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Emotion Regulation AbilitiesNCT07427771

Feasibility and Acceptability of the Asynchronous eParenting CARE Program

A study testing eParenting CARE Program in people with Emotion Regulation Abilities and Mental Health, run by McGill University Health Centre/Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre at 1 site in Canada.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial 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). Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Any ageHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Emotion Regulation Abilities, Mental Health
What is being tested?
eParenting CARE Program
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
67 participants
Where
1 siteCanada
Study dates
1 Jan 2024to 31 Aug 2024
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

  • Parent or legal guardian (e.g., custodial guardian) of a child aged 8 to 13 years at the time of enrollment
  • Parent or guardian resides in Canada
  • Ability to read, write, and understand English sufficiently to complete study materials and questionnaires
  • Access to a reliable internet connection and a compatible digital device (e.g., computer, tablet, or smartphone)

Who cannot join

  • Parent or guardian of a child outside the target age range (younger than 8 years or older than 13 years)
  • Residence outside of Canada
  • Insufficient proficiency in written or spoken English to complete intervention content or study assessments

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Canada1 site
  • McGill University

    Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1Y2

Other trials in Canada

About this study

Official title: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Effectiveness of the Asynchronous Implementation of the eParenting CARE Program

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.

Read more

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.

Read the detailed description

Detailed Description Early difficulties with emotion regulation (ER) in parents, including challenges managing stress, frustration, and negative affect, are well-established risk factors for the development of children's own ER difficulties and broader emotional and behavioural problems. Parent ER and ES practices play a central role in children's emotional development through modeling, coaching, and responses to children's emotional experiences, consistent with intergenerational and family-based models of emotional development (Morris et al., 2007). When parents experience difficulties regulating their own emotions, they may be more likely to respond to children's emotions in dismissive, punitive, or inconsistent ways, which can interfere with the development of adaptive ER skills in children.

The eParenting CARE Program was designed to strengthen parent ER and promote supportive ES practices in order to improve children's ER abilities and overall emotional well-being. The program integrates evidence-based strategies drawn from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and emotion coaching frameworks. The intervention focuses on building parents' internal ER capacities alongside practical parenting strategies, recognizing that parents' ability to regulate their own emotions is foundational to implementing supportive responses to children's emotional needs. The eParenting CARE Program is delivered in an asynchronous, self-guided online format to reduce common barriers to participation such as scheduling constraints, childcare demands, and geographic access limitations.

This project addresses a gap in the existing literature by evaluating a parent-focused, asynchronous emotion-focused parenting intervention for families of school-aged children. While synchronous and in-person emotion-focused parenting programs have demonstrated effectiveness, fewer studies have examined the feasibility and acceptability of fully self-guided formats that may offer greater scalability and accessibility. By focusing on parent ER and ES as primary intervention targets, this study aims to contribute to the understanding of how family-focused, digitally delivered supports can promote positive emotional development in children while supporting parental well-being.

The current study will conduct a single-group, mixed-methods feasibility pilot trial to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the eParenting CARE Program when delivered in an asynchronous online format. Parents or legal guardians of children aged 8 to 13 years will be recruited to participate. Participants will complete baseline assessments prior to beginning the intervention and post-intervention assessments following completion of the five-module program. A subset of participants will also complete semi-structured qualitative interviews to provide detailed feedback on program usability, engagement, barriers to participation, and recommendations for future implementation.

The primary aim of the study is to examine the feasibility and acceptability of the eParenting CARE Program, as indexed by recruitment, retention, program completion, and participant satisfaction. The secondary, exploratory aims are to examine pre- to post-intervention changes in parent ER, parent ES behaviours, and parent-reported child ER. Additional exploratory outcomes include identifying implementation challenges and facilitators that may inform future refinements to the program and guide the design of subsequent randomized controlled trials.

Findings from this study are expected to inform the development and optimization of accessible, emotion-focused parenting interventions and provide preliminary data to support future large-scale evaluations. Results will be disseminated through academic publication and shared with clinical, community, and educational stakeholders to support the broader application of family-focused approaches to promoting emotional well-being in children and parents.

Being tested
eParenting CARE Program
Keywords
mental health, emotion regulation, emotion socialization, parenting, intervention-program, child, parent
Medical subject headings
Psychological Well-Being, Emotional Regulation

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • eParenting CARE ProgramBehavioural

    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.

Study groups in NCT07427771
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
eParenting CARE ProgramExperimentalAsynchronously delivered eParenting CARE Program
Receives: Behavioral: eParenting CARE Program

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Program Feasibility (Recruitment, Retention, and Completion)

    Feasibility will be assessed using descriptive indicators of recruitment, enrollment, retention, and intervention completion. Retention is defined as the proportion of participants who complete at least 60% of the program modules. Completion rates across modules will be used to evaluate participant engagement and practicality of delivering the intervention in an asynchronous online format. A higher score indicates a greater program feasibility and acceptability.

