An Online Post-Adoption Family Intervention Using Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) to Improve Understanding, Well-Being, and Connection in Adoptive Families

Summary

The current study aims to examine the effectiveness of an online, self-paced post-adoption intervention to improve understanding, well-being, and connection within adoptive families.To evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention, a mixed method, pre-post design with two conditions will be used. Data from standard, reliable measures and free-response items will be collected pre- and post-intervention from participants in two conditions: the intervention condition and the waitlist condition. The intervention condition involves receiving the intervention immediately following pre-assessments; the waitlist condition involves receiving the intervention approximately 3 months after the intervention condition once all data collection is completed.

The study aims to answer six research questions. Each research question involves analyses of the differences between the intervention and waitlist conditions across multiple time points.

1. What is the intervention's effect on improving awareness of the needs of different family members and understanding how to meet these needs? Hypothesis 1: At post-intervention, parents in the intervention condition will report an improved awareness of the needs of each family member and greater understanding of how to meet these needs.
2. What is the intervention's effect on parent well-being (i.e., parenting confidence and parenting stress) from pre- to post-intervention? Hypothesis 2: Parents in the intervention condition will report increased parenting confidence and trending decreases in parenting stress from pre- to post-intervention compared to those in the waitlist condition.
3. What is the intervention's effect on child well-being (i.e., self-esteem and emotional and behavioral problems) from pre- to post-intervention? Hypothesis 3: Children in the intervention condition will report increased self-esteem and trending decreases in emotional and behavioral problems from pre- to post-intervention compared to those in the waitlist condition.
4. What is the intervention's effect on the quality of the parent-child relationship from pre- to post-intervention? Hypothesis 4: Both parents and children in the intervention condition will report improved connection in the parent-child relationship from pre- to post-intervention compared to those in the waitlist condition.
5. As an exploratory question, what is the intervention's effect on the quality of the sibling relationship from pre- to post-intervention? Hypothesis 5: Children in the intervention condition will report an improvement in the quality of their relationship with their sibling(s) from pre- to post-intervention compared to children in the waitlist condition.
6. What is the intervention's effect on connection and communication within the overall family system from pre- to post-intervention? Hypothesis 6: Parents and children in the intervention condition will report increased family communication and family connection in the whole family system from pre- to post-intervention compared to parents and children in the waitlist condition.

Conditions

• Family Relations
• Parenting

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

The Connected Family Series

The intervention is an online, self-paced post-adoption family intervention that occurs over a 4-week period to support adoptive families post-adoption.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Jana Hunsley

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

12 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-07-01

Primary Completion

2021-04-05

Completion

2021-04-05

Countries

• United States

Study Locations