Open trial of the Parent Behavior Change Intervention (PBC-I): Study protocol

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Adolescent Health
• Parent-Child Interaction

Background:

• Parents significantly influence adolescent health behaviors, but often lack training in effective communication strategies.
• Parent-adolescent communication about health behavior change is a critical, yet under-addressed, area.
• Existing interventions provide limited support for parents in guiding adolescent health choices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and test the Parent Behavior Change Intervention (PBC-I), a novel approach to enhance parent-adolescent conversations about health behavior change.
• To investigate if the PBC-I can reduce coercion and conflict in parent-adolescent interactions.
• To explore the potential of improved conversations to foster positive health behavior change in adolescents.

Main Methods:

• The study involved two phases: development of the PBC-I in a case series (N=12 dyads) and an open trial (N=36 dyads).
• Parents received six 50-min sessions of the PBC-I, while adolescents received a sleep intervention.
• Assessments before and after the intervention measured parental use of behavior change techniques, communication strategies, conflict levels, and adolescent motivation and sleep.

Main Results:

• The primary analysis will determine if postintervention parental use of behavior change techniques and positive communication strategies increased compared to preintervention levels.
• The study will examine if increased parental use of these strategies predicts improved parent-adolescent conversational behaviors.
• Further analysis will assess the impact on parent-adolescent conflict, adolescent motivation for change, and adolescent sleep quality.

Conclusions:

• This research offers an initial evaluation of the hypothesis that enhancing parent-adolescent conversations can positively impact adolescent health behaviors, specifically sleep.
• While sleep health is the focus, the findings are expected to have broader implications for adolescent health behavior change.
• The study underscores the importance of equipping parents with effective communication tools to support their children's well-being.