Study of the New Beginnings Podcast to Support Parenting and Improve Childrens Mental Health in Divorced or Separated Families

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating if the New Beginnings Podcast can support children whose parents are going through divorce or separation. This study aims to find out whether parents find the podcast easy to use, helpful, and relevant, and whether listening to it improves childrens mental health, strengthens parent-child relationships, and reduces conflict between parents. The trial compares families using the podcast to those on a waitlist to assess its impact. Parents in the intervention group will listen to five podcast episodes over five weeks, with one episode per week. These episodes teach parenting skills that improve communication, reduce conflict exposure, and enhance relationships. Parents can adjust playback speed and their listening is tracked, but there are no financial incentives. Families in the waitlist group complete surveys and receive podcast access after the study or upon withdrawal. Participants will answer surveys about their experiences, parenting, family relationships, and their childs well-being at the start and after seven weeks. Researchers will measure how easy, acceptable, appropriate, and feasible the podcast is for parents. Child mental health symptoms and behaviors are also assessed using reports from both children and parents. The study includes 80 parent-child pairs and runs from August 2025 until December 2026.

The New Beginnings Podcast: Brief Audio Intervention for Parents From Divorced and Separated Families