Parenting UR Teens - a randomised trial of a parenting programme for parents of teenagers
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN17944198 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN17944198 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | N/A |
- Submission date
- 26/03/2015
- Registration date
- 27/03/2015
- Last edited
- 27/11/2019
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
During adolescence, young people experience significant change - physically, psychologically and socially. This time can be very challenging for young people and their parents. It is important that parents provide young people with emotional support, set reasonable boundaries, and act as role models. At the same time, though, they have to come to terms with their child’s increasing independence. Friends become more important than family, and taking risks is part and parcel of adolescence for most young people. Moderate amounts of conflict between parent and teen are normal, but high levels of family conflict are unhelpful. In families who experience intense levels of conflict, young people are more likely to have behavioural problems and problems at school, running away and poor mental health. Providing support to parents is recognised as a significant factor in improving children’s lives. A review concluded that group-based parenting programmes are effective in improving child conduct problems, parental mental health and parenting skills, but this focused on children aged between 3 to 23 years. We know very little about what works for parents whose children are older. This study was designed to assess the effectiveness of a parenting programme called Parenting UR Teens. The programme was developed by a voluntary agency that specialises in supporting parents (Parenting NI). It aims to help parents develop their parenting skills and knowledge; improve parent-teen relationships; improve parental mental health and family functioning, and reduce parental stress. Parenting UR Teen is a group-based programme, delivered over eight two-hour sessions and organised around the following themes: i) building firm foundations, ii) parenting styles, iii) teen development, iv) self-esteem, v) rules and consequences, vi) conflict, vii) problem solving and viii) pulling it all together. Sessions consist of presentations by programme facilitators, group discussions, role-plays, and problem solving and homework tasks.
Who can participate?
Parents of adolescents who were concerned about the challenge of parenting their teenager(s).
What does the study involve?
Over an 18-month period, Parenting NI advertise the programme in 13 places in Northern Ireland. For the duration of the study, parents who apply to attend the course are informed that agreeing to take part in a study is a condition of being offered a place on the programme. Parents who agree are randomly allocated to either start at the next available date (usually a couple of weeks), or to be placed on a waiting list for a programme in about 12 weeks’ time. Parents who take part in the study are asked to complete a number of questionnaires. Those allocated to the intervention group complete these at the beginning and end of the programme. Those allocated to the wait-list control group (who get the programme about 2-3 months later) also complete questionnaires. They do this before the start of the programme attended by the intervention parents and before and after they attend their own programme.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Potential benefits include improved knowledge and skills in parenting adolescents as all participants eventually receive the intervention. No risks associated with taking part in this study have been identified.
Where is the study run from?
13 locations across Northern Ireland
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
August 2010 to July 2012
Who is funding the study?
The study was funded by Parenting NI by means of a grant from Atlantic Philantropies
Who is the main contact?
