This study sought to determine which of two forms of group parent training was more effective
for parents of children having problems with aggressive or noncompliant behavior. Fifty-six
parents recruited from the community were randomly assigned to one of three experimental
conditions: group training in behavioral skills, group training in problem solving, or a waiting-list control group. Outcomes were evaluated using a pretest/posttest experimental design with
an added 3-month follow-up. The results indicated that there were statistically significant
differences between the two experimental conditions and the control condition in parent's
perceptions of child behavior. Individualized measures of change, using goal attainment scaling,
indicated that most trained subjects made progress toward goals. Group process measures
demonstrated that parents in the problem-solving groups completed significantly less homework
and had significantly worse attendance when compared to parents in the behavioral skills
training groups. Although both training conditions were more effective than the control condition, post hoc analyses suggest that the skills training group was more effective.
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