Development and preliminary evaluation of culturally specific web‐based intervention for parents of adolescents

Abstract

Accessible summary What is known on the subject? Problematic parent–child relationships have been identified as one of the main predictors of adolescents' mental health problems, but there are few existing interventions that address this issue. The format and delivery method of existing interventions for parents are relatively inaccessible for parents with full‐time jobs and families living in rural areas. What does this paper add to existing knowledge? The newly developed ‘Stepping Stone’ culturally specific web‐based intervention, which is intended to help Korean parents of adolescents to acquire both knowledge and communication and conflict management skills, was found to be feasible and well‐accepted by parents. This study enabled us to identify areas for improvement in the content and format of the intervention and strategies. This will potentially increase effect sizes for the outcome variables of parents' perception and behaviours. What are the implications for practice? This web‐based intervention could be delivered across diverse settings, such as schools and community mental health centers, to increase parents' knowledge of adolescent's mental health and allow for early detection of mental health problems. Mental health nurses working in schools may spend a significant amount of time addressing students' mental health issues; thus, this web‐based intervention could be a useful resource to share with parents and children. In this way, the mental health nurses could facilitate parental engagement in the intervention and then help them to continue to apply and practice the knowledge and skills obtained through the program. Abstract IntroductionThere is a need for accessible, culturally specific web‐based interventions to address parent–child relationships and adolescents' mental health. AimsThis study developed and conducted a preliminary evaluation of a 4‐week web‐based intervention for parents of adolescents aged 11 to 16 years in Korea. MethodsWe used a two‐group, repeated measures, quasi‐experimental study design to assess the feasibility of developing and implementing a web‐based intervention for parents. Descriptive statistics, chi‐square and t tests, and mixed effect modeling were used for data analysis. ResultsThe intervention and 1‐month follow‐up survey were completed by 47 parents in the intervention group and 46 parents in the attention control (AC) group. The intervention was found to be feasible and well‐accepted by parents. DiscussionThis culturally specific web‐based intervention is a useful tool for knowledge dissemination among large numbers of parents. Areas for improvement in the content and format of the intervention and strategies to elicit significant parent–child interactions are provided. Implications for practice and conclusionThe intervention could be disseminated in collaboration with mental health nurses working in schools to facilitate parents' participation.

Parents’ Perceptions and Responses to Parent-adolescent Conflict Situations: A Mixed Methods Approach

“…The total score ranges from 20 to 40, with a higher score indicating a high level of parent-child conflicts. This scalehad acceptable reliability in the previous studies (α=.89∼.92) (Choi et al, 2012;Choi et al, 2016), and in this study (α=.88).…”

“…The sample for the present study was drawn from a larger study which was designed to test the efficacy of a newly developed 4-week online parent education program for Korean parents of adolescents, "Stepping Stone." Descriptions of the larger study are discussed elsewhere (Choi et al, 2016). The…”

Communication Technology Use by Caregivers of Adolescents With Mental Health Issues: Systematic Review

“…The final articles included in this systematic review consisted of multiple designs. There were 2 randomized controlled trials [ 33 , 80 ], 1 quasi-experimental study [ 81 ], and 2 qualitative studies [ 82 , 83 ]. In all 5 articles, the caregivers had been exposed to communication technologies in caring for adolescents with mental health issues.…”

Challenges in a Technology-Based Cancer Pain Management Program Among Asian American Breast Cancer Survivors

“…First, the most frequently reported challenge in technology-based interventions is that participants must be able to use the technology involved in the intervention, and because of this, participants are more likely to be a select group of people. [9][10][11][12] For instance, participants tended to be highly educated Caucasians, even when they were recruited from rural areas or as older adults. In this study, all participants needed the ability to use a computer and/or smart phone technology, which surely limited the sample population similar to previous studies.…”

“…29,30 Thus, the validity and reliability of the data depend mainly on participants' desire to use and accept the technology. 31 In addition, low retention rates for technology-based interventions were frequently reported, [9][10][11][12] I because the participants simply did not finish the intervention, 32 could easily drop out of the study without consequences, 33 and/or did not feel comfortable about using technology (although they were willing to use). 34 In this study, the same issues related to low recruitment and retention rates were identified among Asian American survivors of breast cancer.…”