Integrated Smart Speaker Promoting Positive Parenting Among Caregivers of Youth With Challenging Behaviors

Overview

This project will develop and evaluate the feasibility of an integrated smart speaker and mobile/web-based application, "FamilyNet" (FN) to assist parents in implementing empirically supported behavioral parenting strategies to promote positive behavior change in their children. The FamilyNet system will help parents to create a positively framed, individualized behavioral plan for their child(ren), and then provide prompts, reminders, and tracking tools to help them effectively implement that plan. Once developed, FamilyNet will be field tested for usability and usefulness with a group of parents who have children ages 12-15 years exhibiting challenging behaviors. Establishing feasibility of this innovative parenting tool will have important implications for harnessing smart speaker and mobile/web technologies to provide parents in-situ support with parenting challenges; parents' effective implementation of empirically supported parenting strategies is likely to increase children's prosocial behaviors and reduce problematic behaviors, thus reducing their risk for long-term behavioral problems.

Description

This project will develop and establish feasibility of an integrated smart speaker and mobile/web application, FamilyNet, designed to help parents utilize best practices in behavioral parent training to create and implement personalized behavior plans for their children. The FamilyNet system will integrate mobile app, smart speaker technology, and website technologies to assist families in creating their behavior plan, and then will track compliance, timelines, incentives, and other details to assist parents in following through and maintaining the behavior change program that they have created. After development, the intervention program will be pilot-tested with 35 families of youth ages 12-15 with challenging behaviors.

Primary parents will complete measures of parenting practices and child behavior prior to using the FamilyNet system, and again after having access to the program for 4-6 weeks. During the intervention period, user information will be tracked. Post-intervention measures will also include primary parents' perceptions of usability and acceptability of and satisfaction with the FamilyNet system. Children and second parents will also complete satisfaction questionnaires at the post- intervention assessment. Data will be analyzed to determine the degree to which families are able to utilize the FamilyNet interface and report finding it helpful.

Eligibility

Inclusion criteria:

1. Primary parent/caregiver who has a child ages 12- to 15-years-old who lives with them at least half the time;
2. Client of and referred to the study by partner family treatment services sites in Lane County, Oregon;
3. Has a smartphone and access to email;
4. Speaks English;
5. The target child has a Strength & Difficulties Questionnaire total score or 14 or greater (top 20th percentile).

Exclusion criteria:

1. The target-age child has a developmental disability severe enough that the child is unable to speak and/or follow simple directions;
2. The parent is in active treatment for serious mental illness or serious addiction;
3. The family is homeless.