Alison E. Parker, Ph.D. - US grants

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this grant proposal is to develop a web-based, audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (audio-CASI) software package for assessing emotion recognition skills in young children. A consistent relationship between emotional knowledge and social competence in children has been well-established. Early preventive interventions are needed to successfully alter maladaptive emotion knowledge skills. In fact, several evidence-based violence prevention and social skills intervention programs include training on emotional recognition skills. Despite these advances in the study of emotion recognition skills, there currently exists no standardized, normed measure of these skills with known psychometric properties for young children. Thus, mental health professionals and researchers do not have access to state-of-the-art measures to assess the effectiveness of their interventions or to establish intervention goals related to social cognitive functioning. The current proposal is designed to begin to fill these gaps by creating professional quality software and photographs to assess children's ability to accurately identify basic emotions in facial expressions. Phase I includes two basic sets of aims regarding product development and product feasibility testing. The product development aims include creating digital photographs of facial emotion expressions of happy, sad, angry, scared, surprise, disgust, and ambiguous with young children who vary by sex and race; designing assessment questions to reliably and validly assess emotion recognition skills; creating scoring algorithms for the measure; and developing attractive, user-friendly, developmentally and culturally appropriate web-based software that incorporates digital photographs, assessment items, and scoring algorithms. The product testing aims include piloting the web-based measure to determine feasibility, appropriateness, clarity, interest, and effectiveness; and to conduct quantitative analyses to begin to examine the initial psychometric properties of the measure. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Emotional knowledge plays a critical role in a child's development and should continue to be a standard part of pre-school, elementary, and middle school education. The creation and norming of an emotion recognition measure that can easily and quickly be administered and scored using a self-administered and web-based computer program will contribute to allowing for more universal and standardized screening of children's emotional knowledge. The proposed tool will allow teachers, clinicians, and other professionals to measure the effects of curricula, preventive interventions, and treatment programs as well as provide a normed measure for use in assessing a child's emotional knowledge and understanding. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed project will create and evaluate the feasibility of a mindfulness substance abuse prevention for late elementary school-aged children, called MasterMind. Children will participate in activities focused on the foundations of mindfulness (e.g., awareness of thoughts) and these activities will be comprised of mindful movements and mindful journeys (e.g., meditation). Additionally, children will learn how to apply the mindfulness skills to their everyday lives. The main objective will be to develop an evidence-based, easy-to-use program for teachers to enhance children's mindfulness skills which should, in turn, positively influence children's social and emotional skills, and reduce their intentions to use substances in the future. In Phase I of the project, the overall program will be developed with input from both mindfulness and teacher consultants. Elementary school teachers and children will participate in separate activity meetings to preview the twenty lessons and provide feedback on the program. Teachers will also be recruited to complete a web- based survey assessing the feasibility of implementing the MasterMind curriculum into their daily teaching schedules. Finally, a feasibility study of the revised and finalized program will be conducted in two elementary school classrooms. Teachers'and students'responses to pre- and post-test questionnaires and input on the feasibility of the program will be obtained. Pending the results of the pilot program, Phase II will involve revising the program and evaluating its effectiveness in a randomized controlled trial for teaching children mindfulness skills that will influence their coping and regulatory behaviors, thereby reducing their intentions to use alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Mindfulness-based preventive interventions have been found to be associated with reductions in alcohol and drug use, anxiety, and negative affect and increases in attention and self-awareness. The purpose of this project is to (1) develop the prototype for a mindfulness-based curriculum and (2) evaluate the feasibility of the program. The proposed program will be designed as an easy-to use, attractive, research-based preventive intervention program to be taught by late elementary school teachers to their students that utilizes active learning methods. This project will result in the development of a commercially available, empirically-tested educational tool that can be used in elementary school settings and community-based programs.

