Supporting Parents and Kids Through Lockdown Experiences: A Parallel Randomised Controlled Trial of a Digital Parenting Support App Implemented in the General Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2021

During the COVID-19 lockdown, families faced numerous challenges, including extended joint confinement, isolation, increased demands on parents, and financial worries. Co-SPACE, a study tracking changes in families' mental health, found a rise in behavior problems among children, causing stress for parents. Many parents expressed a need for additional support, preferably in digital form. These problems are likely to persist and increase as the pandemic continues, affecting schools and children's services. To address this, the SPARKLE project developed the Parent Positive app, featuring animated videos and practical tips on managing children's behavior. The study involved 616 Co-SPACE parents testing the app's effect on children's behavior. Positive results would lead to wider availability of the app through collaboration with public health and education authorities. The archived data is from three timepoints of 646 families involved in the SPARKLE trial.