Anxiety DisordersEMPOWERNCT04453865
Empowering Anxious Parents to Manage Child Avoidance Behaviors
A study testing Project EMPOWER and Online Resources and Referrals in people with Anxiety Disorders, run by Stony Brook University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
Efforts to develop and disseminate evidence based practices (EBPs) for youth anxiety have made great strides. Still, up to 82.2% of youth who need mental health treatment for anxiety never access care or drop out prematurely; commonly cited barriers to treatment are shortage of care, transportation limitations… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Any ageHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Anxiety Disorders
- What is being tested?
- Project EMPOWER and Online Resources and Referrals
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 300 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 5 Jul 2020to 1 Oct 2020
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages Any age
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Report subclinical or greater anxiety symptoms, per a score of 40 or higher on the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ)
- Have at least one child between the ages of 4-10 years old
- Live in the United States (US)
Who cannot join
- 1. Participant is non-English speaking
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, New York, 11794-2500
About this study
Official title: Empowering Anxious Parents to Manage Child Avoidance Behaviors: A Randomized Trial of a Single-Session Intervention Targeting Parent Accommodation
Efforts to develop and disseminate evidence based practices (EBPs) for youth anxiety have made great strides. Still, up to 82.2% of youth who need mental health treatment for anxiety never access care or drop out prematurely; commonly cited barriers to treatment are shortage of care, transportation limitations, financial burden, and gatekeeping behaviors by caretakers. As such, there is great need for accessible, scalable interventions that can ameliorate the global burden of youth anxiety, including those that help prevent the onset of anxiety in high-risk children. Single session interventions (SSIs), which have prevented and reduced child anxiety across numerous trials to date, may offer a promising solution, given their potential disseminability and cost-effectiveness. The proposed randomized trial will evaluate the effects of a novel, web-based, self-guided SSI designed to systematically reduce parent accommodation: a parenting behavior identified as a strong risk factor for anxiety in offspring. Study aims will be three-fold: (1) to examine the SSI's direct effects on parental accommodation, relative to an information-only control; (2) to assess the SSI's immediate effects on parents' perceived ability to help their children manage distressing situations; and (3) to evaluate the SSI's feasibility and acceptability. We will recruit parents reporting elevated anxiety levels, as children of anxious parents are at particular risk for developing anxiety symptoms themselves. Results may suggest a promising approach to preventing anxiety in at-risk children.
Read the detailed description
Anxiety disorders are among the most common, debilitating forms of childhood psychopathology, affecting 8.3-27.0% of youth before the age of 18. Child anxiety increases risk for psychiatric comorbidities across the lifespan) creates significant burdens for caregivers, and carries societal costs. Although numerous interventions have been developed to treat youth anxiety disorders, up to 82.2% of US youth with anxiety will not receive adequate care. Several reasons may explain this discrepancy, including the length and cost of existing evidence-based interventions (EBIs) and limited accessibility for families in need.
Single-session interventions (SSIs) may offer one potential solution to this gap in care. SSIs include core components of comprehensive EBIs delivered succinctly to improve the odds of access and completion. In a recent meta-analysis of 50 RCTs, SSIs reduced youth mental health problems of multiple disorders, with SSIs targeting child anxiety producing the largest effects (mean g = 0.58). Thus, well-targeted SSIs may offer cost-effective additions or alternatives to traditional care for anxiety in youth. However, most existing SSIs for child anxiety target populations already experiencing clinical distress, and a need remains for options that may prevent anxiety in vulnerable children. Given that family factors play a crucial role in the etiology of child anxiety, SSIs targeting parents and their interactions with offspring offer a novel approach to preventing youth anxiety. Thus, the aim of this project is to test the acceptability and short-term effects of a novel, web-based SSI targeting parental accommodation: a well-established, potentially modifiable risk factor for child anxiety. Results may reveal a promising, targeted approach to scalable child anxiety prevention.
