TY - JOUR
T1 - Effectiveness of a Web-Based Intervention to Prevent Anxiety in the Children of Parents With Anxiety
T2 - Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial
AU - Dunn, Abigail
AU - Alvarez, James
AU - Arbon, Amy
AU - Bremner, Stephen
AU - Elsby-Pearson, Chloe
AU - Emsley, Richard
AU - Jones, Christopher
AU - Lawrence, Peter
AU - Lester, Kathryn J
AU - Majdandžić, Mirjana
AU - Morson, Natalie
AU - Perry, Nicky
AU - Simner, Julia
AU - Thomson, Abigail
AU - Cartwright-Hatton, Sam
N1 - ©Abigail Dunn, James Alvarez, Amy Arbon, Stephen Bremner, Chloe Elsby-Pearson, Richard Emsley, Christopher Jones, Peter Lawrence, Kathryn J Lester, Mirjana Majdandžić, Natalie Morson, Nicky Perry, Julia Simner, Abigail Thomson, Sam Cartwright-Hatton. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 10.11.2022.
PY - 2022/11/10
Y1 - 2022/11/10
N2 - BACKGROUND: Anxiety is the most common childhood mental health condition and is associated with impaired child outcomes, including increased risk of mental health difficulties in adulthood. Anxiety runs in families: when a parent has anxiety, their child has a 50% higher chance of developing it themselves. Environmental factors are predominant in the intergenerational transmission of anxiety and, of these, parenting processes play a major role. Interventions that target parents to support them to limit the impact of any anxiogenic parenting behaviors are associated with reduced anxiety in their children. A brief UK-based group intervention delivered to parents within the UK National Health Service led to a 16% reduction in children meeting the criteria for an anxiety disorder. However, this intervention is not widely accessible. To widen access, a 9-module web-based version of this intervention has been developed. This course comprises psychoeducation and home practice delivered through text, video, animations, and practice tasks.OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to evaluate the feasibility of delivering this web-based intervention and assess its effectiveness in reducing child anxiety symptoms.METHODS: This is the protocol for a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a community sample of 1754 parents with self-identified high levels of anxiety with a child aged 2-11 years. Parents in the intervention arm will receive access to the web-based course, which they undertake at a self-determined rate. The control arm receives no intervention. Follow-up data collection is at months 6 and months 9-21. Intention-to-treat analysis will be conducted on outcomes including child anxiety, child mental health symptoms, and well-being; parental anxiety and well-being; and parenting behaviors.RESULTS: Funding was received in April 2020, and recruitment started in February 2021 and is projected to end in October 2022. A total of 1350 participants have been recruited as of May 2022.CONCLUSIONS: The results of this RCT will provide evidence on the utility of a web-based course in preventing intergenerational transmission of anxiety and increase the understanding of familial anxiety.TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04755933; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04755933.INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/40707.
AB - BACKGROUND: Anxiety is the most common childhood mental health condition and is associated with impaired child outcomes, including increased risk of mental health difficulties in adulthood. Anxiety runs in families: when a parent has anxiety, their child has a 50% higher chance of developing it themselves. Environmental factors are predominant in the intergenerational transmission of anxiety and, of these, parenting processes play a major role. Interventions that target parents to support them to limit the impact of any anxiogenic parenting behaviors are associated with reduced anxiety in their children. A brief UK-based group intervention delivered to parents within the UK National Health Service led to a 16% reduction in children meeting the criteria for an anxiety disorder. However, this intervention is not widely accessible. To widen access, a 9-module web-based version of this intervention has been developed. This course comprises psychoeducation and home practice delivered through text, video, animations, and practice tasks.OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to evaluate the feasibility of delivering this web-based intervention and assess its effectiveness in reducing child anxiety symptoms.METHODS: This is the protocol for a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a community sample of 1754 parents with self-identified high levels of anxiety with a child aged 2-11 years. Parents in the intervention arm will receive access to the web-based course, which they undertake at a self-determined rate. The control arm receives no intervention. Follow-up data collection is at months 6 and months 9-21. Intention-to-treat analysis will be conducted on outcomes including child anxiety, child mental health symptoms, and well-being; parental anxiety and well-being; and parenting behaviors.RESULTS: Funding was received in April 2020, and recruitment started in February 2021 and is projected to end in October 2022. A total of 1350 participants have been recruited as of May 2022.CONCLUSIONS: The results of this RCT will provide evidence on the utility of a web-based course in preventing intergenerational transmission of anxiety and increase the understanding of familial anxiety.TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04755933; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04755933.INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/40707.
U2 - 10.2196/40707
DO - 10.2196/40707
M3 - Article
C2 - 36355406
SN - 1929-0748
VL - 11
SP - e40707
JO - JMIR research protocols
JF - JMIR research protocols
IS - 11
ER -