The Family Check-Up Online: Increasing Access to Parenting Support for Parents Experiencing Mental Health Challenges

• In Event: Dual-Generation Treatments: Addressing Parent Mental Health in Parenting and Child-Focused Prevention and Intervention Programs

Abstract

Introduction: The effects of parents’ mental health problems on young children’s social-emotional and cognitive development is well-documented, with parenting behaviors thought to be a critical mechanism in the association between parents’ mental health challenges and child outcomes (Kuckertz et al., 2018). For parents with mental health challenges, implementing recommended behavior management strategies with their young children may be particularly difficult (Dempsey et al., 2016). Skills-based parenting interventions that also address aspects of parents’ mental health (e.g., coping strategies, self-regulation) may have particular benefit for parents experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and substance misuse. The Family Check-Up (FCU), a strengths-based parenting intervention that is tailored to parents’ needs and based on motivational interviewing principles, has been found to improve young children’s problem behavior in part by reducing maternal depressive symptoms (Shaw et al., 2009). The FCU Online, adapted from the FCU, is a telehealth intervention developed to offer parenting support for caregivers with a history of substance misuse and other mental health challenges who reside in rural areas.

Methods: Preliminary study data came from the Parenting Young Children (PYC) study, an ongoing randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the FCU Online app with telehealth coaching. The FCU Online app includes five modules, two of which focus on parent wellness, self-care, and coping, with the other three modules targeting parenting skills. Online modules are paired with regular telehealth meetings with a family coach who provides tailored support to build on skills addressed in the app. Participants are mothers of children ages 1.5 to 5 years experiencing symptoms of depression and/or substance misuse living in rural Oregon. Preliminary baseline data are from 58 participants; 3-month follow-up data are from 25 participants, with nine of those in the intervention group. The RCT aims to recruit 400 parents by the end of the study.

Results: 76% of the sample endorsed symptoms of anxiety in at least the “mild” range and 69% of participants endorsed depressive symptoms in at least the “mild” range. 44% of the sample reported using marijuana at least once in the past month and 38% reported a history of opioid misuse. Of the nine participants in the intervention group who completed the first follow-up, seven (78%) completed all five app modules. Engagement with telehealth coaching was also high, with participants completing an average of four telehealth coaching sessions.

Discussion: Although data are currently preliminary with a sample underpowered to detect differences between groups, we anticipate a much larger dataset to be available by the time of the conference. The current study offers an important contribution to the literature with a novel intervention: an app-based telehealth intervention with potential to increase access to preventive parenting support to an underserved population of parents at risk for mental health challenges, including substance use.

Authors

• Kate Hails, University of Oregon
  Presenting Author

• Beth Stormshak, University of Oregon