Multiple Family Narrative Therapy for Chinese Families of Children With Dyslexia

NCT ID: NCT05949346

Last Updated: 2023-07-18

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 123 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-01-01
• Study Completion Date: 2023-05-06

Brief Summary

The goal of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to develop and to implement a multiple family narrative therapy (MFNT) intervention consisting of parent-child relationships training among Chinese families of children with Dyslexia (CFCDs). The intervention aims to reduce the psychological distress of parents and their child, thus improving parent-child relationships, and the trial aims to assess the effectiveness of MFNT among them. A RCT design supplemented by qualitative interviews will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of MFNT on family welfare.

Detailed Description

Dyslexia is a learning disability that causes problems with reading, writing, sequential learning, and phonological processing. It is a diagnosable disorder that commonly coexist with attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The estimated percentage of dyslexia in Hong Kong ranges from 9.7 to 12.6%. From 2016 to 2019, the number of students with special learning difficulties in both primary and secondary schools increased by 8.3%. These current statistics project that the number of children with dyslexia will continue to rise in the near future.

International studies indicated that dyslexia impacts the whole family. There are three common problems experienced by families of children with dyslexia: 1) problematic parent-child relationship; 2) parental and psychological distress; and 3) lack of social support. Statistics in Hong Kong also show that Chinese families of children with dyslexia experience similar problems. With daily academic demands, parents are constantly looking for effective ways to manage problems faced by their children with dyslexia even though they do not fully understand their child's dyslexia conditions. In Hong Kong, few studies of psychoeducational models have focused on parent-child relationships, parental stress, and social support for families of children with learning disabilities. The psychological approaches mainly address the behavioural changes of children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). To offset this research gap, it is important to adopt a psychoeducational model and evaluate the effects of the model's intervention on both parents and their children with SEN.

This study addresses a need in the Hong Kong Chinese community and has four expected outcomes: 1) it tests the effectiveness of Multiple Family Narrative Therapy (MFNT) as a brief-targeted intervention model; 2) it facilitates a participatory approach that engages both parents and children; 3) it designs a practice manual that is culturally applicable in the Chinese context; and 4) it encourages the use of the practice manual that outlines a tested model in school and integrative family services.

This study is an evidence-informed and knowledge-building study that aims to test the effectiveness of a brief-targeted MFNT integrative family therapy in Hong Kong compared to a "Treatment as Usual" school-focused approach to work with Chinese family of children with Dyslexia (CFCDs). This approach will target the importance of shifting from academic achievement driven approach, which intensify conflictual parent-child relationship to a collaborative model where family members can review one's identity and re-choose the pattern of interaction among the family members.

The first objective of this study is to test the effectiveness of a brief-targeted Multiple Family Narrative Therapy (MFNT) for Chinese families of children with dyslexia (CFCDs) in Hong Kong, in reducing psychological distress of parents and children, building healthy parent-child relationships, and promoting the use of social support. The second objective is to examine the process of change in attitudes and interactions among family members participating in MFNT.

Conditions

Dyslexia; Special Education; Special Needs Children

Study Design

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

Study Groups

MFNT Intervention (Treatment Group)

Parents of children with dyslexia who are randomized in Treatment Group will first take part in a pre-tested 4-session MFNT intervention programme. The parents will participate in lectures, group discussions, video demonstrations, and in-group exercises offered in these four mentored sessions, while their children will attend the second and fourth sessions.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Multiple Family Narrative Therapy (MFNT)

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

MFNT consist of 4 weekly group sessions with selected themes from both multiple family therapy (MFT) and narrative therapy (NT) offered in a group format. The family is treated as a system through both psychodynamic practices and attachment theories to manage symptoms, to achieve family resilience, and to empower both parents and child to share their unique and lived value-driven experiences. MFNT provides families with therapeutic environments that are conducive to learning and modelling in order to facilitate the process of building healthier parent-child dyads.

MFNT Intervention (Wait Listing Control Group)

Families of children with dyslexia who are randomized in Wait Listing Control Group receive services as usual by the school personnel during the intervention period. The 4-session MFNT intervention program will be delivered to them after the intervention period.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

School services for families of children with Dyslexia

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Selected school personnel will deliver services as usual for the control group.

Interventions

Multiple Family Narrative Therapy (MFNT)

MFNT consist of 4 weekly group sessions with selected themes from both multiple family therapy (MFT) and narrative therapy (NT) offered in a group format. The family is treated as a system through both psychodynamic practices and attachment theories to manage symptoms, to achieve family resilience, and to empower both parents and child to share their unique and lived value-driven experiences. MFNT provides families with therapeutic environments that are conducive to learning and modelling in order to facilitate the process of building healthier parent-child dyads.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

School services for families of children with Dyslexia

Selected school personnel will deliver services as usual for the control group.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Participants 7-13 years old and their parents
• Dyslexia diagnosis (by psychiatrist or educational psychologist or clinical psychologist)
• Diagnosis with comorbidity of other learning disabilities
• Cantonese speaking participants (child and parents)
• At least one of the parents, but not siblings nor grandparents, can commit to all four sessions
• Participants able to comply with all testing and study requirements

Exclusion Criteria

• Formal current diagnosis of psychosis
• Limitation in daily communication
• Previous service recipients of Narrative Therapy or Multiple Family Group
• Non-Cantonese speaking child or parent
• Parents or children who refuse to give written consent for their participation in the study

• Minimum Eligible Age: 7 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 13 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University Grants Committee, Hong Kong

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Hong Kong Baptist University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Tak Mau Chan, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Hong Kong Baptist University

Locations

Department of Social Work, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Countries

Hong Kong

Other Identifiers

General Research Fund (GRF)

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

RGC Ref No. 12607921

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id