Parental Accommodation as a Modifiable Intervention Target. Parent accommodation refers to changes in caregiver behaviors that facilitate or maintain their child's avoidance or anxiety. Examples include modifying family routines (i.e., staying home from work to alleviate a child's fear of separating) or directly participating in a child's avoidance strategies (i.e., keeping a child home from school). Parent accommodation reduces immediate distress but maintains long-term avoidance of feared stimuli or situations and high levels of parent accommodation are associated with anxiety problems in offspring. Parent accommodation is further maintained by caregiver factors, including parental anxiety and tolerance for distress. For instance, accommodation is greater among parents reporting higher distress about their child's anxiety symptoms and perceptions that anxiety exposure is harmful for youth.
Research shows that parent accommodation can be systematically reduced via psychosocial intervention, and interventions targeting accommodation have helped mitigate child anxiety. Translating core components of existing interventions that target parental accommodation into briefer, self-administered SSIs (i.e., those that do not involve a trained therapist) may improve families' access to empirically-driven supports for child anxiety. It may also enhance the implementation of mental health interventions by lay providers who frequently interact with children (e.g. teachers and pediatricians). Thus, the goal of this project is to test a web-based, self-guided SSI targeting parental accommodation. Parent participants will be randomized to either (a) Online Resources and Referrals (ORR) + parent accommodation SSI, or (b) ORR alone and delayed SSI access. We predict that parents will report larger declines in accommodation in the ORR+Accommodation SSI group, relative to the ORR + delayed SSI access group, from baseline to 2-week follow-up. We also predict that parents will perceive significant pre-to immediate-post-SSI increases in their ability to help their child manage distressing situations. Finally, we predict that participants will find the SSI to be acceptable.
- Conditions
- Anxiety Disorders
- Being tested
- Project EMPOWER, Online Resources and Referrals
- Keywords
- Anxiety, Parenting, Accommodation, Online Intervention, Single Session Intervention
- Medical subject headings
- Anxiety Disorders
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Project EMPOWERBehavioural
Project EMPOWER is a web-based, self-administered SSI for parents that takes about 30 minutes to complete
Online Resources and ReferralsOther
Also called ORR
Information sheet containing materials about the nature of child anxiety and a list of national resources related anxiety treatment.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Project EMPOWER | Experimental | Project EMPOWER is a web-based, self-administered SSI for parents that takes about 30 minutes to complete. The program includes 5 elements, based on current best-practices in SSI design (Schleider, Dobias, Sung, \& Mullarkey, 2020) and existing interventions targeting accommodation (Lebowitz \& Omer, 2014): (1) an introduction to the program's rationale; (2) psychoeducation around child anxiety and avoidance, along with how parental accommodation can inadvertently maintain child anxiety; (3) information on how parents can better identify children's patterns of avoidance and encourage brave behavior instead; (4) facilitating parents' creation of an "action plan" for promoting brave behavior and reduce avoidance in their own child; (5) a vignette exercise in which parents read about another family's difficulty managing their child's anxiety; parents identify the elements of the anxiety cycle and provide possible solutions to these parents based on what they learned. Receives: Behavioral: Project EMPOWER |
| Online Resources and Referrals (ORR) | Other | Online Resources and Referrals (ORR) is an information sheet containing materials about the nature of child anxiety and a list of national resources related anxiety treatment. ORR does not include any psychoeducational components regarding parental accommodation. Receives: Other: Online Resources and Referrals |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Family Accommodation Scale
Family Accommodation Scale is a 9-item measure designed to assess the extent a caregiver accommodate a child's anxiety symptoms; example questions include: "how often did you assist your child in avoiding things that might make him/her more anxious?" and "have you modified your family routine because of your child's symptoms?" Items are rated from 0 (never) to 4 (daily). Scores range from 0-36 with higher scores indicating more frequent parental accommodation.