    Measured: From enrollment through completion of the intervention (5 weeks)

  2. Program Acceptability (Participant Satisfaction)

    Acceptability will be assessed using selected items from the Rockwood Group Satisfaction Scale (Marshall \& Serran, 2010), a self-report measure of participant satisfaction with intervention content and delivery. Parents will rate their satisfaction with the program's clarity, usefulness, structure, and overall experience at post-intervention. Higher scores indicate greater acceptability of the intervention and delivery format.

    Measured: Post-Intervention (T2) - 5 weeks after program onset implementation

  3. Participant Engagement with the Intervention

    Participant engagement will be assessed using platform-generated usage data, including module access and progression through program content. Engagement metrics will be summarized descriptively to evaluate adherence to the intended intervention dose and identify patterns of participation across modules. A higher score indicates a greater program engagement.

    Measured: Throughout the intervention period (5 weeks)

  4. Implementation Barriers and Facilitators (Qualitative Interviews)

    Implementation-related barriers, facilitators, and recommendations for improvement will be assessed using semi-structured qualitative interviews with a subset of participants following program completion. Interviews explore participant experiences with program usability, engagement, and perceived value.

    Measured: Post-Intervention (within 2-4 weeks following program completion)

Secondary outcomes (3)
  1. Parent Emotion Regulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale; DERS)

    Parent emotion regulation will be assessed using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz \& Roemer, 2004), a self-report questionnaire measuring difficulties across multiple domains of emotion regulation, including emotional awareness, acceptance, impulse control, and access to regulation strategies. Higher total scores indicate greater emotion regulation difficulties.

    Measured: Pre-Intervention (T1) - prior to the program implementation and Post-Intervention (T2) - 5 weeks after program onset implementation

  2. Parent Emotion Socialization (Emotions as a Child Scale; EAC)

    Parent emotion socialization practices will be assessed using the Emotions as a Child Scale (EAC; Magai \& O'Neal, 1997), which measures parental responses to children's emotions (e.g., anger, sadness, fear). Subscales assess supportive and unsupportive responses, including rewarding, overriding, punitive, neglectful, and magnifying reactions. The Emotions as a Child Scale (EAC; Magai \& O'Neal, 1997) typically uses a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Never/Not at all, 5 = Very Often/Very Much) to assess parental socialization of emotions, with scores averaged across items. Higher average scores indicate a higher frequency of a specific, or combined, parental response strategy. It assesses five dimensions: Reward, Punish, Override, Neglect, and Magnify.

    Measured: Pre-Intervention (T1) - prior to the program implementation and Post-Intervention (T2) - 5 weeks after program onset implementation

  3. Child Emotion Regulation (Parent-Report; DERS-Parent Report)

    Child emotion regulation will be assessed using the parent-report version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-P; Gratz \& Roemer, 2004; Weinberg \& Klonsky, 2009). This measure assesses parents' perceptions of their child's difficulties regulating emotions across domains such as impulse control, emotional clarity, and access to regulation strategies. Higher scores indicate greater difficulties.

    The DERS (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale) parent report, used to assess a child's emotion regulation, typically yields a total raw score ranging from 36 to 180. Higher scores indicate greater difficulties in emotion regulation. The scale uses a 5-point Likert scale (1=Almost Never to 5=Almost Always). The Total Score Ranges between 36-180. Subscale range from: Non-acceptance: 6-30; Goals: 5-25; Impulse: 6-30; Awareness: 6-30; and Strategies: 8-40.

    Measured: Pre-Intervention (T1) - prior to the program implementation and Post-Intervention (T2) - 5 weeks after program onset implementation

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted23 Feb 2026
  2. Study start1 Jan 2024
  3. Primary completion31 Aug 2024
  4. Study completion31 Aug 2024

Resources

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
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
67 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07427771
Sponsor's protocol ID
20-08-046
Status last verified
Feb 2026
First submitted
5 Feb 2026
Last updated
23 Feb 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing eParenting CARE Program in people with Emotion Regulation Abilities and Mental Health, run by McGill University Health Centre/Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre at 1 site in Canada.

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 4 inclusion and 3 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 23 Feb 2026. 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 Canada. 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?

Program Feasibility (Recruitment, Retention, and Completion) (time frame: From enrollment through completion of the intervention (5 weeks)). The study lists 4 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
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 23 Feb 2026.

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