One pressing issue facing parenting interventions for disruptive behaviors of young children is forecasting who will benefit from participation. The purpose of this study was to examine four personal and interpersonal predictors (i.e., parent depressive symptoms, parent education, coparent conflict, and marital status) of engagement (i.e., number of sessions attended) in and child outcome (i.e., problematic behavior) of a parenting group curriculum program targeting young children’s disruptive behaviors. Participants were 39 parents (34 mothers and 5 fathers; M = 38.6 years) who expressed an interest in improving the behavior of their 3- to 6-year-old child (19 females and 20 males; M = 4.50 years). Findings indicated that one baseline personal variable, parent depressive symptoms, predicted change in child disruptive behavior at follow-up, and two baseline interpersonal variables, marital status and coparent conflict, predicted engagement in treatment (i.e., number of sessions attended). Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Ahrons, C.R. ( 1981). The continuing coparental relationship between divorced spouses. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 51, 415-428.
2.
Baron, R.M., & Kenny, D.A. ( 1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
3.
Brotman, L.M., Calzada, E., Huang, K., Kingston, S., Dawson-McClure, S., Kamboukos, D., . . . Petkova, E. (2011). Promoting effective parenting practices and preventing child behavior problems in school among ethnically diverse families from underserved, urban communities. Child Development, 82, 258-276.
4.
Conger, R.D. ( 1981). The assessment of dysfunctional family systems. In B. B. Lahey & A. E. Kazdin (Eds.), Advances in child clinical psychology . Vol. 4. New York: Plenum. p. 199-242.
5.
Conners, N.A., Edwards, M.C., & Grant, A.S. ( 2007). An evaluation of a parenting class curriculum for parents of young children: Parenting the strong-willed child. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 16, 321-330.
6.
Derogatis, L.R., & Spencer, P.M. ( 1982). The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) administration, score, procedures, Manual-I. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
7.
Eyberg, S.M., Nelson, M.M., & Boggs, S.R. ( 2008). Evidence-based psychosocial treatments for children and adolescents with disruptive behavior. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37, 215-237.
8.
Eyberg, S.M., & Pincus, D. ( 1999). The Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory and Sutter-Eyberg Student Behavior Inventory: Professional manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
9.
Forehand, R., & Long, N. ( 2002). Parenting the strong-willed child (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill .
10.
Forehand, R., & Long, N. ( 2010). Parenting the strong-willed child (3rd Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill .
11.
Forehand, R., Merchant, M.J., Long, N., & Garai, E. ( 2010). An examination of parenting the strong-willed child as bibliotherapy for parents. Behavior Modification, 34, 57-76.
12.
Forehand, R., Merchant, M.J., Parent, J., Long, N., Linnea, K., & Baer, J. ( 2011). An examination of a group curriculum for parents of young children with disruptive behavior. Behavior Modification35, 235-251.
13.
Forehand, R., Wells, K.C., McMahon, R.J., Griest, D., & Rogers, T. ( 1982). Maternal perception of maladjustment in clinic-referred children: An extension of earlier research. Journal of Behavioral Assessment, 4, 145-151.
14.
Gardner, F., Hutchings, J., Bywater, T., & Whitaker, C. ( 2010). Who benefits and how does it work? Moderators of outcome in an effectiveness trial of a parenting intervention. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 39, 568-580.
15.
Hartman, R.R., Stage, S.A., & Webster-Stratton, C. (2003). A growth curve analysis of parent training outcomes: Examining the influences of child risk factors (inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity), parental and family risk factors . Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44, 388-398.
16.
Ingoldsby, E.M. ( 2010). Review of interventions to improve family engagement and retention in parent and child mental health programs. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19, 629-645.
17.
Jones, D.J., Forehand, R., Brody, G., & Armistead, L. ( 2003). Parental monitoring in African American single mother-headed families: An ecological approach to the identification of predictors. Behavior Modification, 27, 435-457.
18.
Kazdin, A.E., & Wassell, G. ( 1999). Barriers to treatment participation and therapeutic change among children referred for conduct disorder. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 28, 160-172.
19.
Kazdin, A.E., & Whitley, M.K. ( 2006). Comorbidity, case complexity, and effects of evidence-based treatment for children referred for disruptive behavior. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 455-467.
20.
Long, N., & Forehand, R. ( 2002). Leader’s guide for the 6-week parenting class based on the book Parenting The Strong-Willed Child. Unpublished manual.
21.
Mackenzie, E.P., Fite, P.J., & Bates, J.E. ( 2004). Predicting outcome in behavioral parent training: Expected and unexpected results. Child & Family Behavior Therapy , 26, 37-53.
22.
Mah, J.W.T., & Johnson, C. ( 2008). Parental social cognitions: Considerations in the acceptability of and engagement in behavioral parent training. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 11, 218-236.
23.
McMahon, R.J., & Forehand, R. ( 2003). Helping the noncompliant child: Family-based treatment for oppositional behavior (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford.
24.
McMahon, R.J., Wells, K.C., & Kotler, J.S. ( 2006). Conduct problems. In E. J. Mash & R. A. Barkley (Eds.), Treatment of childhood disorders (3rd ed., pp. 137-270). New York, NY: Guilford.
25.
Nix, R.L., Bierman, K.L., & McMahon, R.J. ( 2009). How attendance and quality of participation affect treatment response to parent management training. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 429-438.
26.
Nock, M.K., & Kazdin, A.E. ( 2005). Randomized controlled trial of a brief intervention for increasing participation in parent management training. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 872-879.
27.
Reyno, S.M., & McGrath, P.J. ( 2006). Predictors of parent training efficacy for child externalizing behavior problems: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 99-111.
28.
Staudt, M. ( 2007). Treatment engagement with caregivers of at-risk children: Gaps in research and conceptualization. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 16, 183-196.
29.
Sterrett, E., Jones, D.J., Forehand, R., & Garai, E. ( 2010). Predictors of coparenting relationship quality in African American single mother families: An ecological model. Journal of Black Psychology, 36, 277-302.
30.
Weisz, J.R., & Gray, J.S. ( 2008). Evidence-based psychotherapy for children and adolescents: Data from the present and a model for the future. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 13, 54-65.
31.
Zisser, A., & Eyberg, S.M. ( 2010). Parent-child interaction therapy and the treatment of disruptive behavior disorders. In J. R. Weisz, & A. E. Kazdin (Eds.), Evidence-based psychotherapies for children and adolescents (2nd ed., pp. 179-193). New York, NY: Guilford.