Measured: Change from Baseline Accommodation at 2-week follow up
Perceived pre-to-post SSI change
This single-item measure assesses participants' perceived change in their ability to help their children manage distressing situations from pre- to post-SSI: "compared to before you completed this program, how prepared do you feel to help your child manage distressing situations?" Parents in both groups will rate this question on a 5-point scale of 1 (much less able to help child manage distressing situations) to 5 (much more able to to help child manage distressing situations).
Measured: Immediately after the SSI
Secondary outcomes (11)
Program Feedback Scale
The program feedback scale asks participants to rate 7 statements regarding acceptability and feasibility; note whether they would recommend this activity to others; and share what they liked and would change about the SSI. The 7 statements are rated from 0 (Really Disagree) to 5 (Really Agree). Total score ranges from 0 to 35, with higher scores indicating a more positive program evaluation.
Measured: Immediately after the SSI
Penn State Worry Questionnaire
16 item self-report questionnaire that asks individuals to rate how typical worry-related problems are for them, from 1 (not at all typical) to 5 (very typical). Scores range from 16-80; higher scores indicate more severe worry.
Measured: Baseline
Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale
Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale measures parents' reactive emotions to their child's negative affect in distressing situations. Six subscales exist, but only the "distress reactions" domain, reflecting parental distress in the context of child negative affect, will be used. Participants rate 12 questions from 1 (very unlikely) to 7 (very likely). Score ranges from 12-84; higher numbers indicate more distress.
Measured: Baseline
Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale
25 item measure assessing child's symptoms of anxiety and depression. Each question is rated on a 4-point scale from 0 (Never) to 3 (Always). Total score ranges from 0 to 75 with higher scores indicating higher levels of psychopathology
Measured: Baseline
Barriers to Access to Care Evaluation
30 item self-report questionnaire that asks about barriers they faced in getting professional care for a mental health problem on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 3 (a lot). Scores range from 0 to 90; higher scores indicate a higher number of barriers.
Measured: Baseline
Adult Measure of Behavioral Inhibition
16 item measure assessing one's temperamental tendency to respond to social novelty and risk stimuli, with inhibition and avoidance. Each question is rated on a 3 point scale from 0 (no/hardly ever) and 2 (yes/most of the time). Total score ranges from 0 to 32 with a higher scores indicating a greater degree of inhibition.
Measured: Baseline
Short Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire
14-item parent rated scale measuring temperamental characteristics referring to shyness, fearfulness, and withdrawal in young, preschool children. Each question is rated on a 7-point scale from 1 (Hardly Ever) to 7 (Almost Always). Total score ranges from 14 to 98, with higher scores indicating a greater degree of inhibition
Measured: Baseline
Ruminative Response Scale
22 item questionnaire measuring two aspects of rumination: brooding and reflective pondering. Each question is rated on a 4-point scale from 1 (almost never) and 4 (almost always). Total score ranges from 22 to 88 with a higher score indicating higher ruminative tendencies.
Measured: Baseline
Distress Tolerance Scale
16 item measure assessing the extent to which one experiences and withstand distressing emotional states. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly agree) and 5 (strongly disagree). Total score ranges from 16 to 80 with a higher score indicating higher levels of distress tolerance.
Measured: Change from Baseline Coping at 2-week follow up
Co-Rumination Questionnaire
27-item self-report inventory that measures the extent to which one co-ruminates with others. For brevity, the survey has been modified to consist of 8 items that range from 1 (Not at all true) to 5 (really true). Total score ranges from 8 to 40 with a higher score indicating higher levels of co-rumination.
Measured: Baseline
Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-Depression Short
8 item self-report measure of depression. The questions are rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). Scores range from 8 to 40m higher scores indicating higher levels of depression.
