Nonviolent Communication Plus Personalised E-message for Parents
Trial statusNot yet recruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age32-59
SponsorHong Kong Metropolitan University
About this trial
This pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) aims to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of combining a brief Nonviolent Communication (NVC) intervention with follow-up personalised AI-generated messages delivered daily via WhatsApp to improve child-parent relationships, parenting competence and family communication.
A total of 60 parents of middle school students experiencing difficulties in family communication or recurrent conflict with their children will be recruited in Hong Kong and randomly assigned (in a 1:1 allocation ratio) to an intervention group or an attention control group.
The intervention group will participate in two 2-hour NVC workshops, scheduled two weeks apart and delivered by the principal investigator, plus four weeks of personalised AI-generated NVC e-messages daily. The attention control group will receive weekly e-messages with healthy lifestyle tips for 6 weeks.
Assessments for participants will be conducted at baseline (T0), post-workshop (T1, after the second session/two weeks after T0), and 12 weeks after baseline (T2). A process evaluation featuring quantitative ratings and open-ended questions will be conducted to explore participants' perceived benefits and subjective experiences.
Eligibility criteria
This trial does not accept healthy volunteersQualifiers
1) parents aged 32-59 years with children attending middle school (approximately 12-17 years old) in Hong Kong;
2) scoring 3 or above in any item of the 3-item conflict subscale of the Network of Relationship Inventory (Furman & Buhrmester, 2009);
3) able to read Chinese and use a smartphone to receive WhatsApp messages;
4) willingness to attend a two-session NVC intervention in group format.
Disqualifiers
1) severe mental health problems requiring immediate specialist care or inability to provide informed consent.
Trial design
Design model
Parallel
Treatments tested in this trial
Healthy Lifestyle Tips
BehavioralThe attention control group will receive an information pamphlet that encourages them to maintain a healthy diet, engage in regular physical activity, and practice weight control. Participants will receive weekly WhatsApp messages about healthy lifestyle tips for 6 weeks.
Nonviolent Communication Intervention & Personalised E-messages
BehavioralThe intervention includes an introduction to NVC's four principles, the difference between observations and judgments, identifying and expressing feelings, taking responsibility for feelings and needs, and using positive action language when making requests. The intervention workshops will be offered in rolling monthly cycles for approximately three rounds over three months (two rounds will be online, and one will be face-to-face). Participants who miss the second session may attend an equivalent session in the second or third cycle. Between and following the sessions, participants will receive AI-generated, tailored messages via WhatsApp daily for four weeks that provide concise NVC tips and guide parents through NVC-style conversations with their adolescents.
Treatment groups
60 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groupsGroup A: NVC Intervention GroupExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Group B: Attention Control GroupActive comparator 1 intervention
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Recruitment rate
Recruitment rate is defined as the proportion of eligible or contacted candidates who actually agree to join the study (Number Enrolled / Number Eligible or Approached).
Time frame
Baseline (T0)2
Retention rate
Retention rate is defined as the percentage of randomised participants retained and assessed with valid primary outcome data.
Time frame
12-week assessment (T2, around 3 months after baseline)Secondary outcomes
1
Child-Parent Relationship
The Child-Parent Relationship Scale (CPRS-SF) is a 15-item scale for evaluating two dimensions of the relationship between parents and children: conflict and closeness. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ("strongly disagree") to 5 ("strongly agree"). Scores for closeness and conflict are calculated separately, with higher closeness scores indicating a stronger emotional bond and a supportive relationship between parents and children (Driscoll \& Pianta, 2011). Higher conflict scores indicate greater conflict between parents and children. The internal consistency reliabilities were adequate in a Chinese sample (Cronbach's alpha = 0.78 to 0.81) (Tan et al., 2023).
Time frame
Baseline (T0), Post-workshop assessment (T1, 2 weeks after T0), and 12-week assessment (T2, around 3 months after T0).2
Parenting Competence
The Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC) (Ngai et al., 2007) is a 17-item scale to measure parents' perceived competence in the parenting role. Each item is rated on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Higher scores indicate greater competence in parenting. Cronbach's alpha was 0.93 in a Chinese sample.
Time frame
Baseline (T0), Post-workshop assessment (T1, 2 weeks after T0), and 12-week assessment (T2, around 3 months after T0).3
Family function
The Family Communication Scale (FCS) is a 10-item scale used to measure family communication (Guo et al., 2021). Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 ("strongly disagree") to 5 ("strongly agree"). A higher total score (range 10-50) indicates a higher level of positive family communication. The Chinese version of FCS showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.91) and was stable over 1 month (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.69).
Time frame
Baseline (T0), Post-workshop assessment (T1, 2 weeks after T0), and 12-week assessment (T2, around 3 months after T0).4
Anxiety
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-7 scale is a 7-item instrument to assess anxiety symptoms in the past two weeks (Spitzer et al., 2006; Tong et al., 2016). Each item is scored from 0 to 3. The seven item scores are summed to yield a total score ranging from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety symptom severity.
Time frame
Baseline (T0), Post-workshop assessment (T1, 2 weeks after T0), and 12-week assessment (T2, around 3 months after T0).Other outcomes
1
Perceived Benefits
Evaluated through process evaluation metrics assessing perceived benefits, subjective changes in personal mental health, and happiness. Participants rate overall satisfaction on a 0-10 scale, with 0 indicating "very dissatisfied" and 10 indicating "very satisfied". Open-ended questions will also collect participants' comments and suggestions.
Time frame
Post-workshop assessment (T1) and 12-week assessment (T2, around 3 months after T0)Sponsors and contacts
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Source ClinicalTrials.gov
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