First-Time Parent Interactive Parenting Intervention

描述(由申请人提供)：生活贫困婴儿的父母出现一系列有害后果的风险大大增加，包括发展儿童行为问题、忽视和虐待儿童、儿童学习问题和父母滥用药物。研究发现，改善育儿实践的早期干预措施有效地改善了这些结果。然而，在有效提供精神卫生服务方面存在重大障碍，特别是在农村地区。由于缺乏训练有素的专业人员，农村家庭对精神卫生服务的需求正达到危机的程度。此外，互联网使用的迅速增长为人们交流和分享思想创造了一种新的途径。这两个趋势正在推动对心理健康服务和在线支持的需求。互联网项目可以是互动的，并提供来自同行和专业人士的社会支持。通过利用多媒体技术和软件的最新进展以及通过互联网的计算机网络的兴起，现在有机会为农村地区提供这种结果监测和远程联系。这项R34提案旨在调整和试行现有的经验证的育儿计划，通过互联网提供，并加强每周的专业接触。这一探索性研究项目将为3.5至7个月(注册时)婴儿的父母提供一台电脑、“眼球”电脑摄像头、互联网连接和为期6个月的技术培训/支持，以评估数字翻译。该系统将使家长教练能够用客观数据做出治疗决定，并从远程研究地点提供结果评估。使用实验设计，我们将评估互动式互联网家长培训干预相对于常规护理(控制)的影响。在俄勒冈州和堪萨斯州的农村地区从早期Head Start计划招募人员后，40个家庭将被随机分配到干预或计算机控制条件下。家长教练将每周打电话和发电子邮件，帮助家长使用电脑，并就该项目提出问题/关注。育儿实践将成为主要结果。建议的设计将为互联网育儿干预在影响育儿行为方面的可行性和有效性提供重要的实用信息。相关性：这一创新的基于互联网的互动家长教育干预将有助于促进婴儿的社会情绪发展和沟通技能，以减少患精神病的机会，并增加低收入家庭儿童的入学准备。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Parents of infants living in poverty are at significantly elevated risk of a host of detrimental outcomes, including the development of child behavior problems, neglect and abuse of children, child learning problems and parental substance abuse. Research has found that early interventions to improve parenting practices were effective to ameliorate these outcomes. Yet, there exist major obstacles to the effective delivery of mental health services, particularly in rural areas. The need of rural families for mental health services is reaching crisis proportions due to the dearth of trained professionals. In addition, the meteoric rise of Internet use has created a new avenue for people to communicate and share ideas. These two trends are helping fuel the demand for mental health services and on-line support. Internet programs can be interactive and provide social support from peers and professionals. Through the use of recent advances in multimedia technology and software as well as the rise of computer networking via the Internet, there now exists an opportunity to provide such monitoring of outcomes and remote contact for rural locations This R34 proposal aims to adapt and pilot test an existing empirically proven parenting program, for delivery via the Internet, enhanced with weekly professional contact. This exploratory research project will provide parents of infants 3.5 to 7 months (at enrollment) with a computer, "eyeball" computer camera, Internet connection, and technical training/support for 6 months to evaluate the digital translation. This system would enable Parent Coaches to make treatment decisions with objective data, as well as provide outcomes assessment from remote research sites. Using an experimental design we will evaluate the impact of the interactive Internet parent training intervention as compared to usual-care (control). After recruiting from Early Head Start program in rural Oregon and Kansas, 40 families will be randomized to either the intervention or computer-control conditions. Parent coaches will make weekly, phone calls and email to assist parents with the use of the computer and questions/concerns about the program. Parenting practices will serve as the primary outcome. The proposed design will provide important practical information about the feasibility and effectiveness of an Internet parenting intervention in effecting parenting behavior. Relevance: This innovative interactive Internet-based parent education intervention will help serve to promote the social-emotional development and communication skills of infants to decrease the chances of psychopathology and increase school readiness of children from low-income families.