Measured: Baseline
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted1 Jul 2020
- Study start5 Jul 2020
- Primary completion30 Sep 2020
- Study completion1 Oct 2020
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (22)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Anxiety DisordersStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Sequential
- Model description
- Participants will be randomized via Qualtrics (1:1 allocation ratio) to either the Online Resources and Referrals (ORR) and the Parent Accommodation SSI or ORR alone and delayed SSI access. Those in the experimental condition (ORR+immediate SSI) will also complete immediate post-SSI questionnaires. Two weeks later, all parents-regardless of condition-will complete the 2-week follow up questionnaires. Parents in the ORR+delayed SSI condition will then be invited to complete the accommodation SSI and immediate post-SSI questionnaires. Thus, all participants will receive the accommodation SSI and complete immediate post-SSI questionnaires, either immediately or at 2-week follow-up.
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 300 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Stony Brook University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Jessica Schleider, Stony Brook University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04453865
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- IRB2020-00069
- Acronym
- EMPOWER
- Status last verified
- Mar 2021
- First submitted
- 28 May 2020
- Last updated
- 18 Mar 2021
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Publications
Beecham J. Annual research review: Child and adolescent mental health interventions: a review of progress in economic studies across different disorders. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2014 Jun;55(6):714-32. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12216. Epub 2014 Feb 28.
PubMed 24580503Bodden DH, Dirksen CD, Bogels SM. Societal burden of clinically anxious youth referred for treatment: a cost-of-illness study. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2008 May;36(4):487-97. doi: 10.1007/s10802-007-9194-4. Epub 2008 Jan 23.
PubMed 18214667Copeland WE, Angold A, Shanahan L, Costello EJ. Longitudinal patterns of anxiety from childhood to adulthood: the Great Smoky Mountains Study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2014 Jan;53(1):21-33. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2013.09.017. Epub 2013 Oct 12.
PubMed 24342383Costello EJ, Egger HL, Angold A. The developmental epidemiology of anxiety disorders: phenomenology, prevalence, and comorbidity. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2005 Oct;14(4):631-48, vii. doi: 10.1016/j.chc.2005.06.003.
PubMed 16171696Degnan KA, Almas AN, Fox NA. Temperament and the environment in the etiology of childhood anxiety. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2010 Apr;51(4):497-517. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02228.x. Epub 2010 Feb 11.
PubMed 20158575Edlund MJ, Unutzer J, Curran GM. Perceived need for alcohol, drug, and mental health treatment. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2006 Jun;41(6):480-7. doi: 10.1007/s00127-006-0047-1. Epub 2006 Mar 25.
PubMed 16565918Kendall, P. C., Aschenbrand, S. G., & Hudson, J. L. (2003). Child-focused treatment of anxiety. Evidence-Based Psychotherapies for Children and Adolescents, 81-100.
Lebowitz, E. R., Omer, H., Hermes, H., & Scahill, L. (2014). Parent Training for Childhood Anxiety Disorders: The SPACE Program. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 21(4), 456- 469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2013.10.004
Lebowitz ER, Panza KE, Su J, Bloch MH. Family accommodation in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Expert Rev Neurother. 2012 Feb;12(2):229-38. doi: 10.1586/ern.11.200.
PubMed 22288678Lebowitz ER, Scharfstein L, Jones J. Child-Report of Family Accommodation in Pediatric Anxiety Disorders: Comparison and Integration with Mother-Report. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2015 Aug;46(4):501-11. doi: 10.1007/s10578-014-0491-1.
PubMed 25209390Merikangas KR, He JP, Burstein M, Swendsen J, Avenevoli S, Case B, Georgiades K, Heaton L, Swanson S, Olfson M. Service utilization for lifetime mental disorders in U.S. adolescents: results of the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A). J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2011 Jan;50(1):32-45. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2010.10.006. Epub 2010 Dec 3.
PubMed 21156268Mojtabai R, Olfson M, Sampson NA, Jin R, Druss B, Wang PS, Wells KB, Pincus HA, Kessler RC. Barriers to mental health treatment: results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Psychol Med. 2011 Aug;41(8):1751-61. doi: 10.1017/S0033291710002291. Epub 2010 Dec 7.
