Centre on Behavioral Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
BMJ Open. 2023 Jul 7;13(7):e067239. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-067239.
Mothers of children with intellectual disability (ID) are often distressed because of intensive workloads and difficulties in communicating with their children. Given the interdependence between the psychosocial well-being of such dyads, interventions that promote parent-child relationships and mutual communication would be beneficial. Arts provide alternative avenues for expression and offer an imaginative and playful environment for discovering new communication strategies. Given the lack of studies on arts-based dyadic interventions, this study aims to examine the effectiveness of dyadic expressive arts-based intervention (EXAT) in improving the psychosocial outcomes of children with ID and their mothers and the mother-child relationships.
This study will adopt a mixed-methods randomised controlled trial design, wherein 154 dyads of children with ID and their mothers will be randomised into either the dyadic EXAT group or the treatment-as-usual waitlist control group. Quantitative data will be collected at four time points: baseline (T), postintervention (T), 3-month postintervention (T) and 6-month postintervention (T). Qualitative data will be collected from a subset of 30 mothers in the intervention group at T and T to document their experiences and perceived changes after the intervention. Mixed-effects models and path analysis will be adopted to analyse the quantitative data, whereas thematic analysis will be applied to the qualitative data. Both sets of data will be triangulated for an integrated view of the effectiveness and mechanism of the intervention.
Ethical approval has been obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of Hong Kong (Ref. no.: EA200329). Written consent forms will be obtained from all recruited participants (mothers, children with ID and teachers/social workers) before data collection. The study findings will be disseminated in international conferences and peer-reviewed academic journals.
NCT05214859.
智障儿童的母亲常常因工作量大且与子女沟通困难而感到痛苦。鉴于这种双重关系的心理健康福祉相互依存，促进亲子关系和相互沟通的干预措施将是有益的。艺术为表达提供了另一种途径，并为发现新的沟通策略提供了富有想象力和趣味性的环境。鉴于缺乏基于艺术的双重干预研究，本研究旨在检验双重表达艺术干预（EXAT）对改善智障儿童及其母亲的心理社会结局以及母子关系的有效性。
本研究将采用混合方法随机对照试验设计，将 154 对智障儿童及其母亲的双重关系随机分为双重 EXAT 组或治疗常规等待名单对照组。将在四个时间点收集定量数据：基线（T）、干预后（T）、干预后 3 个月（T）和干预后 6 个月（T）。将从干预组的 30 名母亲中收集定性数据，以记录她们在干预后的体验和感知变化。将采用混合效应模型和路径分析来分析定量数据，而主题分析将应用于定性数据。两组数据将进行三角剖分，以综合了解干预的有效性和机制。
香港大学人类研究伦理委员会已批准该研究（注册号：EA200329）。在收集数据之前，将从所有招募的参与者（母亲、智障儿童和教师/社会工作者）获得书面同意书。研究结果将在国际会议和同行评议的学术期刊上发表。
NCT05214859。
