Recruiting

PMT with App

Sponsor:

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Code:

NCT07764536

Conditions

Disruptive Behavior Disorders

Conduct Disorder

Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 8 - 13

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Psychotherapy

Study Details

Brief summary:

Background:

Pediatric disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) are characterized by severe irritability, anger, and temper outbursts. The primary way to treat children with DBDs is parent management training (PMT). PMT teaches parents how to reward desired behaviors and not to reward undesired ones. Researchers want to find out if a smartphone app can help parents apply these skills more effectively.

Objective:

To test a smartphone app to enhance PMT.

Eligibility:

Children aged 8 to 13 years with DBDs. A parent or guardian is also needed.

Design:

Parents will have 12 weekly sessions of PMT. PMT teaches them how to manage their child s mood and behaviors. Parents will learn to actively ignore, praise, set limits, and handle temper outbursts. PMT can be either in person or via video. Sessions last 30 to 60 minutes. They will be video and audio recorded.

Parents will be divided into 2 groups. Only 1 group will download a smartphone app. The app helps parents practice PMT skills. It offers videos, a resource library, and alerts when a child may be at risk for various behaviors.

All parents will be prompted every day to answer questions about their child s mood and their own behavior. These will continue until 12 weeks after their last PMT session.

Children will also answer questions on their phone daily for 1 week at a time. They will do this on 3 different weeks, each about 2 months apart. They will also have check-ins by phone every 2 weeks for up to 6 months.

Parents will have follow-up calls 3, 6, and 12 months after they finish PMT.

Conditions

Disruptive Behavior Disorders

Conduct Disorder

Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Study ID

NCT07764536

Start date

Oct 8, 2026

Status verified date

Oct 1, 2026

Completion date

Dec 31, 2037

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2036

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 8 - 13

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:

Inclusion Criteria for Youth:

To be eligible to participate, an individual must be enrolled in the 01-M-0254 protocol. All screening will occur under 01-M-0254 and all inclusion criteria for youth and parent or guardian will be determined under the 01-M-0254 protocol. To be eligible to participate, an individual must meet all the following criteria:

  • Enrollment into protocol 01-M-0254 for screening purposes
  • Age 8-13 years (8 years 0 months through 13 years 11 months)
  • Parent/guardian and/or child reports irritability as a primary clinical concern. Specifically, compared to his/her peers, the child exhibits markedly increased reactivity to negative emotional stimuli that is manifest verbally or behaviorally. For example, the child responds to frustration with extended temper tantrums (inappropriate for age and/or precipitating event), verbal rages, and/or aggression toward people or property. This criterion is assessed based on the clinical interview conducted with parent/guardian and child after consenting into protocol 01-M-0254 for screening.
  • On the basis of record review and interviews with child and parent or guardian, the research team agrees that the child s response to his/her current treatment is no more than minimal (i.e., CGI-S of 3 or more). This criterion is assessed based on the clinical interview conducted with parent/guardian and child after consenting into protocol 01-M-0254 for screening.
  • Patients must be fluent in (speaking, reading) English after consenting into protocol 01-M-0254 as determined through clinical judgement.

--This study uses English-language manualized PMT. The PMT intervention materials, digital tool, therapist and rater training and supervision procedures, fidelity ratings, and outcome measures are currently available and validated only in English. Because psychotherapy relies on nuanced verbal exchange, use of translation or interpreters could alter treatment content, affect therapeutic alliance, compromise fidelity, and limit accurate clinical risk assessment. Enrolling non-English speakers can introduce a confound to our research objectives around feasibility, symptom and behavior change, and acceptability and fidelity. Restricting enrollment to English-speaking participants is therefore necessary to ensure participant safety and scientific validity in this trial. Critically, this eligibility criterion is based solely on the language requirements of the intervention and study procedures and is not intended to exclude participants on the basis of race or ethnicity or any other factors.
  • At least one parent or guardian of the minor subject must be willing to enroll in the protocol and have the cognitive ability to consent.
  • The minor subject must be able understand a written assent document as determined through clinical judgement, as well as be willing to sign a written assent document.

Inclusion Criteria for Parent or Guardian:

To be eligible to participate, an individual must be enrolled in the 01-M-0254 protocol. All screening will occur under 01-M-0254 and all inclusion criteria for youth and parent or guardian will be determined under the 01-M-0254 protocol. To be eligible to participate, an individual must meet all the following criteria:

  • Enrollment into 01-M-0254 for screening purposes
  • Parent or guardian of a child eligible for this protocol that can attend 12 PMT sessions and is willing to use the digital tool
  • Fluent in English after consenting into protocol 01-M-0254 as determined through clinical judgement
  • Ability of parent or guardian to understand the consent form and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

Exclusion Criteria for Youth:

All screening will occur under 01-M-0254 and all exclusion criteria for youth and parent or guardian will be determined under the 01-M-0254 protocol. Participants will be screened to exclude participants who would not be able to engage in psychotherapy. All individuals meeting any of the exclusion criteria at baseline will be excluded from participation.

  • Active major depressive disorder or history of psychosis, bipolar I disorder, Level 2 or 3 autism spectrum disorder, active severe substance use disorders (within the last month), have active suicidal intent or plan as detected on screening instruments
  • IQ < 70
  • Past or present medical or neurological condition, disease, disorder, genetic finding, or injury that, in the opinion of the Investigator, may significantly increase the potential risks of study participation, reduce or compromise a subject s ability to fully comply with all study requirements for the duration of the study or may compromise the integrity of the data.

Exclusion Criteria for Parent or Guardian:

All screening will occur under 01-M-0254 and all exclusion criteria for youth and parent or guardian will be determined under the 01-M-0254 protocol. Participants will be screened to exclude participants who would not be able to engage in psychotherapy. All individuals meeting any of the exclusion criteria at baseline will be excluded from participation.

  • IQ < 70 as assessed via a neuropsychological assessment or via assessment by trained clinical staff
  • Have any serious medical, mental health, or any condition that interferes with participation, such as active psychosis.
  • Current alcohol or substance use or dependence (excluding nicotine) within the past 3 months of sufficient magnitude to require independent, concurrent treatment intervention (e.g., antabuse or opiate treatment but not including self-help groups).

Study Design

Enrollment

200 participants

Anticipated

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

Children/adolescents with irritability

Children/adolescents with irritability

Parents/guardians of children/adolescents with irritability

Parents/guardians of children/adolescents with irritability

Interventions

Psychotherapy

Either parent management training alone or parent management training with a digital tool.

Primary outcome measure

  • Dropout in each arm of the trial [ Time Frame: By parent management training session 12 ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Locations

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

Recruiting

Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892

Contacts

NIH Clinical Center Office of Patient Recruitment (OPR)

800-411-1222ccopr@nih.gov

More Information

Sponsor

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Last update posted

Oct 5, 2026

Last verified

Oct 1, 2026

Keywords

  • Disruptive Behavior Disorders
  • Parent Management Training
  • Children
  • Parents
  • Digital tool
  • Irritability
  • Temper outbursts

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-10-06. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) on 2026-10-05. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.