PubMed 21134315Ramos-Cerqueira AT, Torres AR, Torresan RC, Negreiros AP, Vitorino CN. Emotional burden in caregivers of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Depress Anxiety. 2008;25(12):1020-7. doi: 10.1002/da.20431.
PubMed 18833578Salloum A, Johnco C, Lewin AB, McBride NM, Storch EA. Barriers to access and participation in community mental health treatment for anxious children. J Affect Disord. 2016 May 15;196:54-61. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2016.02.026. Epub 2016 Feb 10.
PubMed 26901657Schleider JL, Dobias ML, Sung JY, Mullarkey MC. Future Directions in Single-Session Youth Mental Health Interventions. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2020 Mar-Apr;49(2):264-278. doi: 10.1080/15374416.2019.1683852. Epub 2019 Dec 4.
PubMed 31799863
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 18 Mar 2021. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Empowering Anxious Parents to Manage Child Avoidance Behaviors: A Randomized Trial of a Single-Session Intervention Targeting Parent Accommodation
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04453865
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- EMPOWER / IRB2020-00069
- Conditions
- Anxiety Disorders
- Keywords
- Anxiety, Parenting, Accommodation, Online Intervention, Single Session Intervention
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 300 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Stony Brook UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 5 Jul 2020 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Sep 2020 (actual)
- Study completion
- 1 Oct 2020 (actual)
- First posted
- 1 Jul 2020 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Efforts to develop and disseminate evidence based practices (EBPs) for youth anxiety have made great strides. Still, up to 82.2% of youth who need mental health treatment for anxiety never access care or drop out prematurely; commonly cited barriers to treatment are shortage of care, transportation limitations, financial burden, and gatekeeping behaviors by caretakers. As such, there is great need for accessible, scalable interventions that can ameliorate the global burden of youth anxiety, including those that help prevent the onset of anxiety in high-risk children. Single session interventions (SSIs), which have prevented and reduced child anxiety across numerous trials to date, may offer a promising solution, given their potential disseminability and cost-effectiveness. The proposed randomized trial will evaluate the effects of a novel, web-based, self-guided SSI designed to systematically reduce parent accommodation: a parenting behavior identified as a strong risk factor for anxiety in offspring. Study aims will be three-fold: (1) to examine the SSI's direct effects on parental accommodation, relative to an information-only control; (2) to assess the SSI's immediate effects on parents' perceived ability to help their children manage distressing situations; and (3) to evaluate the SSI's feasibility and acceptability. We will recruit parents reporting elevated anxiety levels, as children of anxious parents are at particular risk for developing anxiety symptoms themselves. Results may suggest a promising approach to preventing anxiety in at-risk children.
Detailed description
Anxiety disorders are among the most common, debilitating forms of childhood psychopathology, affecting 8.3-27.0% of youth before the age of 18. Child anxiety increases risk for psychiatric comorbidities across the lifespan) creates significant burdens for caregivers, and carries societal costs. Although numerous interventions have been developed to treat youth anxiety disorders, up to 82.2% of US youth with anxiety will not receive adequate care. Several reasons may explain this discrepancy, including the length and cost of existing evidence-based interventions (EBIs) and limited accessibility for families in need.
Single-session interventions (SSIs) may offer one potential solution to this gap in care. SSIs include core components of comprehensive EBIs delivered succinctly to improve the odds of access and completion. In a recent meta-analysis of 50 RCTs, SSIs reduced youth mental health problems of multiple disorders, with SSIs targeting child anxiety producing the largest effects (mean g = 0.58). Thus, well-targeted SSIs may offer cost-effective additions or alternatives to traditional care for anxiety in youth. However, most existing SSIs for child anxiety target populations already experiencing clinical distress, and a need remains for options that may prevent anxiety in vulnerable children. Given that family factors play a crucial role in the etiology of child anxiety, SSIs targeting parents and their interactions with offspring offer a novel approach to preventing youth anxiety. Thus, the aim of this project is to test the acceptability and short-term effects of a novel, web-based SSI targeting parental accommodation: a well-established, potentially modifiable risk factor for child anxiety. Results may reveal a promising, targeted approach to scalable child anxiety prevention.
Parental Accommodation as a Modifiable Intervention Target. Parent accommodation refers to changes in caregiver behaviors that facilitate or maintain their child's avoidance or anxiety. Examples include modifying family routines (i.e., staying home from work to alleviate a child's fear of separating) or directly participating in a child's avoidance strategies (i.e., keeping a child home from school). Parent accommodation reduces immediate distress but maintains long-term avoidance of feared stimuli or situations and high levels of parent accommodation are associated with anxiety problems in offspring. Parent accommodation is further maintained by caregiver factors, including parental anxiety and tolerance for distress. For instance, accommodation is greater among parents reporting higher distress about their child's anxiety symptoms and perceptions that anxiety exposure is harmful for youth.
Research shows that parent accommodation can be systematically reduced via psychosocial intervention, and interventions targeting accommodation have helped mitigate child anxiety. Translating core components of existing interventions that target parental accommodation into briefer, self-administered SSIs (i.e., those that do not involve a trained therapist) may improve families' access to empirically-driven supports for child anxiety. It may also enhance the implementation of mental health interventions by lay providers who frequently interact with children (e.g. teachers and pediatricians). Thus, the goal of this project is to test a web-based, self-guided SSI targeting parental accommodation. Parent participants will be randomized to either (a) Online Resources and Referrals (ORR) + parent accommodation SSI, or (b) ORR alone and delayed SSI access. We predict that parents will report larger declines in accommodation in the ORR+Accommodation SSI group, relative to the ORR + delayed SSI access group, from baseline to 2-week follow-up. We also predict that parents will perceive significant pre-to immediate-post-SSI increases in their ability to help their child manage distressing situations. Finally, we predict that participants will find the SSI to be acceptable.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Sequential
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- Participants will be randomized via Qualtrics (1:1 allocation ratio) to either the Online Resources and Referrals (ORR) and the Parent Accommodation SSI or ORR alone and delayed SSI access. Those in the experimental condition (ORR+immediate SSI) will also complete immediate post-SSI questionnaires. Two weeks later, all parents-regardless of condition-will complete the 2-week follow up questionnaires. Parents in the ORR+delayed SSI condition will then be invited to complete the accommodation SSI and immediate post-SSI questionnaires. Thus, all participants will receive the accommodation SSI and complete immediate post-SSI questionnaires, either immediately or at 2-week follow-up.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Project EMPOWER | Experimental | Behavioral: Project EMPOWERProject EMPOWER is a web-based, self-administered SSI for parents that takes about 30 minutes to complete. The program includes 5 elements, based on current best-practices in SSI design (Schleider, Dobias, Sung, \& Mullarkey, 2020) and existing interventions targeting accommodation (Lebowitz \& Omer, 2014): (1) an introduction to the program's rationale; (2) psychoeducation around child anxiety and avoidance, along with how parental accommodation can inadvertently maintain child anxiety; (3) information on how parents can better identify children's patterns of avoidance and encourage brave behavior instead; (4) facilitating parents' creation of an "action plan" for promoting brave behavior and reduce avoidance in their own child; (5) a vignette exercise in which parents read about another family's difficulty managing their child's anxiety; parents identify the elements of the anxiety cycle and provide possible solutions to these parents based on what they learned. |
| Online Resources and Referrals (ORR) | Other | Other: Online Resources and ReferralsOnline Resources and Referrals (ORR) is an information sheet containing materials about the nature of child anxiety and a list of national resources related anxiety treatment. ORR does not include any psychoeducational components regarding parental accommodation. |
Who may qualify
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Report subclinical or greater anxiety symptoms, per a score of 40 or higher on the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ)
- Have at least one child between the ages of 4-10 years old
- Live in the United States (US)
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- 1. Participant is non-English speaking
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Project EMPOWERProject EMPOWER is a web-based, self-administered SSI for parents that takes about 30 minutes to complete | Behavioural | Project EMPOWER |
| Online Resources and ReferralsAlso: ORRInformation sheet containing materials about the nature of child anxiety and a list of national resources related anxiety treatment. | Other | Online Resources and Referrals (ORR) |
Primary outcome
Family Accommodation Scale
Time frame: Change from Baseline Accommodation at 2-week follow up
Family Accommodation Scale is a 9-item measure designed to assess the extent a caregiver accommodate a child's anxiety symptoms; example questions include: "how often did you assist your child in avoiding things that might make him/her more anxious?" and "have you modified your family routine because of your child's symptoms?" Items are rated from 0 (never) to 4 (daily). Scores range from 0-36 with higher scores indicating more frequent parental accommodation.
