ADAPT: After Deployment Adaptive Parenting Tools

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this project is to strengthen family functioning and improve child outcomes in military families after deployment. To achieve this end, we will develop, evaluate, and disseminate ADAPT: After Deployment: Adaptive Parenting Tools, an online, interactive resource for military parents. Significance: ADAPT responds to the urgent parenting needs of veteran families who are at risk for depression, anxiety, substance abuse, mental illness, post-traumatic stress, and other maladies. ADAPT is founded on a well-validated theory-based approach, Parent Management Training, Oregon Model (PMTO). In Phase I, we will develop modules for understanding emotions and acquiring the skills for regulating emotions. Investigators: The Principal Investigators have extensive grant-management experience; project team members have years of experience in translational research involving media and Internet technologies. IRIS Media, a recipient of 12 Telly media awards, maintains an active parent-training product line. The project benefits from participation by scientists from the University of Minnesota's Department of Family Social Science, Oregon Social Learning Center, Department of Veteran Affairs, Department of Defense's National Center for Telehealth and Technology, and the Services University of the Health Sciences. Drs. Gerald Patterson, Marion Forgatch, and David DeGarmo, key developers of PMTO, will provide expert consultation. Innovation: This program is unique; ADAPT will be the first evidence-based Internet program providing skills training to military parents. By delivering this material over the Internet, access to this type of intervention will be greatly expanded and available to parents, therapists and organizations who serve military families. Approach: Program development includes focus groups, consultant input and review, and usability testing. To determine program feasibility, we will conduct a within-subjects, two-panel evaluation with at least 40 military parents. Benchmarks for success are clearly described. Environment: The necessary institutional support, equipment and physical resources are available to develop and disseminate the program. IRIS has a history of completing Phase I and Phase II SBIR projects and prides itself on its commitment to commercializing training interventions. IRIS Media enjoys close ties with the University of Oregon, Oregon Social Learning Center, and Oregon Research Institute. Commercialization: The Company's growth strategy is to build a line of media-based training products through capital investment and high performance on competitive grants. Capital investment to date has been from principals, collaborative investments with program authors, and reinvestment of revenues from product sales (see Commercialization Plan). All of IRIS Media's products are copyright protected by the laws of the United States (title 17, U. S. Code). Through continued funding and strategic partnerships, the Company plans to extend its product line and continue to benefit specialized, underserved populations. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The stress of military deployment to combat zones and subsequent re-integration can disrupt family functioning at home and lead to negative outcomes for children and parents that include depression, anxiety substance abuse, mental illness, and other maladies. Thus, the overarching goal of this project, ADAPT: After Deployment Adaptive Parenting Tools, is to develop an innovative, internet-based delivery format to address the unique needs of families of re-integrating service members.