Evaluation of the Invest in Play Program - a New Parent Intervention for Children With Problem Behavior

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF TROMSO · May 19, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying a new program called "Invest in Play" (iiP) designed to help parents of children aged 6 to 12 who are experiencing problem behaviors, such as being disruptive or having trouble paying attention. The goal of the program is to see if it can reduce these challenging behaviors in children and improve parenting skills. Families will be randomly divided into two groups: one will participate in the iiP program, and the other will not. Researchers will gather information from both groups through surveys before and after the program to see if the iiP helps.

To be eligible for this trial, parents need to have children who are referred for treatment of behavioral problems and whose behaviors are considered more challenging than most children, based on a specific screening tool. However, children with severe developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, or those who cannot understand Norwegian are not eligible to participate. This program is not currently recruiting participants, but it aims to provide valuable insights into how parents can better support their children’s behavior.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Parents of children between 6-12 years of age referred to out-patient clinics for treatment of behavioural problems.
• • Children scoring above a pre-defined mean cut off score (over the 90 percentile) on the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI; Eyberg \& Ross, 1978) based on Norwegian norms (Reedtz et al., 2008), as reported by parents.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • - Severe developmental delay (in children or parents), autism spectrum disorder, inability to understand Norwegian, or other reasons why the parent(s) are not expected to benefit from group therapy.