Evaluating a Parenting Support Program to Reduce Early Regulatory Difficulties in Infants and Support Families

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating a structured parenting support program designed for families with infants around 3 months old who experience early regulatory difficulties, such as excessive crying, feeding challenges, or sleep problems. The study aims to find out if this program can reduce parental stress, improve parental confidence, and lessen infants regulatory problems by the time the child reaches about 12 months old. Families are randomly assigned to either the parenting support program or usual care to compare outcomes. Participants in the intervention group attend one individual session and five group sessions led by trained psycho-educators, with two group sessions held in person and three online. They also receive access to a mobile app offering psycho-educational content focused on early regulatory issues and related topics like social support and partner relationships. The control group receives standard preventive child healthcare without the structured intervention but may get additional support if needed. Families complete questionnaires when the infant is about 3 to 4 months old baseline, around 6 months old post-intervention, and again at approximately 9 and 12 months for follow-up. Researchers measure changes in parental self-efficacy, parental stress, and infant regulatory problems using validated scales. This 12-month study involves ongoing assessments to monitor the impact of the program on both parents and infants over time.

Developing and Testing a Preventive Primary Care Parenting Intervention to Strengthen Parent-Infant Co-Regulation in Families Experiencing Early Regulatory Difficulties