Acceptability, Feasibility, and Preliminary Outcomes of a Pilot Web-Based Parent Education Program for Parents of Adolescents With School Refusal

Purpose This pilot study evaluated the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary outcomes of a web-based education program for parents of adolescents experiencing school refusal. Method An eight-session online intervention was designed to enhance parenting capacity. Twenty-eight parents were enrolled in this single-group pretest–posttest pilot design, with 24 providing matched data. Acceptability and feasibility were assessed via parent satisfaction, attendance, and staff feasibility ratings. Primary outcomes assessed changes in parent–child relationship, parenting anxiety, and parenting efficacy. Results The program demonstrated promising acceptability and feasibility. Regarding preliminary outcomes, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and paired-samples t-tests suggested negative changes in parent–child conflict and parenting anxiety and a positive change in parenting efficacy, with medium to large effect sizes. Discussion Findings indicate promising acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary outcomes, warranting further controlled evaluation.