Using AI-Assisted Parenting Guidance to Promote Early Childhood Development: A Randomized Experiment in Rural China

Last registered on April 14, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Using AI-Assisted Parenting Guidance to Promote Early Childhood Development: A Randomized Experiment in Rural China
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018272
Initial registration date
April 14, 2026

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 14, 2026, 9:56 AM EDT

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

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Primary Investigator

Name
Yaojiang Shi
Affiliation
Center for Experimental Economics in Education at Shaanxi Normal University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Ai Yue
PI Affiliation
Shaanxi Normal University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-04-01
End date
2026-06-30
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
Parenting; Early childhood development; China; RCT
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
While experimental evidence supports the effectiveness of parenting interventions, the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based parenting interventions on caregivers and children remains understudied. In this study, we aim to evaluate whether AI-assisted parenting guidance can improve caregivers’ parenting mental health, stress, and self-efficacy, as well as early childhood developmental outcomes in rural China. In a pre-existing center-based parenting program in rural China, we randomly assign 20 centers (over 1000 registered caregiver-child dyads) to treatment and control arms. In the treatment centers, caregivers are encouraged to use an AI application integrated with a comprehensive curriculum covering six domains on early childhood development: psychological development, nutrition and feeding, childcare, safety care, first aid for accidental injuries, and caregiver-child interaction and early reading. This curriculum can well complement the psychosocial stimulation services provided by the parenting centers. The control group receives standard parenting center services.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Shi, Yaojiang and Ai Yue. 2026. "Using AI-Assisted Parenting Guidance to Promote Early Childhood Development: A Randomized Experiment in Rural China." AEA RCT Registry. April 14. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18272-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2026-04-15
Intervention End Date
2026-06-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Caregiver's parenting stress measured using PSI-SF (Parenting Stress Index-Short Form), mental health measured using DASS-21 (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale), and parenting self-efficacy measured using PSOC (Parenting Sense of Competence)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Child social-emotional outcome measured by ASQ: SE, and language outcome measured by ASQ language sub-scale
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Randomized controlled trial
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization was conducted by computer using STATA 18.0 and the “minmax method” (Bruhn and McKenzie, 2009)
Randomization Unit
Pre-existing parenting center
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
At least 20 parenting centers
Sample size: planned number of observations
At least 1023 caregiver-child dyads
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
10 parenting centers in the treatment group; 10 in control group
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Shaanxi Normal University, Human Research Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2026-04-10
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan