Feasibility and Acceptability of the Asynchronous eParenting CARE Program

Summary

This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the eParenting CARE Program, an asynchronous, self-guided emotion-focused parenting intervention for parents of school-aged children (8-13 years). The eParenting CARE Program focuses on strengthening parent emotion regulation (ER) and supportive emotion socialization (ES) practices to promote children's ER and emotional well-being. Parent ER and ES are well-established predictors of children's emotional development, and difficulties in these domains are associated with increased risk for child emotional and behavioural problems.

The long-term goal of this work is to improve family well-being and children's emotional functioning by developing an accessible and scalable online parenting intervention that can be delivered flexibly and with minimal barriers to participation. This pilot study will inform the refinement and future evaluation of the eParenting CARE Program through a feasibility-focused design.

We will achieve this through the following key objectives:

1. Assess the feasibility and acceptability of the eParenting CARE Program for parents of school-aged children using indicators of recruitment, retention, program completion, and participant satisfaction.
2. Examine exploratory pre- to post-intervention changes in parent ER, parent ES behaviours, and parent-reported child ER to inform outcome selection and effect size estimation for future randomized controlled trials.
3. Identify implementation facilitators and barriers to participation in an asynchronous parenting program through qualitative feedback, including recommendations for improving engagement, accessibility, and program delivery.

Findings from this pilot study will inform the development of future controlled trials and support the broader dissemination of accessible, emotion-focused parenting interventions aimed at promoting emotional well-being in parents and children.

Conditions

• Emotion Regulation Abilities
• Mental Health

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

eParenting CARE Program

The eParenting CARE Program is a five-module, asynchronous, self-guided online parenting intervention designed to improve parent emotion regulation and supportive emotion socialization practices. The intervention is delivered via a secure web-based platform requiring participant login and is intended to be completed over approximately five weeks. Program content integrates evidence-based strategies drawn from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and emotion coaching frameworks. Each module includes brief instructional videos, written psychoeducational materials, guided self-reflection exercises, and take-home activities to support skill practice. Core topics include parent self-care and emotion regulation, identifying and labeling emotions, cognitive and behavioral regulation strategies, supportive parenting responses to children's emotions, and maintenance of skills.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

  collaborator OTHER

• McGill University Health Centre/Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-01-01

Primary Completion

2024-08-31

Completion

2024-08-31

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations