents aged 13-18 with depression who are referred for outpatient services at a mental health research hospital in Toronto, Canada. Their adolescents will also participate in the study in order to provide multi-informant data; however, should adolescents decline to participate in the study, their parent will still be able to take part.

Parents will complete a combination of questionnaire and observationally coded measures at pre- and posttreatment, along with questionnaire measures at mid-treatment and 3 months follow-up. Adolescents will only complete questionnaire measures for all four time points.

Conditions

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Depression

Keywords

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youth depression adolescent depression psychosocial intervention parent-adolescent conflict

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors
Research personnel involved in data collection will be blind to participants' treatment condition (single blind). In addition, coders for the interaction task and speech sample will be blind to treatment condition (intervention versus control) and measurement time point (baseline vs. posttreatment).

Study Groups

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Parent Intervention Group

The parent intervention group will undergo 8 weekly, manualized group sessions, with between 6 and 10 parent participants. Sessions are structured and follow an agenda including check-in and review of home practice, discussion of a skill or strategy, and review and assignment of home practice. Group sessions are held weekly for 1.5 hours and include both didactic, discussion, and practice elements, as well as assigned home practice.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Parent Intervention Group

Intervention Type OTHER

Parents will be involved in 8 weekly sessions.

Usual Care Group

Parents in the usual care condition will be involved in their adolescent's care as is standard in our clinical program. With adolescent consent, parents are invited to participate in a single, 2-hour orientation session for parents/caregivers that provides information about depression, as well as the role of sleep, diet, and exercise in improving mood. Based on adolescent preference, parents can also attend regular psychiatric appointments with their adolescent, in which they will receive further information about depression and may receive and provide information about their adolescent's depression symptoms and response to psychosocial and pharmacological interventions. This control condition will allow us to determine whether the parent intervention is more effective than a relevant clinical alternative.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Parent Intervention Group

Parents will be involved in 8 weekly sessions.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* parent/caregiver of an adolescent aged 13-18 years
* the adolescent is referred for outpatient services at CAMH
* adolescent has significant depressive symptoms, having either: a) a self-reported score of 23 or higher on the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire; or b) a depression diagnosis based on the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia from the last 3 months
* parent or youth endorse problematic levels of conflict in their relationship, having either: a) a total score of 9 or greater on the adolescent version, or a total score of 11 or greater on the parent version, of the 20-item Conflict Behavior Questionnaire; or b) a rating of 2 or higher on item 2 or 3 (Item 2 "getting along with your mother/mother figure;" item 3 "getting along with your father/father figure") of the youth-report version of the Columbia Impairment Scale
* both parent and adolescent speak, read, and write English at a Grade 6 level or above

Exclusion Criteria

* the adolescent's primary diagnosis is not depression, based on information in their health record
* the adolescent has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder (I or II), schizophrenia, moderate-severe eating disorder, moderate-severe substance use disorder, or an intellectual disability (as the clinical and family needs of these adolescents are not likely to be sufficiently addressed by a general group for parents of adolescents with depression), or requires immediate hospitalization for suicide risk
* the parent/caregiver does not consent to participate
* (specific only to the virtual format of the study) the parent is not comfortable communicating via email or using WebEx for virtual appointments (as the use of WebEx and email is required for study visits and for participation in the parent intervention)
Minimum Eligible Age

13 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Madison Aitken

Clinician Investigator at Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression; Psychologist in the Child, Youth and Emerging Adult Program

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Madison Aitken, Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Locations

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Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Canada

Central Contacts

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Madison Aitken, Ph.D.

Role: CONTACT

Phone: 416-535-8501

Email: [email protected]

Facility Contacts

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Madison Aitken, Ph.D.

Role: primary

Yola El Dahr, M.Sc.

Role: backup

Other Identifiers

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098-2020

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id