Overview

This randomised controlled trial (RCT) aims to evaluate the effectiveness of face-to-face Nonviolent Communication (NVC) intervention in improving parents' mental well-being and NVC skills, reducing parenting stress, depression and anxiety symptoms, and child emotional and behavioural problems.

A total of 172 parents with primary-school-age children will be recruited and randomly assigned to an intervention group or a waitlist control group. The intervention group will receive six weekly 1.5-hour face-to-face NVC training sessions delivered by trained social workers.

Five to ten social workers will be trained by professional NVC trainers through a train-the-trainer workshop, including three sessions. Each social worker will be assessed before (TTT1), after (TTT2) the workshops and 10 months (TTT3).

Assessments for participants will be conducted at baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2), and at three-month follow-up (T3). After completing the assessments, the waitlist control group will receive the same sessions. Qualitative interviews will be conducted to explore participants' experiences and perceptions of NVC.

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• 1) parents aged 24-59 years with children of primary school age;
• 2) with mild to severe depressive symptoms (score >5 on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9) (Kroenke et al., 2001) and/or mild to severe anxiety symptoms (score >5 on the General Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-7) (Spitzer et al., 2006); and
• 3) Hong Kong residents who can understand Cantonese.

Exclusion Criteria:

• 1) under psychiatric treatment, psychotherapy groups and are classified as unstable cases based on the judgment of the recruiting social workers;
• 2) participating in other related parenting programmes.