Impact of Pediatrician Invitation on Enrollment in Behavioral Parent Training

Abstract

Given that parent training in behavior therapy is recommended as a first-line treatment for young children with challenging behaviors, mechanisms to increase parent engagement are needed. A between-groups intervention study was conducted in a primary care setting with 482 families of children with challenging behaviors. Families received 1 of 2 mailings. The first included a flyer advertising a behavioral parent training (BPT) program, whereas the second included both the flyer and a personal invitation from the pediatrician. Twenty-three families enrolled in the BPT program. Of these, 20 had received both the flyer and invitation, whereas only 3 who had received only the flyer enrolled, a significant difference, χ (1) = 5.83, p < .05, φ = 0.11. Although the level of engagement from the target population was low (only 4% of the 482 families identified), it was significantly higher than it would have been if only the recruitment flyer were used (0.6%). While simple, this technique may be an important contribution to future research and clinical programs seeking to recruit parents for BPT.

Implications for Impact Statement

Although it is a recommended, evidence-based intervention, behavioral parent training unfortunately has very low enrollment. This article shows that sending home a pediatrician invitation to families with children who have challenging behaviors can increase the likelihood that these parents will enroll in a parent training group, helping them gain essential skills in managing their children’s behaviors.