AI-based chatbot micro-intervention for parents: Meaningful engagement, learning, and efficacy

IntroductionMental health issues have been on the rise among children and adolescents, and digital parenting programs have shown promising outcomes. However, there is limited research on the potential efficacy of utilizing chatbots to promote parental skills. This study aimed to understand whether parents learn from a parenting chatbot micro intervention, to assess the overall efficacy of the intervention, and to explore the user characteristics of the participants, including parental busyness, assumptions about parenting, and qualitative engagement with the chatbot.MethodsA sample of 170 parents with at least one child between 2–11 years old were recruited. A randomized control trial was conducted. Participants in the experimental group accessed a 15-min intervention that taught how to utilize positive attention and praise to promote positive behaviors in their children, while the control group remained on a waiting list.ResultsResults showed that participants engaged with a brief AI-based chatbot intervention and were able to learn effective praising skills. Although scores moved in the expected direction, there were no significant differences by condition in the praising knowledge reported by parents, perceived changes in disruptive behaviors, or parenting self-efficacy, from pre-intervention to 24-hour follow-up.DiscussionThe results provided insight to understand how parents engaged with the chatbot and suggests that, in general, brief, self-guided, digital interventions can promote learning in parents. It is possible that a higher dose of intervention may be needed to obtain a therapeutic change in parents. Further research implications on chatbots for parenting skills are discussed

Disseminating online parenting resources through community-academic partnerships

Aims: This community-engaged study aimed to understand effective strategies for disseminating online parenting resources (OPRs) in schools. Method: OPRs were disseminated through seven E-Parenting tips and eight Facebook posts. Results: Facebook posts were viewed a total of 12,404 times, and each post reached an average of 505 people each month. Average engagement rate was 2.41% per post. E-Parenting tips yielded 1514 total clicks, and the average clicks per message was 216.29. E-Parenting tips related to internalizing problems (e.g., anxiety, depression) had a higher click rate than E-Parenting tips related to externalizing problems (e.g., oppositional behavior). Conclusions: OPRs disseminated through Facebook posts, and E-Parenting tips resulted in wide reach and engagement. Different media channels should be utilized to disseminate different OPRs to as many parents as possible