Parent Preferences for Peer Connection in Virtual Mental Health and Parenting Support Platforms

Abstract

Peer connections can be integrated in online and app-based (eHealth) family mental health and parenting programs through forums/chats or video group sessions. Little is known about parental preferences regarding eHealth features, yet they could be key factors influencing uptake and utility of programs. Accordingly, the present study aims to examine parent preferences for connecting with other parents in eHealth programs. Parents (n = 177) of 0–5-year-old children in the United States were recruited on MTurk. Parents were asked about peer connection preferences through questions framed around how and with whom they would like to connect when using a virtual mental health and parenting support platform. Most (86.4%) preferred connecting with other parents in an eHealth program with 73.2% preferring to connect anonymously. If using a forum, 45.5% of mothers were comfortable connecting only with other mothers whereas 54.5% were comfortable connecting with parents of any gender; 80.3% of fathers were comfortable connecting with all parents. Results were similar for videoconferencing. Age, income, number of children, recent stressful events, social support, mental health symptoms, and parenting stress did not predict any of these preferences. Our results suggest that integrating peer connection should be considered in developing parental eHealth programs as it may be in line with the preferences of most parents and programs that match user preferences have been shown to have higher enrollment and adherence. These preferences should be further studied with community samples and diverse participants to strengthen confidence in the findings and properly inform program development.