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Parent-Child Memory Study: Improving Future Thinking Among Mothers

Parent-Child Memory Study: Improving Future Thinking Among Mothers From a Traditionally Underserved Community to Reduce Harsh Parenting and Improve Child Outcomes - A Randomized Controlled Trial

Who can join

Ages 5 and older · Women · Healthy volunteers welcome

Parent Inclusion Criteria:

1. A mother and or grandmother from the Flint area with a child/grandchild between the ages of 5-10 who can provide legal consent for that child
2. Self-report that they have consistent contact with the child/grandchild
3. Willing to participate in the study
4. Able to participate in written assessments and an intervention conducted in English
5. Have a working cell phone that can receive and send text messages and be willing to receive/send text messages as part of the study
6. Have a phone or device that's able to use video conferencing software if interested in virtual participation

Parent Exclusion Criteria:

1. Self-disclosed active suicidality/homicidality
2. Self-disclosed current bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or psychosis
3. Self-reported current and ongoing involvement with child protective services

Child Inclusion Criteria:

1. Children must be between the ages of 5-10 and have a mother/grandmother willing to provide consent for their participation
2. Willing to participate in parent-child observation sessions
3. Elementary proficiency in English
4. Willing to participate in study surveys

Child Exclusion criteria:

1. Self-disclosed active suicidality/homicidality
2. Self-disclosed current bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or psychosis

About the study

Parents of children from impoverished communities are disproportionately more likely to engage in harsh physical discipline, which can lead to serious clinical outcomes, including suicidal ideation and attempts. One mechanism linking low resource environments and maladaptive parenting strategies is maternal delay discounting, or the tendency to value smaller, immediate rewards (such as stopping children's misbehavior via physical means) relative to larger, but delayed rewards (like improving the parent-child relationship). This study will examine the efficacy of implementing a low-cost, brief intervention targeting the reduction of maternal delay discounting to inform broader public health efforts aimed at improving adolescent mental health outcomes in traditionally underserved communities.

What is being tested

• Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) (behavioral)
• Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) (behavioral)

Sponsor: Henry Ford Health System · Participants: 144 · Started: Feb 6, 2024

Contact the study team

• Julia Felton, PhD · Phone: 704-995-7832

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT06145919

Locations in the U.S.

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.