Recruiting

Intervention Program

Sponsor:

Arizona State University

Code:

NCT07816445

Conditions

Interparental Conflict

Child Mental Health

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Family COMPASS

Families in Transition (FIT)

Study Details

Brief summary:

This pilot study will evaluate a new intervention for parents who are separated or divorced and have been court ordered to participate in a program addressing interparental conflict. The intervention is designed to teach parents skills to reduce children's exposure to conflict between parents and support children's well-being. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the new intervention or an existing court-based program. The study will examine the feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness, and usability of the new intervention and its effects on interparental conflict, parents' use of protective skills, and children's mental health.

Conditions

Interparental Conflict

Child Mental Health

Study ID

NCT07816445

Start date

May 1, 2026

Status verified date

Aug, 2026

Completion date

Feb 1, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Feb 1, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18 years or older
  • Fluent in English
  • Court ordered to attend an intervention to reduce interparental conflict

Exclusion Criteria: None

Study Design

Enrollment

94 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Prevention

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Family COMPASS

Participants receive Family COMPASS, a four-session parenting intervention for parents experiencing high levels of interparental conflict following separation or divorce.

active comparator: Families in Transition (FIT)

Participants receive FIT, an existing 90-minute online parent education program designed to help separating or divorcing parents reduce interparental conflict and children's exposure to conflict.

Interventions

Family COMPASS

Family COMPASS (Conflict Management through Purposeful Awareness, Strategies, and Support) is a manualized, trauma-informed parenting intervention designed to reduce children's exposure to interparental conflict following parental separation or divorce. The intervention consists of four highly structured, approximately 30-minute sessions delivered virtually or in person by trained personnel. It focuses on strengthening parents' emotion regulation, communication, co-parenting, conflict management, and safety planning skills.

Families in Transition (FIT)

FIT is a 90-minute online parent education program developed by the Superior Court of Maricopa County in collaboration with the National Center for State Courts. The program includes four modules, a film, and interactive activities. It validates parents' difficult feelings toward their co-parent while emphasizing behavior change to protect children from interparental conflict. Content addresses the effects of interparental conflict on children, prioritizing children's needs, developing a child-focused vision for the future, and using practical strategies to reduce conflict behaviors.

Primary outcome measure

  • Child Anxiety Symptoms [ Time Frame: Baseline and 30 days after program completion ]
  • Child Depressive Symptoms [ Time Frame: Baseline and 30 days after program completion ]
  • Child Irritability/Anger [ Time Frame: Baseline and 30 days after program completion ]
  • Child Attention Problems [ Time Frame: Baseline and 30 days after program completion ]
  • Interparental Conflict [ Time Frame: Baseline and 30 days after program completion ]
  • Intervention Feasibility [ Time Frame: Approximately 30 days after program completion ]
  • Intervention Acceptability [ Time Frame: Approximately 30 days after program completion ]
  • Intervention Appropriateness [ Time Frame: Approximately 30 days after program completion ]
  • Intervention Usability [ Time Frame: Approximately 30 days after program completion ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Karey L O'Hara, PhD

480-727-6136klohara@asu.edu

Sharlene A Wolchik, PhD

wolchik@asu.edu

Locations

Arizona State University

Recruiting

Tempe, Arizona, United States, 85287

Contacts

Karey L O'Hara, PhD

480-727-3623klohara@asu.edu

More Information

Sponsor

Arizona State University

Last update posted

Sep 11, 2026

Last verified

Aug, 2026

Keywords

  • Parental Separation
  • Divorce
  • Interparental Conflict
  • Co-Parenting
  • Parent Education
  • Parenting Intervention
  • Children of Divorced Parents
  • Child Internalizing Problems
  • Child Externalizing Problems
  • Preventive Intervention
  • Family Court

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-12. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Arizona State University on 2026-09-11.