A Self-compassion Intervention for Parents of Children With Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

NCT04717284 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 169973
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 159
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Parenting a child with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) can understandably be challenging and distressing at times. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the effectiveness of an online self-compassion intervention (SCI), that focuses on helping individuals respond to themselves in a kinder and more accepting way, for parents of children with IBD. Around 150 parents of children with IBD will be randomly allocated to receive either the online SCI or a control condition. This will involve an initial administration and a two-week follow-up period. Participants will complete outcome measures of self-compassion, distress and shame at three time points. We hypothesise that, in comparison to a control group, participants receiving the online SCI will: (1) report increased state self-compassion and reduced state shame and distress immediately following the SCI; and (2) report increased trait self-compassion and reduced parental stress after repeated engagement in the SCI materials for two weeks. Through understanding the effectiveness of an online SCI for parents of children with IBD, we hope that our research will help to inform and improve parental support offered to parents of children with IBD.

Conditions

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Keywords

Self-compassion; Parental support; Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• State self-compassion.

  Five items developed and used by a similar study based on previous research will be used to assess state self-compassion. Participants will use a 7-point Likert scale to rate how they feel 'right now' on items corresponding to the three components of self-compassion: self-kindness; common humanity; and mindfulness. A total score is generated by reversing negative items and calculating a mean of all item scores. The minimum score is 1 and the maximum score is 7. A higher total score indicates greater state self-compassion.

  Immediately after the initial administration of the self-compassion intervention (SCI) or control condition (Time 2).

• State shame and distress.

  Fourteen items from the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Expanded Form (PANAS-X) that make up two subscales of guilt and negative affect will be used to assess state shame and distress respectively. Participants will be asked to use a 5-point Likert scale to rate what extent they are experiencing feelings related to shame and distress 'right now (that is, at the present moment)'. A total score for each subscale is calculated by summing the relevant item responses, with higher scores on each subscale indicating greater state shame and distress respectively. The guilt subscale used to assess state shame yields a minimum score of 6 and a maximum score of 30. The negative affect subscale used to assess distress yields a minimum score of 10 and a maximum score of 50.

  Immediately after the initial administration of the self-compassion intervention (SCI) or control condition (Time 2).

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Trait self-compassion.

  After repeated engagement in the self-compassion intervention (SCI) or nothing for the control group for two weeks (Time 3).

• Parental stress.

  After repeated engagement in the self-compassion intervention (SCI) or nothing for the control group for two weeks (Time 3).

Study Arms (2)

Self-compassion intervention (SCI)

EXPERIMENTAL

Self-compassion prompt.

Other: Self-compassion intervention (SCI)

Control condition

OTHER

Neutral prompt during the initial administration and no intervention during the two-week follow-up.

Other: Control condition

Interventions

Self-compassion intervention (SCI) OTHER

All participants will be asked to recall a recent parenting event they feel ashamed of and type it into a text box provided. Participants in the SCI group will then be instructed to reflect on their recalled parenting event and prompted to think about and write about the event in a self-compassionate manner. The prompt is designed to induce on all of the three key elements of self-compassion described by Neff (2003a): self-kindness; common humanity; and mindfulness. The same instructions will be provided for follow-up period.

Self-compassion intervention (SCI)

Control condition OTHER

All participants will be asked to recall a recent parenting event they feel ashamed of and type it into a text box provided. Participants in the control group will then be instructed to make notes about factual information of the event (e.g. time of day, who was there, the weather, etc.). During the two-week follow-up period, participants in the control group will not take part in any intervention as part of the trial.

Control condition

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Parental responsibility stated.
• Children must be under 18 years old and residing with the parent.
• Children must be diagnosed with IBD.

You may not qualify if:

• \- Not able to read and write in English.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Sheffield: lead

Study Sites (1)

Clinical Psychology Unit, University of Sheffield

Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S1 2LT, United Kingdom

Location

Related Publications (6)

• Sirois FM, Bogels S, Emerson LM. Self-compassion Improves Parental Well-being in Response to Challenging Parenting Events. J Psychol. 2019;153(3):327-341. doi: 10.1080/00223980.2018.1523123. Epub 2018 Oct 30.

  PMID: 30376651 BACKGROUND

• Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. (1994). The PANAS-X: Manual for the positive and negative affect schedule - expanded form. The University of Iowa. https://www2.psychology.uiowa.edu/faculty/clark/panas-x.pdf

  BACKGROUND

• Breines JG, Chen S. Self-compassion increases self-improvement motivation. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2012 Sep;38(9):1133-43. doi: 10.1177/0146167212445599. Epub 2012 May 29.

  PMID: 22645164 BACKGROUND

• Neff, K. D. (2003). The development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion. Self and Identity, 2(3), 223-250. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860309027

  BACKGROUND

• Streisand R, Braniecki S, Tercyak KP, Kazak AE. Childhood illness-related parenting stress: the pediatric inventory for parents. J Pediatr Psychol. 2001 Apr-May;26(3):155-62. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/26.3.155.

  PMID: 11259517 BACKGROUND

• Neff, K. D. (2003). Self-compassion: An alternative conceptualization of a healthy attitude toward oneself. Self and Identity, 2(2), 85-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860309032

  BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Gastroenteritis; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Digestive System Diseases; Intestinal Diseases

Study Officials

• A Wray

  University of Sheffield

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 7, 2020
• First Posted: January 22, 2021
• Study Start: April 20, 2021
• Primary Completion: December 11, 2021
• Study Completion: December 11, 2021
• Last Updated: April 28, 2022

Record last verified: 2021-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Time Frame: Data to be deposited in ORDA and Unidrive after completion of the research project (by September 2022). This will be temporarily embargoed, until the research has been published. Whilst embargoed, contact details will be provided for others to request access if appropriate.
• Access Criteria: Whilst data is embargoed prior to publication, contact details will be provided for others to request access if appropriate. Following publication, access to this data will not be restricted.

Locations

GB (1)