Mindful Parenting: A Pilot Study Leveraging Neuroscience and Technology to Promote Well-being and Child Development at Home

Last registered on April 03, 2015
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Mindful Parenting: A Pilot Study Leveraging Neuroscience and Technology to Promote Well-being and Child Development at Home
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000674
Initial registration date
April 03, 2015

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
April 03, 2015, 12:41 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Philip Oreopoulos
Affiliation
University of Toronto
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Susan Mayer
PI Affiliation
University of Chicago
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PI Name
Ariel Kalil
PI Affiliation
University of Chicago
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2015-06-15
End date
2015-12-31
Keywords
Education, Health, Welfare
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that programs aimed at increasing “mindfulness” are successful at reducing the cognitive demands of stress and increasing focus and attention. This pilot study applies this approach to improving parenting among disadvantaged families. In partnership with Chicago-based Head Start preschool centers, this pilot study will explore the feasibility of developing a technology-based mindfulness training intervention (i.e., with apps and videos) combined with behavioral devices such as reminders and goal-setting with the goal of improving executive function, and in turn the quality and quantity of time parents interact with their children and other parent and child outcomes. The results of the pilot work will be used to inform a large-scale RCT. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop a cost-effective scalable approach for fostering mindfulness in parents in order to foster children’s cognitive and non-cognitive development.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Kalil, Ariel, Susan Mayer and Philip Oreopoulos. 2015. "Mindful Parenting: A Pilot Study Leveraging Neuroscience and Technology to Promote Well-being and Child Development at Home." AEA RCT Registry. April 03. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.674-1.0
Former Citation
Kalil, Ariel, Susan Mayer and Philip Oreopoulos. 2015. "Mindful Parenting: A Pilot Study Leveraging Neuroscience and Technology to Promote Well-being and Child Development at Home." AEA RCT Registry. April 03. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/674/history/3990
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
For the treatment group the orientation will also introduce the idea of mindfulness and walk the parents though the tablet-based intervention. Treatment group parents will also be texted throughout a three-week period with reminders, tips, and encouragement for practicing mindfulness. The control group will also be given a tablet for three weeks with an unrelated task to accomplish using the tablet at home (reviewing apps on general health and nutrition). Control group parents will also be texted throughout the three-week period. Both treatment group and control group participants will be asked to wear a wristband that monitors heart rate and sleep quantity and stages of sleep.

Intervention Start Date
2015-06-15
Intervention End Date
2015-08-14

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Executive function measures
Heart rate
Sleep quality
Mental health from self-reported survey data
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Once we have a prototype of the mindfulness intervention, we will test it in a small-scale proof of concept experiment. We will select approximately 30 parent volunteers at our partner subsidized preschool location. All participants will receive an orientation that will include consent, agreeing to give access text for reminders, and a baseline survey to collect information on background characteristics, parental attitudes, and subjective well-being. Research subjects will have the tablets for 3 weeks. Parents who attend the orientation will receive a small gift for attending. Half of the parents who attend the orientation will be randomly assigned to the treatment group and receive the mindfulness protocol.

At the end of the three weeks parents will return the tablets. Parents will be asked to complete a brief survey and a brief assessment that measures executive function and fluid intelligence. The brief assessment will be administered on the iPad and will be delivered as a short set of puzzle tasks. Additionally, participants will be asked to participate in a brief exit interview to gather parent opinions of the intervention. Parents will receive another small gift for their participation in the study. We will extract data from the monitors, capturing data on heart rate and sleep.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Consecutively alternating assignment
Randomization Unit
Parent
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
30
Sample size: planned number of observations
30
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
15 treated, 15 control
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
NORC at the University of Chicago
IRB Approval Date
2015-03-18
IRB Approval Number
15.03.04
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials