Multimedia Divorce Adjustment for Young Children

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application proposes development of KidCare for Young Children, an interactive, multimedia program intended to help young school-age children (six-to-eight years old) effectively adjust to their parents' divorce. The program is conceptualized as an extension to the larger KidCare suite, a NIDA-funded series of divorce-related multimedia education programs currently under development at lnflexxion. The program will contain a set of multimedia child-modules for independent use on the part of children, as well as a companion handbook for parents. The program will rely on interactive displacement scenarios, communication telegrams, and other developmentally appropriate psycho-educational strategies to help children acquire the information and skills associated with improved divorce adjustment. Phase I involved proof of concept research to demonstrate product feasibility. Phase II will involve production and usability testing of a fully functional KidCare for Young Children program, an acceptance test measuring satisfaction levels, and a field test comparing program efficacy relative to group-based and no-treatment controls. If proven effective, KidCare for Young Children will significantly enhance the accessibility of divorce-related programming to children and their families.