Designed by a team of psychologists with funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, iKinnect incorporates techniques from evidence-based treatments for youth with serious behavior problems that parents can use to get youth back on track. While intended as a self-help tool, iKinnect can supplement therapy or other youth behavioral services. iKinnect is currently only available to families participating in our clinical research trial. To learn more about participation in our research, go to: www.ikinnectapp.com.
iKinnect uses a positive approach to changing teen behavior, promoting supportive parent-teen communication and building on successes. Using iKinnect, parents can: locate their teens, receive updates throughout the day about whether their teen is on track, and easily reward their teen for positive behaviors. iKinnect also helps teens stay on track by getting reminders about the daily game plan and rewards for following it. iKinnect includes gaming features to make it fun to use.
iKinnect promotes teen success by integrating the following evidence-based tools:
• Find My Teen (GPS location on demand) – with one click parents can locate their teen at any time.
• Easy parent setup – iKinnect’s KinBot Helper will guide you through how to set expectations that are as simple or detailed as you wish.
• Challenge Cards – parents set up behavioral “challenge games” for youth to meet throughout the day (e.g., go to school, avoid off-limits places). Rewards are immediately assigned for winning the challenge. iKinnect prompts teen throughout the day to “do the right thing,” and points earned appear automatically on the youth’s phone.
• Geofencing – Parents set geographic boundaries around teen’s approved and unapproved locations using physical addresses. Want to know whether your teen makes it to school? Enter the school’s address and start/end times, and you’ll always know he’s there. Want to make sure he’s NOT at the park where drugs are sold? Designate it “off limits” and get a notice if he goes there.
• KinBot Messages and Notifications – KinBot messages keep you up-to-date on how your teen is doing and easily lets your teen know you’re proud of them. Parents can also receive notifications when your teen isn’t doing what they are supposed to be doing. Throughout the day, KinBot reminds teens to do the right thing and what’s at stake if they don’t.
• Points System and Progress Page – Like a videogame, teen’s points for good behavior “rack up” over time, and winning streaks are rewarded with bonus points.
• Reward Store – Parents pick the rewards, and teens see how many points they need to get the prize. KinBot helps you decide what to use as rewards and makes redeeming points for rewards easy.
• Coaching videos – It’s often hard to parent teenagers. iKinnect includes parenting tips for some of the most challenging parenting moments. Here’s one example: Listen to Dr. Cindy Schaeffer’s orientation on how best to respond to a defiant teen, then see it in action.
Research support for iKinnect: A study of parents and teens receiving treatment for a serious teen behavior problem found improvements in parent-teen communication, trust, and parents’ confidence in their parenting skills. Both reported high app satisfaction ratings over a 4-week period of use.