Authors: (including presenting author): :
Wong OWH (1), Ho CSW (2), Chan SSM (1), Wong EWY (1), Shea CKS (2), Leung PWL (3), So SHW (3), Ng FFY (4), Mo FYM (2)
Affiliation: :
(1) Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR (2) Department of Psychiatry, Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, Hong Kong SAR (3) Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR (4) Department of Educational Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
Keyword 1: :
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Keyword 2: :
Caregiver Stress
Keyword 3: :
Mental Health
Keyword 4: :
Mindful Parenting
Keyword 5: :
Mobile Phone Application
Keyword 6: :
Randomized Controlled Trial
Introduction: :
Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience caregiving stress due to inexperience and limited knowledge, leading to adverse psychiatric outcomes that impair effective parenting and family functioning. With rising ASD prevalence, clinical services are overwhelmed and wait times have extended tremendously. To address this gap, we developed the TRIP app, a 6-week mobile course (three 15–20-minute core sessions per week, plus optional modules) incorporating mindful parenting and skill-building. Weekly themes cover cultivating curiosity in parenting, mindfulness of the body, managing ASD features, conflict resolution and boundary setting, perspective taking, and self-compassion.
Objectives: :
To assess the efficacy of the TRIP app in reducing anxiety, depression, and parental stress while enhancing parental competence and mindfulness in a waitlist-controlled randomized controlled trial.
Methodology: :
Parents of children diagnosed with or suspected of ASD were recruited from the Psychiatric Specialist Clinic at Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital and randomized 1:1 to immediate intervention or waitlist control. Both groups completed the 6-week TRIP course at home, flexibly adapted to their schedules, with the waitlist group starting after a 6-week wait period. Outcomes, including anxiety and depressive symptoms, parental stress, sense of competence, and mindfulness, were assessed using self-reported questionnaires at baseline, week 6 (post-intervention), and week 12 (for sustained effects). The waitlist group underwent an additional assessment after the wait period to serve as their pre-intervention baseline.
Result & Outcome: :
Of 845 recruited and randomized parents, 699 completed the trial (360 immediate, 339 waitlist; dropout rate 17.3%). Compared to waitlist controls, the immediate intervention group showed significant reductions in anxiety and parenting stress, together with increased sense of competence (group × time effects, all p < 0.05). Depressive symptoms trended toward reduction (p = 0.073), while mindfulness remained unchanged. All significant effects were sustained at week 12, indicating lasting benefits. These findings suggest that the TRIP app effectively enhances parental mental health and competence, with potential long-term positive impacts on child outcomes and family dynamics. As a highly accessible tool, our team plans territory-wide dissemination, offering TRIP as a free, scalable primary-level support to complement existing services.
