Dadds, M. R., Sanders, M. R., & James, J. E. (1987). The generalization of treatment effects in parent training with multidistressed parents. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 15(04), 289-313.
Six Caucasian families with a target child presenting behavioral problems were included; individual children served as the units of analysis. All target children were boys ages 3 to 5 years. Three families had single mothers and three had intact marriages. The mean age was 31 years for mothers and 33 years for fathers. Families were eligible if (1) the mother was a single parent, experiencing marital problems, or lacked support from family and friends; (2) at least one child in the family (the target child) exhibited a conduct or oppositional disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edition (DSM III) criteria; (3) the target child did not exhibit an organic pathology associated with the behavioral disorder and was ages 3 to 7; (4) neither parents nor children exhibited a psychiatric pathology beyond the behavioral disorder nor any associated marital or family discord; (5) no family member was receiving other psychological treatment; and (6) the family was willing to participate in the study.
The study was conducted in Queensland, Australia.
The focus of the review was Child Management Training. Therapists delivered nine training sessions, including seven devoted to providing feedback in the families’ homes. During these sessions, they explained that children’s behavior is learned, so parents can help teach their children new ways of behaving. They gave parents examples of how to use descriptive praise and contingent consequences to increase positive behavior, which parents rehearsed with the therapist. Therapists also explained and helped parents rehearse a six-step behavior correction routine.
During the seven hour-long weekly feedback sessions in families’ homes, the therapists observed parent-child and parent-parent interactions and then provided verbal feedback to the parent about how he or she implemented the behavior correction procedure. Parents also discussed any problems they experienced with the behavior corrections. Written materials detailing the correct use of time out and other procedures were provided. Simultaneously, an independent observer recorded incidences of specific parent and child behaviors, to measure the outcome of the services.
Baseline observations were conducted before instruction in the use of Child Management Training.
The first author and five other child behavioral psychologists served as therapists implementing the intervention. The first author provided 18 hours of training to the other therapists.
The study appears to be affiliated with the University of Queensland. No other information is provided.
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: None found