# ConProject-002

> **NIH NIH R33** · CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA · 2024 · $548,725

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Postpartum depressive (PPD) symptoms are common among women following the birth of a child and can
adversely impact a mother's ability to care for her child. As a result, infants of mothers with PPD symptoms
may experience less responsive parenting, placing them at greater risk for delays in development. Evidence-
based parenting programs have been developed to guide mothers with caring for their infants but may not
address the impact of depression on parenting, are intensive and expensive to administer with limited ability for
scale up, or are not available in a format that facilitates participation by women with depressive symptoms.
Therefore, these women may not be able to take advantage of the benefits of parenting programs. Our long-
term goal is to develop effective parenting strategies to facilitate optimal child development for mothers
suffering with PPD symptoms. Our overall objective for this application is to study whether this program
combined with online depression treatment leads to more responsive parenting (target) and signals improved
child language, socioemotional and cognitive development (outcomes) compared to depression treatment
alone. The specific aims are 1) to determine whether a social media-based parenting program can improve
responsive parenting (target) among mothers with PPD symptoms, 2) to determine whether a social media-
based parenting program can improve responsive parenting (target) and signal greater child development
(outcome) among mothers with PPD symptoms, and 3) to explore mediators and moderators of the effects of
the parenting program on responsive parenting. The proposed study will occur at 3-4 primary care practices
affiliated with a large urban children's hospital and consist of 2 phases: an initial pilot RCT testing engagement
of the parenting program on responsive parenting (R61) and a subsequent RCT further testing engagement of
the program and exploring child development and mediators and moderators of treatment effect (R33). In the
first phase, 75 ethnically and racially diverse women who screen positive for PPD symptoms and have infants
<6 months of age will be randomized to receive the parenting program plus online depression treatment or
online depression treatment alone to assess target engagement. In the second phase, an additional 75 eligible
women will be randomized to receive the parenting program plus online depression treatment or depression
treatment alone. In this latter phase, we will further determine whether the parenting program effectively
engages the proposed target, responsive parenting, and signals greater child developmental status than the
online depression treatment program. In addition, we will explore mediators and moderators of treatment
effects on responsive parenting. The results of this application would be expected to contribute important new
knowledge and inform a future trial on parenting strategies to better assist mothers with PPD sympto...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10877890
- **Project number:** 5R33MH118405-05
- **Recipient organization:** CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA
- **Principal Investigator:** RHONDA C BOYD
- **Activity code:** R33 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $548,725
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-19 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10877890

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10877890, ConProject-002 (5R33MH118405-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10877890. Licensed CC0.

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