Brief Psychoeducational Parenting Program: An Evaluation and 1-Year Follow-up

doi:10.1097/00004583-200310000-00007

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Volume 42, Issue 10, October 2003, Pages 1171-1178

https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200310000-00007 Get rights and content

Objective

Despite recognition of the need for parenting interventions to prevent childhood behavioral problems, few community programs have been evaluated. This report describes the randomized controlled evaluation of a four-session psychoeducational group for parents of preschoolers with behavior problems, delivered in community agencies.

Method

In 1998, 222 primary caregivers, recruited through community ads, filled out questionnaires on parenting practices and child behavior. Parents were randomly assigned to immediate intervention or a wait-list control. The intervention comprised three weekly group sessions and a 1-month booster, the focus being to support effective discipline (using the video 1-2-3 Magic) and to reduce parent–child conflict.

Results

Using an intent-to-treat analysis, repeated-measures analyses of variance indicated that the parents who received the intervention reported significantly greater improvement in parenting practices and a significantly greater reduction in child problem behavior than the control group. The gains in positive parenting behaviors were maintained at 1-year follow-up in a subset of the experimental group.

Conclusions

This brief intervention program may be a useful first intervention for parents of young children with behavior problems, as it seems both acceptable and reasonably effective.

Section snippets

Subjects

In 1998 parents who were experiencing problems managing the behavior of their 3- or 4-year-old child were recruited through advertisements placed in community locations available to parents of young children in metropolitan Toronto. Two hundred twenty-two families attended orientation sessions.

Procedure

At the orientation sessions the purpose of the study was explained and randomization to immediate intervention or wait-list control was described, and the main caregiver filled out questionnaires about

RESULTS

Subjects who attended one to four sessions were considered to have received the intervention. Twenty-four subjects who came to the orientation were excluded from the analyses as they did not attend the intervention. This created a baseline sample of 198 participants (89 experimental and 109 control). The posttest sample consisted of 174 participants (81 experimental and 93 control). Follow-up questionnaires were returned by 25 participants of the original intervention/experimental group.

DISCUSSION

Summarizing the main findings, the intervention group in comparison to the wait-list control group reported significant changes on the PS Total and the Laxness, Overreactivity, and Verbosity subscales. The parents reported more positive parenting behavior. Also, intervention parents reported significant change in child behavior on the PBQ Total and Hyperactive/Distractible subscale but not the Hostile/Aggressive or Anxious subscales. They reported their children to be less problematic overall

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: This study was funded by The Counselling Foundation of Canada.

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ARTICLESBrief Psychoeducational Parenting Program: An Evaluation and 1-Year Follow-up

Objective

Method

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Subjects

Procedure

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

Infant Beh Dev

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

The Parenting Scale: a measure of dysfunctional parenting in discipline situations

Psychol Assess

A behavior rating scale for the preschool child

Dev Psychol

Estimates of the prevalence of childhood maladjustment in a community survey in Puerto Rico

Arch Gen Psychiatry

Behavioural and developmental gains made in a therapeutic preschool and an integrated day care program: a pilot study

Can J Psychiatry

Hard-to-manage preschool boys: family context and the stability of externalizing behavior

J Abnorm Child Psychol

Maternal depression and the emotional development of the child

Br J Psychiatry

Psychiatric disorders in pediatric primary care

Arch Gen Psychiatry

The incidence, prevalence, and severity of behaviour disorders among preschool-aged children in day care

J Abnorm Child Psychol

Children and Marital Conflict: The Impact of Family Dispute and Resolution, The Guilford Series on Social and Emotional Development

Large group community-based parenting programs for families of preschoolers at risk for disruptive disorders: utilization, cost effectiveness, and outcome

J Child Psychol Psychiatry

Brief Symptom Inventory: Administration, Scoring and Procedures Manual

Children with psychiatric disorders in primary care

J Child Psychol Psychiatry

Parent Education Programs: Effectiveness in Improving Child Mental Health. Child Mental Health Division, Ministry of Health and Welfare Canada

ARTICLES
Brief Psychoeducational Parenting Program: An Evaluation and 1-Year Follow-up