Diagnosed in 10-15% of children worldwide, childhood mental illness \[MI\] remains a prominent public health concern. Early exposure to maternal depression is a notable risk factor for the development of childhood MI. Maternal depression is most common in the first few years following childbirth, and clinically significant depressive symptoms are on the rise, with recent estimates at 26.9% for mothers worldwide. This increase highlights the current and critical need for interventions to address maternal depression and the prevention of childhood MI concurrently.
To simultaneously address maternal and child MI, the Building Regulation in Dual Generations (BRIDGE) group-based intervention was created. BRIDGE aims to increase intergenerational emotion regulation by pairing Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) skills training with a theoretically aligned parenting skills program. DBT has been shown to be a propitious transdiagnostic treatment for underlying mechanisms of psychopathology, including emotion regulation difficulties common in depression, anxiety, and traumatic stress.
Developmentally supportive parenting requires mothers to have the ability to regulate emotions effectively; in so doing, a mother can simultaneously limit over-reactive responses within themselves and towards their child, as well as teach their child about emotions. These objectives map nicely to the skills being learned in DBT. Within BRIDGE, the aligned parenting content also includes best-practice behaviour management training techniques, such as creating positive family routines and using positive reinforcement, framed within the context of DBT skills. The integration of DBT with parenting programs in BRIDGE is a promising approach for addressing intergenerational needs.
The current study will expand on previous evaluations of BRIDGE by conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing (1) BRIDGE (DBT skills training + Parenting Skills), (2) DBT (DBT skills training only), and (3) services as usual (SAU). Our primary aim is to examine the effects of BRIDGE on maternal depression and child MI symptoms. We hypothesize that participants who receive the BRIDGE and DBT interventions will report fewer depressive symptoms than participants in the SAU group. Participants who receive the BRIDGE intervention are hypothesized to report fewer child MI symptoms than those in the DBT and SAU groups.
A secondary aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of BRIDGE in reducing parenting stress and harsh parenting. Participants who receive the BRIDGE intervention are hypothesized to show lower levels of parenting stress and harsh parenting than those in the DBT and SAU groups.
Interim analyses of primary and secondary outcomes will be conducted at the mid-way point of the RCT, when approximately 90 participants have completed the post-intervention questionnaires (T2). Minor changes in intervention delivery (e.g., offering optional in-person group therapy, updating DBT homework, changing video production) may be made based on results from interim analyses. Any changes to intervention delivery will be documented in a protocol deviation document.
Additional aims of the RCT are to examine the effects of BRIDGE and DBT on family relationships, other service use (e.g., hospital visits, interactions with police), and maternal psychopathology symptoms. The investigators hypothesize that mothers who receive the BRIDGE or DBT intervention will report lower psychopathology symptoms, reduced service use, and improved family relationship quality. The investigators will also assess participants' engagement in each intervention.
Exploratory outcomes of observed maternal sensitivity and child emotion regulation will also be examined via remote Zoom assessments. The investigators hypothesize that mothers in the BRIDGE group will show greater maternal sensitivity and that their children will demonstrate improved emotion regulation, more than those in the DBT or SAU groups.
Additional exploratory outcomes will come from physiological feedback and coparent participation. Physiological indices of wellbeing (e.g., sleep and daily activity) will be measured via Fitbits that mothers will wear during the program. The investigators hypothesize that participants who receive the BRIDGE or DBT interventions will display improved sleep quality and reduced sedentary behaviour.
The investigators will invite participants' co-parents to complete questionnaires on their own mental health and family relationships. Inviting co-parents to complete questionnaires during this trial is exploratory and will allow us to evaluate the feasibility of including assessments of co-parents in future trials. The investigators hypothesize that some spill-over effects of the BRIDGE and DBT interventions may occur, such that co-parents of participants in either intervention group will show fewer MI symptoms and improved family relationship quality.
