Anxious parents pass it on? new study tests smartphone fix
NCT ID NCT05665491
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at how parents' tendency to see threats in everyday situations (interpretation bias) may influence their children's anxiety. Researchers will have 300 parents of children aged 7-12 use a smartphone app for four weeks to practice thinking less anxiously. The goal is to see if changing parents' thinking improves parenting behaviors and reduces children's anxiety, paving the way for future treatments.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 300 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2023
- Expected to finish
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Nov 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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7 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion criteria for parent participants are: 1. Must have an ability to speak and understand English sufficiently to complete assessments 2. At least minimal anxiety severity (GAD-7 score \> 5) 3. At least a minimal level of interpretation bias (WSAP overall accuracy less than 70%) 4. No current psychiatric symptoms that would interfere with the individual's ability to provide consent or complete the research procedures 5. If receiving treatment, stable on medications or psychotherapy for 8 weeks 6. No severe suicidal ideation (PHQ-9 item 9 \> 1) 7. Own iOS or Android smartphone 8. Shared or full custody of child (for EMA assessment of parenting behaviors) Inclusion criteria for child participants are: 1. Age 7 to 12 2. Must have an ability to speak and understand English sufficiently to complete assessments 3. No diagnosis of intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder (per parent or clinician report) 4. No current psychiatric symptoms that would prevent informed consent or understanding of research procedures 5. Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) full-scale IQ equal to or greater than 80 to ensure understanding of study procedures 6. If receiving treatment, stable on medications or psychotherapy for 8 weeks 7. No severe suicidal ideation (PHQ-9 item 9 \> 1)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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McLean Hospital
RECRUITINGBelmont, Massachusetts, 02478, United States
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