JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Prevention of depression and anxiety disorders early in life is a global health priority. Evidence on risk and protective factors for youth internalizing disorders indicate that the family represents a strategic setting to target preventive efforts. Despite this evidence base, there is a lack of accessible, cost-effective preventive programs for parents of adolescents. To address this gap, we recently developed the Partners in Parenting program—an individually-tailored, web-based parenting program targeting evidence-based parenting risk and protective factors for adolescent depression and anxiety disorders. We previously reported the post-intervention outcomes of a single-blind parallel-group superiority randomized controlled trial (RCT), in which PiP was found to significantly improve self-reported parenting compared to an active-control condition (educational factsheets).

Objective:

This study evaluates the 12-month effects of the PiP program on parenting risk and protective factors and symptoms of adolescent depression and anxiety.

Methods:

Parents (n=359) and adolescents (n=332) were recruited primarily from secondary schools and completed online assessments of parenting and adolescent depression and anxiety symptoms at baseline, post-intervention (3 months later), and 12-month follow-up (n=317 parents, 287 adolescents). Parents in the PiP intervention condition received personalized feedback about their parenting and were recommended a series of up to nine interactive modules. Control group parents received access to five educational factsheets about adolescent development and mental health. Both groups received a weekly 5-minute phone call to encourage progress through their program.

Results:

Intervention group parents completed an average of 73.7% of their intended program. For the primary outcome of parent-reported parenting, the intervention group showed significantly greater improvement from baseline to 12-month follow-up compared to controls, with a medium effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.51; 95% CI 0.30, 0.72). No significant intervention effects were found for adolescent-reported parenting or adolescent depression or anxiety symptoms, although when transformed data was used, greater reduction in parent-reported adolescent depressive symptoms was observed in the intervention group (Cohen’s d = -0.21; 95% CI -0.42, -0.01). Both groups showed significant reductions in anxiety (both reporters) and depressive (parent-report) symptoms.

Conclusions:

PiP improved self-reported parenting up to 9-months post-intervention, but its effects on adolescent symptoms were inconclusive, and parent-reported changes were not perceived by adolescents. Nonetheless, given its scalability, PiP may be a useful low-cost, sustainable program to empower parents of adolescents. Clinical Trial: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (registration number ANZCTR12615000328572).