Adolescents with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) are at risk for substance use and abuse. Given the dearth of Interventions designed specifically for adolescents with FASD, there exists a need for evidence-based preventive intervention programs for this population. Thus, the goal of the proposed Phase II application is to complete product development and evaluate the effectiveness of the Aware Program, an online mindfulness-based substance abuse prevention program for adolescents with FASD. The program content and format of the Aware Program address the unique challenges that exist for providing adolescents with FASD the skills needed to control their feelings and behaviors in order to make healthy decisions. The final Aware Program will include four courses, each representing the foundations of mindfulness (awareness of body, feelings, thoughts, and relationships). In Phase I, the technical feasibility of the first course (Take 3) was established, providing support for the continued development of the Aware Program In Phase II. In Year 1, the three courses will be developed and feasibility will be examined in one-to-one evaluations with adolescents with FASD. In Year 2, a randomized controlled trial will be conducted in order to evaluate the efficacy of the Aware Program.

Abstract The purpose of this grant proposal is to create and evaluate the feasibility of a mindfulness-based coping program for adolescents in high school. Many adolescents experience school-related stress on a daily basis, especially those students making the transition from middle school to high school. Because some high school students lack the necessary coping skills to effectively deal with stress, they are in need of new ways to manage their daily lives. Mindfulness training is one possible avenue to build youth's coping repertoires. Emerging research in mindfulness with youth has revealed a range of benefits including improvements in self-regulatory abilities and effective stress responses and decreases in anxiety and externalizing behaviors. Training in mindfulness may provide adolescents with new ways to cope with stress, thereby preventing the development of future health illnesses and diseases. However, no evidence-based programs currently exist that utilize mindfulness as a tool to teach adolescents effective coping skills that may later reduce their stress, as well as physical health problems related to stress. Therefore, the aim of the proposed project is to begin to fill this gap by developing and determining the feasibility of a universal, innovative, developmentally-appropriate, evidence-based mindfulness program for use with high school students. The program will educate the students daily about the impact of stress on the mind and body, as well as new ways to cope with everyday stressors. As part of the mindfulness coping program, adolescents will participate in teacher-led activities focused on the foundations of mindfulness and these activities will be comprised of mindful breathing, mindful movements, and mindful journeys. Additionally, adolescents will learn how to apply the mindfulness skills to their everyday lives, as well as how academic and social stressors may negatively influence their bodies and mind. Students will also be able to access online resources via the program's website to continue their daily practice at home. In Phase I of the project, the program will be developed with input from mindfulness, yoga, stress and coping, adolescent health, as well as technical (e.g., e-learning) and high school teacher consultants. High school teachers and students will participate in separate focus groups to preview the lessons and provide feedback on the program. Then, a feasibility study of the revised and finalized program will be conducted in six high school classrooms (3 intervention and 3 wait-list control) to evaluate the feasibility of the procedures and program. Teachers' and students' responses to pre- and post-test questionnaires and input on the feasibility of the program will be obtained. Pending Phase I results, Phase II will involve completion of the program and website; creation of a mobile messaging system to provide mobile health messages specific to mindfulness to youth participating in the program; development and evaluation of online booster sessions (3 months follow- up to program); design and implementation of a full-scale RCT to evaluate the effectiveness of the mindfulness- based coping program.

