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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04839861

Examining the Impacts of Parent-Child Interactive Activities

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the effects of online and offline play of games on the Mightier game platform, in comparison to the effects of Mightier online play alone.

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Key information

Conditions

Emotional Regulation Behavior Self-Control Social Behavior

Age range

6 year–12 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Neuromotion Labs

Boston, Massachusetts, 02111, United States

About this study

Mightier is a mobile app-based biofeedback video game platform that facilitates emotion regulation skill-building among children ages 6-14. The technology behind Mightier's mobile app has been validated in two independent sham-controlled randomized controlled trials, where the investigators have seen decreases in clinical symptoms of aggression and disruptive behaviors, as well as lowered family stress without adverse events.

Mightier will soon introduce offline Mightier Family Games to its product line. Mightier Family Games will include offline, interactive components that have not previously been incorporated into Mightier play. Studies have shown that improvements in child behavior and child-parent relationships are among the many benefits of family play.

For the proposed study, families with no prior Mightier exposure will engage in different types of Mightier play for six weeks, to demonstrate the effects of online and offline Mightier play in comparison to the effects of Mightier online play alone. Mightier will recruit families through social media, then Mightier will randomly assign participants to one of two groups: a Mightier online play only group, and a Mightier online and offline play group. The investigators will aim to enroll 20 participants in each group.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 6-12 at the time of screening
  • Regular access to WiFi (for Mightier gameplay device connection)

Exclusion criteria

  • Prior Mightier use
  • Diagnosed Intellectual Disability (by history)
  • Planned medication changes during the 6-week study period

Treatment and study plan

Mightier Family Games

Behavioral

Mightier Family Games includes five offline card games that can be played by two or more people. During card game play, one player wears the Mightier heart rate monitor, and can see a representation of their heart rate on a separate screen within the Mightier app. Each game includes elements that are tied to heart rate.

Mightier online gameplay

Behavioral

Mightier is a video-game-based biofeedback intervention that capitalizes on children's love of video games to increase emotional awareness and facilitate emotion regulation practice through heart rate (HR) control. Each family receives a Mightier Kit (Mighty Band heart rate monitor, dedicated Mightier tablet unless the family prefers to use their own device) and the Mightier App. Children wear a "Mighty Band" heart rate monitor on their arm while they play any one of 26+ games. As their heart rate rises the games become more difficult. For example, during a cooking game, smoke may appear on the screen and obscure the player's view. Children can either opt into an explicit cool down activity (deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, crossing the midline, or visualization) or cool down on their own.

Other names: Mightier

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in child irritability from baseline measured on ARI-P at Week 7

    Time frame: Baseline and Week 7

    Affective Reactivity Index-Parent Report (ARI-P): The ARI is a 7-item scale that consists of 6 symptom items and 1 impairment item. The scale was designed to determine irritable mood rather than behavioral consequences such as hostility and acts of aggression (Stringaris et al., 2012). The individual items are scored 0,1, 2, and only the first six items are summed to form the total score, with a minimum score of 0 and a maximum score of 18, and higher scores indicating greater severity of irritability symptoms. The seventh item is an impairment item and it is analysed separately, with a minimum score of 0 and a maximum score of 3, and higher scores indicating greater irritability symptom severity.

  2. Change in child-parent relationship from baseline measured on CPRS-SF at Week 7

    Time frame: Baseline and Week 7

    Child-Parent Relationship Scale (CPRS-SF): The CPRS-SF is a 15- item The CPRS (Pianta, 1992) is a self-report instrument completed by parents that assesses their perceptions of their relationship with their child. The 15 items are rated on 5-point Likert scales. It is applicable to children ages 3-12. The CPRS-SF is scored in two subscales: an 8-item Conflict subscale (minimum score = 8, maximum score = 40, higher score indicates greater conflict), and a 7-item Closeness subscale (minimum score = 7, maximum score = 35, with greater score indicating greater closeness).

  3. Parent perception of change in child emotion regulation from baseline measured on GIS at Week 7

    Time frame: Week 7

    Global Improvement Scale (GIS): The GIS is a parent self-report question that asks parents if they have noticed any overall improvements in their child's emotion regulation, with response options ranging from (1) very much improved to (7) very much worse. Minimum score = 1, Maximum score = 7, with higher numbers indicating less improvement, or worsening. The GIS has not been scientifically validated.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Neuromotion Labs

Industry

Registry information

Official study title

Examining the Impacts of Parent-Child Interactive Activities as an Adjunct to Mightier Play

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2021
Study completion
2021
First posted
Apr 9, 2021
Registry last updated
Oct 20, 2021

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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