Supporting Parent and Child Engagement - SPACE Parenting Program

Detailed Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic and measures aimed at reducing the spread of the virus have created unique challenges and stresses for Canadian families. Balancing work, family, and daily life has become extremely difficult for many families. Economic uncertainty is widespread as many parents are dealing with increased demands such as working from home, running the household, and homeschooling and caring for their children without the support of their social networks. Recent findings from a study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young families conducted by our lab found that parents reported increased levels of stress, difficulties in following through with their parenting duties, and challenges managing their children's behaviour. Accessible programs are urgently needed to help parents cultivate supportive family relationships during and in recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as physical distancing and public health requirements have further decreased the accessibility of existing programming. The proposed research aims to test the relative value of multiple light-touch parenting supports (developed through the REB-approved BRIDGE program, NCT04347707 and NCT04639557) in a 2-arm randomized control trial including behaviour management and emotion-focused strategies delivered through psychoeducational parenting videos, structured family activities, and an online parenting support group. The investigators plan to evaluate the efficacy of this program at reducing parenting stress (primary outcome) and promoting family well-being (secondary outcomes).

Study Details

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Interventions