BackgroundDepression and anxiety disorders in young people are a global health concern. Parents have an important role in reducing the risk of these disorders, but cost-effective, evidence-based interventions for parents that can be widely disseminated are lacking.ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the postintervention effects of the Partners in Parenting (PiP) program on parenting risk and protective factors for adolescent depression and anxiety, and on adolescent depression and anxiety symptoms.MethodsA two-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted with 359 parent-adolescent dyads, recruited primarily through schools across Australia. Parents and adolescents were assessed at baseline and 3 months later (postintervention). Parents in the intervention condition received PiP, a tailored Web-based parenting intervention designed following Persuasive Systems Design (PSD) principles to target parenting factors associated with adolescents’ risk for depression and anxiety problems. PiP comprises a tailored feedback report highlighting each parent’s strengths and areas for improvement, followed by a set of interactive modules (up to nine) that is specifically recommended for the parent based on individually identified areas for improvement. Parents in the active-control condition received a standardized package of five Web-based factsheets about adolescent development and well-being. Parents in both conditions received a 5-min weekly call to encourage progress through their allocated program to completion. Both programs were delivered weekly via the trial website. The primary outcome measure at postintervention was parent-reported changes in parenting risk and protective factors, which were measured using the Parenting to Reduce Adolescent Depression and Anxiety Scale (PRADAS). Secondary outcome measures were the adolescent-report PRADAS, the parent- and child-report Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (depressive symptoms), and parent- and child-report Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (anxiety symptoms).ResultsParents in the intervention condition completed a mean of 73.7% of their intended personalized PiP program. A total of 318 parents (88.6%, 318/359) and 308 adolescents (92.8%, 308/332) completed the postintervention assessment. Attrition was handled using mixed model of repeated measures analysis of variance. As hypothesized, we found a significant condition-by-time interaction on the PRADAS, with a medium effect size, Cohen d=0.57, 95% CI 0.34-0.79. No significant differences between conditions were found at postintervention on any of the secondary outcome measures, with adolescent depressive (parent-report only) and anxiety (both parent- and adolescent-report) symptoms decreasing significantly from baseline to postintervention in both conditions.ConclusionsThe fully automated PiP intervention showed promising short-term effects on parenting behaviors that are associated with adolescents’ risk for depression and anxiety. Long-term follow-up is required to ascertain whether these effects translate into red...

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BackgroundPrevention of depression and anxiety disorders early in life is a global health priority. Evidence on risk and protective factors for youth internalizing disorders indicates that the family represents a strategic setting to target preventive efforts. Despite this evidence base, there is a lack of accessible, cost-effective preventive programs for parents of adolescents. To address this gap, we recently developed the Partners in Parenting (PiP) program—an individually tailored Web-based parenting program targeting evidence-based parenting risk and protective factors for adolescent depression and anxiety disorders. We previously reported the postintervention outcomes of a single-blinded parallel-group superiority randomized controlled trial (RCT) in which PiP was found to significantly improve self-reported parenting compared with an active-control condition (educational factsheets).ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the effects of the PiP program on parenting risk and protective factors and symptoms of adolescent depression and anxiety using data from the final assessment time point (12-month follow-up) of this RCT.MethodsParents (n=359) and adolescents (n=332) were recruited primarily from secondary schools and completed Web-based assessments of parenting and adolescent depression and anxiety symptoms at baseline, postintervention (3 months later), and 12-month follow-up (317 parents, 287 adolescents). Parents in the PiP intervention condition received personalized feedback about their parenting and were recommended a series of up to 9 interactive modules. Control group parents received access to 5 educational factsheets about adolescent development and mental health. Both groups received a weekly 5-min phone call to encourage progress through their program.ResultsIntervention group parents completed an average of 73.7% of their intended program. For the primary outcome of parent-reported parenting, the intervention group showed significantly greater improvement from baseline to 12-month follow-up compared with controls, with a medium effect size (Cohen d=0.51; 95% CI 0.30 to 0.72). When transformed data were used, greater reduction in parent-reported adolescent depressive symptoms was observed in the intervention group (Cohen d=−0.21; 95% CI −0.42 to −0.01). Mediation analyses revealed that these effects were mediated by improvements in parenting (indirect effect b=−0.08; 95% CI −0.16 to −0.01). No other significant intervention effects were found for adolescent-reported parenting or adolescent depression or anxiety symptoms. Both groups showed significant reductions in anxiety (both reporters) and depressive (parent reported) symptoms.ConclusionsPiP improved self-reported parenting for up to 9 months postintervention, but its effects on adolescent symptoms were less conclusive, and parent-reported changes were not perceived by adolescents. Nonetheless, given its scalability, PiP may be a useful low-cost, sustainable program to empower parents of adolescents.Trial RegistrationAustralian Clinical Tria...

Shame proneness (i.e., experiencing shame in a trait-like manner) and internalizing shame coping styles (e.g., withdrawing/ attacking one's self when feeling shame) predict distress, psychopathology, and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among emerging adults. Parental invalidation is instrumental in the development of both maladaptive shame and NSSI. In this study, we proposed that shame proneness and internalized shame coping would link perceived parental invalidation and psychological distress to NSSI functions among emerging adults. A sample of 384 Australian emerging adults with a history of NSSI (M age ¼ 20.7 years, SD ¼ 2.25; 81.3% female, 61.2% Caucasian) completed online self-reports assessing the relevant constructs. Hypothesized indirect effects through shame proneness and internalized shame coping were supported when participants reported using NSSI for intrapersonal (e.g., self-punishment), but not interpersonal (e.g., signaling autonomy), functions. Findings advance theories on why some young people engage in NSSI and implicate perceived parental invalidation and shame as potential clinical targets for NSSI. warranting further research.