Geraldine Macdonald
Geraldine.Macdonald@qub.ac.uk
Contact information
Public
Head of Research Governance
Research and Enterprise Directorate
Room 01.095 Lanyon North
Queen's University Belfast
Belfast
BT7 1NN
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 (0)28 9097 2572 |
|---|---|
| l.h.dunlop@qub.ac.uk |
Scientific
Queens University
Belfast
BT7 1NN
United Kingdom
Study information
| Study design | Exploratory randomized controlled trial with waitlist control |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | Community |
| Study type | Prevention |
| Participant information sheet | Not available in web format, please use the contact details to request a patient information sheet |
| Scientific title | A randomised trial of the effectiveness of a parenting programme for parents of adolescents |
| Study acronym | Parenting UR Teen |
| Study objectives | Compared with those on a waiting list, parents attending the Parenting Ur Teen Programme will improve their parenting knowledge and skills, have fewer conflicts with their teenager, and parents and adolescents will have more positive relationships. |
| Ethics approval(s) | Research Ethics Committee of the School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Queen's University, Belfast |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Adolescent problem behaviour |
| Intervention | Over an 18-month period, Parenting NI advertised the programme in 13 places in Northern Ireland. For the duration of the study, parents who applied to attend the course were informed that agreeing to take part in a trial was a condition of being offered a place on the programme. Parents who agreed were randomised to start at the next available date (usually a couple of weeks), or be placed on a waiting list for a programme in approximately 12 weeks’ time. Parents who took part in the study were asked to complete a number of questionnaires. Those randomised to the intervention group complete these at the beginning and end of the programme. Those randomised to the wait-list control group (who got the programme about 2-3 months later) also completed questionnaires. They did this before the start of the programme attended by the intervention parents and before and after they attended their own programme. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | 1. Parental wellbeing, measured by General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents (SIPA_ 2. Parent-adolescent relationship, assessed by Parent Adolescent Relationships Questionnaire (PARQ) 3. Adolescent social functioning, assessed by parent report on the SIPA and the Child Disclosure Domain of the Stattin and Kerr Parental Monitoring scales Primary outcomes for the experimental group were measured immediately pre and post intervention. Those in the wait-list control completed the measures at three points: before the intervention group commenced their programme, and 3 months later, immediately before and after receiving the intervention. |
| Secondary outcome measures | 1. Parenting (monitoring, parental knowledge and parental control), assessed using the Stattin and Kerr Parental Monitoring scales 2. Family functioning (communication, problem-solving and maladaptive beliefs), assessed using the relevant subscales of the PARQ 3. Teen social functioning (i.e., moodiness and social isolation, risk of behaving in a delinquent manner, perseverance at school), assessed by parental report using the relevant domains of the Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents (SIPA) Secondary outcomes for the experimental group were measured immediately pre and post intervention. Those in the wait-list control completed the measures at three points: before the intervention group commenced their programme, and 3 months later, immediately before and after receiving the intervention. |
| Overall study start date | 01/08/2010 |
| Completion date | 31/07/2012 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Other |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 120 |
| Total final enrolment | 324 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Parents of adolescents who were concerned about the challenge of parenting their teenager(s) 2. Parents could either seek to attend the programme because of an existing difficulty or in anticipation of the need to develop their parenting skills to meet the challenge of parenting an adolescent 3. Parents who applied to attend courses run between January 2011 and April 2012 in 13 locations across Northern Ireland 4. For the duration of the study, participation in the study was also an eligibility criterion for participation in the parenting programme |
| Key exclusion criteria | Parents were deemed ineligible to participate in the programme if they did not live with their adolescent child, or if they had severe mental health difficulties. In these circumstances, the programme organisers would offer alternative support (e.g., one-to-one sessions, a place on an alternative programme within the organisation). |
| Date of first enrolment | 02/12/2010 |
| Date of final enrolment | 13/02/2012 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Northern Ireland
- United Kingdom
Study participating centre
BT7 1NN
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
University/education
c/o Louise Dunlop
Head of Research Governance
Research and Enterprise Directorate
Room 01.096 Lanyon North
Belfast
BT7 1NN
Northern Ireland
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 (0)28 9097 2572 |
|---|---|
| l.h.dunlop@qub.ac.uk | |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/00hswnk62 |
Funders
Funder type
Charity
Private sector organisation / International organizations
- Alternative name(s)
- The Atlantic Philanthropies, atlanticphil, Atlantic, The Atlantic Philanthropies (Bermuda) Limited, AP
- Location
- Bermuda
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Available on request |
| Publication and dissemination plan | The trialists would like to publish a scientific account of the outcome of this study in a journal and papers relevant to policy makers and service providers - to be confirmed at a later date. |
| IPD sharing plan |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results article | results in funder's report: | 01/06/2012 | Yes | No |
Editorial Notes
27/11/2019: The following changes have been made:
1. Publication reference added.
2. The final enrolment number was added from the reference.
10/07/2017: No publications found, verifying study status with principal investigator.
