Online Emotion Regulation and Parenting Program for Parents of Children Aged 2-6 Years

NCT07822841 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: UW 25-203
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an online emotion regulation and parenting program for parents of children aged 2-6 years. The program is designed to help parents better manage their emotions and respond more adaptively to their children's emotional and behavioral needs. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group. The study will examine whether the intervention reduces parents' emotion regulation difficulties, improves their acceptance of children's negative emotions and their perceived ability to respond adaptively, and improves children's socio-emotional and behavioral outcomes.

Conditions

Parent Emotion Regulation; Parenting; Child Socioemotional and Behavioral Outcomes

Keywords

Online Parenting Intervention; Parent Emotion Regulation; Emotion Socialization; Preschool Children; Socioemotional Development; Parenting Skills

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change From Baseline in Parent Emotion Regulation Difficulties Assessed by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-16 (DERS-16)

  Parent emotion regulation difficulties will be assessed using the 16-item Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16). Items are rated on a 5-point scale, with total scores ranging from 16 to 80. Higher scores indicate greater difficulties in emotion regulation. Change from baseline will be compared between the intervention and control groups.

  Baseline and 2 months after randomization

Study Arms (2)

Intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants assigned to this group will receive the online parent emotion regulation and parenting program. The program consists of eight brief online micro-learning sessions designed to support parents in managing their emotions and responding adaptively to their children's emotional and behavioral needs.

Behavioral: Online Parent Emotion Regulation and Parenting Program

Wait-list Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants assigned to this group will not receive the intervention during the initial study period and will be offered access to the online program after completion of the post-intervention assessment.

Interventions

Online Parent Emotion Regulation and Parenting Program BEHAVIORAL

An online parent-focused program consisting of eight brief micro-learning sessions. The program provides strategies to help parents manage their emotional responses, understand and accept their negative emotions, and respond more adaptively to children's emotional and behavioral needs. Each session lasts approximately 5-8 minutes and is delivered online.

Intervention group

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Parent aged 18 years or older
• A parent or primary caregiver of children aged 2-6 years
• Able to read and understand Chinese
• Willing to provide informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• Unable to provide informed consent.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Hong Kong: lead

Study Sites (1)

The University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

RECRUITING

Central Study Contacts

Liuzhi Hong

CONTACT

62366974; u3010946@connect.hku.hk

Patrick Ip

CONTACT

22554090; patricip@hku.hk

Study Design

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

Model Details: Participants will be randomly assigned to either the online parent emotion regulation and parenting program or a wait-list control group and will be followed over the same study period.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 10, 2026
• First Posted: September 16, 2026
• Study Start: September 15, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2027
• Last Updated: September 16, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

HK (1)