Love Together, Parent Together: A Protocol for a Pilot Study of an Intervention for Interparental Couples With Young Children

NCT ID: NCT05261022

Last Updated: 2023-01-20

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: UNKNOWN
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 240 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-04-01
• Study Completion Date: 2023-01-31

Brief Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a population-level threat to social relationships that requires a population-level solution. Among those who are particularly vulnerable to heightened conflict are interparental couples with young children, whose relationships may have already been under pressure prior to the pandemic. Reduced couples' satisfaction has been reported since the start of the pandemic, with over one-third of romantic partners reporting heightened conflict due to COVID-19. Couples are likely to stay in disharmonious relationships during times of socioeconomic upheaval, with the potential for relationship problems to persist over time. This may have serious implications for the mental health of parents, parent-child relationships, and children's emotional and behavioural problems (EBPs). Such a pattern is a societal concern given the known associations between couples' relationship quality and a number of critical indicators of population health, such as intimate partner violence, physical health and all-cause mortality, and economic instability, particularly for women. The current study protocol is for a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Love Together Parent Together (L2P2) program-a brief, low-intensity, scalable relationship intervention for parents of young children. The two-arm (treatment vs. waitlist) pilot RCT will assess the feasibility goals: continued relationship-building with established recruitment partners and outreach to additional recruitment partners to increase enrolment rates; recruitment of a diverse sample in terms of sociocultural identity factors, pandemic-related stress, and relationship distress; acceptability of randomization; outcome assessment schedule completion (for treatment and control groups), retention and adherence to the program; and program acceptability. Additionally, the investigators will conduct a preliminary evaluation of treatment effects by examining group differences in couples-focused (i.e., couples' relationship, conflict-related negativity, interparental functioning) and family-focused outcomes (i.e., parent-child relations, parent mental health and child outcomes). A scalable couples-focused intervention is critically needed to circumvent the social consequences of the pandemic on young families.

Conditions

Interparental Conflict; Marital Conflict; Marital Relationship; Internet-Based Intervention; Family Conflict

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Love Together, Parent Together Intervention

Participants will take part in a 3-session writing intervention over the course of 12-week. They will complete a fact-based summary of a recent conflict and answer questions on conflict/conflict-related distress. Next, they will be asked to complete a 9-minute writing task where they reappraise the conflict they previously reported. First, they will watch an instructional video of how to engage in the writing task, by providing definitions and examples of potentially useful conflict reappraisal strategies. Writing prompts include: "… Think about this disagreement … from the perspective of a neutral third party who wants the best for all involved…"; "…what obstacles do you face in trying to take this perspective…?";"… How might you be most successful in taking this perspective … over the next 2 weeks?" Participants in the intervention group will receive emails to prompt use of the reappraisal strategy between writing sessions.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Love Together, Parent Together (L2P2)

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Love Together Parent Together (L2P2) is a brief, low-intensity relationship intervention intended to improve the interparental relationship for parents of young children.

Wait-List Control Group

Participants will take part in a waitlist control group. They will participate in the same number of assessment/sessions as the experimental group. In the sessions that correspond to the intervention (one session every 4 weeks over the course of 12 weeks as in the intervention group), the waitlist group will complete a basic writing task (identical to the intervention group, wherein they provide a fact-based summary of a recent conflict) and they will complete questions regarding conflict history and conflict-related distress. No other writing tasks will take place.

Following the 3-month assessment, they will be offered the writing intervention.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Love Together, Parent Together (L2P2)

Love Together Parent Together (L2P2) is a brief, low-intensity relationship intervention intended to improve the interparental relationship for parents of young children.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

L2P2

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Both participants endorse being in a relationship
• Both partners reside in the same house
• There are one or more children under the age of 6 living at home
• Both participants are over age 18 years
• Both members of a couple agree to participate

Exclusion Criteria

• No current plans or history of separation or divorce

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University of Toronto

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

McMaster University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

York University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Heather Prime

Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Heather Prime, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

York University

Locations

York University

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Countries

Canada

Other Identifiers

e2022-267

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id