ABSTRACT Early detection of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders is vital to prevent ongoing impairment and provide effective treatment services. Pediatricians report the need for standardized, easily deployed, accessible, and automatically scored mobile screening measures for completion by parents in waiting rooms prior to commencing office visits in pediatric primary care settings. Consistent use of developmentally appropriate, psychometrically strong screening questionnaires can improve rates of early detection and access to services which has important public health implications for children?s overall health and well-being. Currently, there are no mobile software applications containing screening questionnaires that can be accessed on multiple platforms by parents in a pediatrician?s waiting room where the results can be immediately and automatically provided to pediatricians for use during the office visit. The proposed App and website are designed to fill that gap in software services. This application was designed in response to the PHS 2017-2, Omnibus Solicitation for SBIR/STTR Grant Applications requested by CDC?s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) to create a ?(2) Technology-Assisted In-Office Screening for Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in Pediatric Practices.? The aim of the project is to develop and determine the feasibility of an innovative mobile application (App) and website that can be used by parents, office staff, and pediatricians during pediatric office visits to screen for mental, emotional, and behavior disorders. The software system will be designed based upon consultation with end-users to be able to include a library of reliable and valid parent-report screening questionnaires accessible on tablets and smartphones that can be completed in a pediatrician?s waiting room. Item responses will be immediately transmitted to the web application, where they will be automatically scored so that the results will be accessible when needed by the pediatrician during the same office visit. In Phase I, the software application system will be developed with input from experts in the areas of pediatrics, neuropsychology, child clinical psychology, and child development. Interviews will first be conducted with pediatricians, office staff, and parents to learn more about the typical workflow during pediatric office visits and communication patterns between providers and families as well as gain input on the desired functionality and usability of the App and website. Once the prototype has been developed, parents, office staff, and pediatricians will participate in separate One-to One Evaluation Studies to examine the usability of the App and website. After any software errors or usability problems are addressed that were identified during the usability studies, a Feasibility Study will be conducted in pediatric offices to pilot the full functionality of the App during actual office visits with families. Physicians (N = 8), three parents per physician (N = 24), and office staff (N = 8) will be recruited to participate. Physicians and office staff will be interviewed and parents will complete questionnaires about their satisfaction and engagement with the App and website. A primary goal of Phase II will be to expand the functionality of the App, dashboard, and reporting features based upon input from parents, pediatricians, and office staff, as well as from feedback on the usability and functionality of the prototype from the research studies.

Project Abstract ? Much of this abstract has been revised There is a need for more pediatric clinical research to ensure that youth are receiving appropriate medications, treatments, and devices that have been tested with youth rather than adults. However, recruitment barriers exist for both youth and their parents including: not understanding the importance of clinical trials, fear of procedures, fear of the unknown in research, lack of knowledge about research procedures like informed consent and concerns around placebos, and worries about poor health outcomes. Adolescents are also more likely to be involved in the decision-making process along with their parents. Therefore, both adolescents and parents need resources to help them understand pediatric clinical research and procedures as well as to encourage high quality joint decision-making related to participation in research. This Fast Track application proposes to build upon the success of an earlier version of DigiKnowIt News (DKIN), a web-based resource to educate children (ages 8-11) about pediatric clinical research. We aim to fill the gap in available resources for adolescents by creating DigiKnowIt News ? Teen (DKIN: Teen), a developmentally appropriate web-based resource for youth ages 12-17, which will include an innovative section for parents and youth to practice communicating and joint decision-making. It is hypothesized that by using the resource, adolescents will report an increase in their knowledge, positive attitudes/beliefs, self-efficacy, and willingness to participate in clinical trials. Phase I will include creating a developmentally appropriate version of DKIN for adolescents using an iterative development process with feedback from youth and parent advisory panels as well as expert consultants and a feasibility study of the resource with a sample of adolescents (N=30), who will complete self- report measures about their knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy, as well as consumer satisfaction questionnaire to provide feedback on the resource. If DKIN-Teen is feasible, Phase II will include the creation of additional content specific to common procedures in pediatric clinical trials (e.g., sedation/anesthesia) as well as to create additional customization abilities for researchers to use the DKIN resources for study recruitment. DKIN: Teen will be optimized for use on computers, mobile devices, and tablets, and tested for Section 508 compliance, thus increasing the accessibility and usability of the web-based resource. Finally, the effectiveness of DKIN: Teen will be evaluated with a diverse group (race/ethnicity/gender/health status) of parent-adolescent pairs (N=180) for impacting youths? knowledge, attitudes/beliefs, self-efficacy, and willingness as well as enhancing parent-adolescent communication related to participating in clinical trials. Current methods of pediatric clinical trials recruitment are haphazard, time-consuming, frustrating, inefficient, and often result in less than ideal sample size needed for statistical analysis. This highly scalable, customizable product will be designed to increase the number of adolescents who are willing to participate in clinical studies, which is needed to improve the treatments for pediatric illnesses and disorders.