Perceived pre-to-post SSI change
Time frame: Immediately after the SSI
This single-item measure assesses participants' perceived change in their ability to help their children manage distressing situations from pre- to post-SSI: "compared to before you completed this program, how prepared do you feel to help your child manage distressing situations?" Parents in both groups will rate this question on a 5-point scale of 1 (much less able to help child manage distressing situations) to 5 (much more able to to help child manage distressing situations).
11 secondary outcomes
Program Feedback Scale
Time frame: Immediately after the SSI
Penn State Worry Questionnaire
Time frame: Baseline
Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale
Time frame: Baseline
Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale
Time frame: Baseline
Barriers to Access to Care Evaluation
Time frame: Baseline
Adult Measure of Behavioral Inhibition
Time frame: Baseline
Short Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire
Time frame: Baseline
Ruminative Response Scale
Time frame: Baseline
Distress Tolerance Scale
Time frame: Change from Baseline Coping at 2-week follow up
Co-Rumination Questionnaire
Time frame: Baseline
Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-Depression Short
Time frame: Baseline
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 18 Mar 2021.
- Background: PubMed 24580503Beecham J. Annual research review: Child and adolescent mental health interventions: a review of progress in economic studies across different disorders. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2014 Jun;55(6):714-32. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12216. Epub 2014 Feb 28.
- Background: PubMed 18214667Bodden DH, Dirksen CD, Bogels SM. Societal burden of clinically anxious youth referred for treatment: a cost-of-illness study. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2008 May;36(4):487-97. doi: 10.1007/s10802-007-9194-4. Epub 2008 Jan 23.
- Background: PubMed 24342383Copeland WE, Angold A, Shanahan L, Costello EJ. Longitudinal patterns of anxiety from childhood to adulthood: the Great Smoky Mountains Study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2014 Jan;53(1):21-33. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2013.09.017. Epub 2013 Oct 12.
- Background: PubMed 16171696Costello EJ, Egger HL, Angold A. The developmental epidemiology of anxiety disorders: phenomenology, prevalence, and comorbidity. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2005 Oct;14(4):631-48, vii. doi: 10.1016/j.chc.2005.06.003.
- Background: PubMed 20158575Degnan KA, Almas AN, Fox NA. Temperament and the environment in the etiology of childhood anxiety. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2010 Apr;51(4):497-517. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02228.x. Epub 2010 Feb 11.
- Background: PubMed 16565918Edlund MJ, Unutzer J, Curran GM. Perceived need for alcohol, drug, and mental health treatment. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2006 Jun;41(6):480-7. doi: 10.1007/s00127-006-0047-1. Epub 2006 Mar 25.
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- BackgroundLebowitz, E. R., Omer, H., Hermes, H., & Scahill, L. (2014). Parent Training for Childhood Anxiety Disorders: The SPACE Program. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 21(4), 456- 469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2013.10.004
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- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Project EMPOWER and Online Resources and Referrals in people with Anxiety Disorders, run by Stony Brook University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 18 Mar 2021. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Family Accommodation Scale (time frame: Change from Baseline Accommodation at 2-week follow up). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04453865, which also lists 22 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 18 Mar 2021.