Parent Preferences and Experiences With Psychological Treatment: Results From a Direct-to-Consumer Survey Using the Marketing Mix Framework

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing strategies represent an increasingly popular approach to promote patient awareness of psychological treatments (PTs). The Marketing Mix is a well-established framework used to inform marketing decisions consisting of four "P's": Product (or Service), Promotion, Place, and Price. We conducted the first DTC marketing survey using the Marketing Mix framework to explore how parents concerned about their adolescents' behavioral health receive information about PTs. A sample of 411 parents (51% girls, 82% non-Hispanic White) of 12- to 19-year-old adolescents completed an online survey asking how they would prefer to receive information about PTs, including five questions spanning the Promotion, Price, and Place dimensions of the Marketing Mix. A subsample of 158 parents also reported on how they had received PT information during their adolescent's most recent therapy experience, allowing us to compare ideal versus actual therapy experiences. We explored the extent to which experiences varied as a function of parent race/ethnicity, income per capita, parent education level, and adolescent treatment history. Bivariate analyses and multivariate logistic regressions were used to examine which of these variables were associated with parents' responses to specific survey items. Analyses revealed that parent preferences varied as a function of income per capita, education level, and history of treatment. In addition, there were significant gaps between parents' ideal and most recent therapy experiences. Implications for the marketing of PTs are discussed. Public Significance Statement This study explored when, where, how, and from whom parents who were worried about their teen's mental health or substance use would prefer to learn about therapy options. We found that parent preferences varied by parent education, income, and the teen's history of therapy. We recommend specific ways that providers can create tailored marketing strategies.