Balancing Emotions and Electronics: A Pilot Intervention for Preschoolers

NCT07394166 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: P00052998
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study is testing a brief, virtual therapy for caregivers of preschool children. The goal is to reduce use of screen time to regulate young children's emotions and boredom, i.e. "regulatory screen use" (RSU). We expect that RSU negatively impacts young children's ability to cope with emotions and boredom. Thus, reducing RSU should improve children's self-regulation. The intervention will include three, 60-minute group sessions with caregivers, and remote data collection at three time points (pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up).

Conditions

Screen Media Use

Keywords

childhood; screen time; parenting; intervention; self-regulation; preschool

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Regulatory Screen Use (RSU)

  Caregiver reported frequency of using screen time and non-screen time strategies to regulate a child's emotions. For example, the caregiver is asked how frequently they use screens (e.g., iPad; smartphone) to help keep their child calm when they are expected to sit still (e.g., at a restaurant). Seven different situations/settings are assessed (e.g., sibling conflict; at church or doctor's office).

  Baseline; 1-month follow up (i.e., 1 month after the last workshop).

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Child self-regulation (BRIEF-Preschool)

  Baseline; 1-month follow up (i.e., 1 month after the last workshop).

• Parental Stress Scale

  Baseline; 1-month follow up (i.e., 1 month after the last workshop).

• Perceived Stress Scale

  Baseline; 1-month follow up (i.e., 1 month after the last workshop).

Other Outcomes (1)

• Acceptability of Workshop

  Immediately following the 3-session workshop.

Study Arms (1)

Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

3-session, virtual group therapy

Behavioral: Brief-RSU

Interventions

Brief-RSU BEHAVIORAL

Brief-RSU Intervention: The Brief-RSU intervention consists of three, 60-minute sessions, outlined in Table 1. Brief-RSU aims to reduce RSU while increasing adaptive caregiver tools. Treatment targets include: 1) psychoeducation, 2) scheduling screen time to consistent times, 3) "planning ahead" for times when RSU is likely to occur, and 4) teaching the RULER approach\[9, 10\] to strengthen caregiver socialization of child emotion regulation (replacement behavior).

Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 30 Months - 54 Months
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Caregiver endorses regulatory screen use
• Child age 30-54 months at enrollment
• English speaking

You may not qualify if:

• Intellectual disability or global developmental delay
• Autism spectrum disorder
• Child in the custody of DCF

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Boston Children's Hospital: lead

Study Sites (1)

Developmental Medicine

Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Self-Control

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Social Behavior; Behavior

Central Study Contacts

Virginia Peisch, PhD

CONTACT

617-355-0725; virginia.peisch@childrens.harvard.edu

Anne B Arnett, PhD

CONTACT

ArnettLab@childrens.harvard.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Instructor of Pediatrics

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 5, 2026
• First Posted: February 6, 2026
• Study Start: March 1, 2026
• Primary Completion: June 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 26, 2026
• Last Updated: March 18, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Locations

US (1)