Abstract
Outcomes from a parenting program that was modified to reduce costs and a wait-list control condition were compared. Costs were reduced by over 50%. Sixty-six parents participated. Treatment parents reported significantly greater improvements in child behavior problems, parent attitudes, and satisfaction with family relationships when compared to untreated controls. These effects were maintained at three months follow-up. Outcomes for 35 of the children in the sample who had clinically significant behavior problems before treatment were also examined separately. The difference between clinical recovery rates, i.e., movement from the clinical to normal range during treatment, for control and treatment children was not statistically significant. Limitations of the current study and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach, T. M. (1991).Manual for the child behavior checklist/4–18 and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry.
Anastopoulos, A. D., Shelton, T. L., DuPaul, G. J., & Guevremont, D. C. (1993). Parent training for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: Its impact on parent functioning.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 21, 581–596.
Burke, R. V., & Herron, R. W. (1992).Common sense parenting. Boys Town, NE: Father Flanagan's Boys' Home.
Coughlin, D., & Shanahan, D. (1988).Boys Town family home program. Boys Town, NE: Father Flanagan's Boy's Home.
Dougherty, D. M., Saxe, L. M., Cross, T., & Silverman, N. (1987).Children's mental health: Problems and services. Durham, NC: Duke Univesity Press.
Eyberg, S., & Boggs, S. R. (1989). Parent training for oppositional-defiant preschoolers.Handbook of parent training: Parents as co-therapists for children's behavior problems (pp. 105–132). New York: John Wiley.
Forehand, R., Griest, D. L., Wells, K., & McMahon, R. J. (1982). Side effects of parent counseling on marital satisfaction.Journal of Counseling Psychology, 29, 104–107.
Forehand, R. L., & McMahon, R. J. (1981).Helping the noncompliant child: A clinician's guide to parent training. New York: Guilford Press.
Friman, P. C., Soper, S. H., Thompson, R. W., & Daly, D. L. (1993). Do children from community-based parent training programs have clinically significant behavior problems?Journal of Community Psychology, 21, 56–63.
Gibaud-Wallston, J., & Wandersman, L. P. (1978, August).Development and utility of the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale. Paper presented at the meeting of American Psychological Association, Toronto.
Graziano, A. M., & Diament, D. M. (1992). Parent behavioral training: An examination of the paradigm.Behavior Modification, 16, 3–38.
Jacobson, N. S., & Truax, P. (1991). Clinical significance: A statistical approach to defining meaningful change in psychotherapy research.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 12–19.
Johnston, C., & Mash, E. J. (1989). A measure of parenting satisfaction and efficacy.Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 18, 167–175.
Jones, R. R., Weinrott, M. R., & Howard, J. R. (1981).Impact of the teaching family model on troublesome youth (Final Report MH 31018). Washington, DC: Center for Studies of Crime and Delinquency, NIMH.
Kazdin, A. E. (1977). Assessing the clinical or applied importance of behavior change through social validation.Behavior Modification, 1, 427–451.
Kazdin, A. E. (1991). Effectiveness of psychotherapy with children and adolescents.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 785–798.
Kramer, J. J. (1990). Training parents as behavior change agents: Successes, failures, and suggestions for school psychologists. In T. B. Gutkin & C. R. Reynolds (Eds.),The handbook of school psychology (2nd ed., pp. 683–702). New York: John Wiley.
Mash, E. J., & Johnston, C. (1983). Parental perceptions of child behavior problems, parenting self-esteem, and mothers' reported stress in younger and older hyperactive and normal children.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, 86–99.
O'Dell, S. (1974). Training parents in behavior modification: A review.Psychological Bulletin, 81, 418–433.
Olson, D. H., Russell, C. S., & Sprenkle, D. H. (1983). Circumplex model VI: Theoretical update.Family Process, 22, 69–83.
Olson, D. H., Sprenkle, D. H., & Russell, C. S. (1979). Circumplex model of marital and family systems I: Cohesion and adaptability dimensions, family types and clinical application.Family Process, 18, 3–27.
Olson, D. H., & Wilson, M. (1982).Family Satisfaction Scale, St Paul, MN: University of Minnesota.
Patterson, G. R., & Reid, J. B. (1973). Intervention for families of aggressive boys: A replication study.Behavior Research and Therapy, 11, 383–394.
Peter, V. J. (1986).What makes Boys Town so special? Boys Town, NE: Father Flanagan's Boy's Home.
Pevsner, R. (1982). Group parent training versus individual family therapy: An outcome study.Journal of Behavioral Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 13, 119–122.
Phillips, E. L., Phillips, E. A., Fixsen, D. L., & Wolf, M. M. (1973). Achievement place: Behavior shaping works for delinquents.Psychology Today, 7, 75–79.
Saxe, L., Cross, T., & Silverman, N. (1988). Children's mental health: The gap between what we know and what we do.American Psychologist, 43, 800–807.
Speer, D. C. (1992). Clinically significant change: Jacobson and Truax (1991) revisited.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 402–408.
Sprenkle, D. H., & Olson, D. H. (1978). Circumplex model of marital systems IV: Empirical study of clinic and non-clinic couples.Journal of Marriage and Family Counseling, 4, 59–74.
Thompson, R. W., Grow, C. R., Ruma, P. R., Daly, D. L., & Burke, R. V. (1993). Evaluation of a practical parenting program with middle- and low-income families.Family Relations, 42, 21–25.
Thompson, R. W., Smith, G. L., Osgood, D. W., Dowd, T. P., Friman, P. C., & Daly, D. L. (in press). Residential care: A study of short- and long-term educational effects.Children and Youth Services Review.
Webster-Stratton, C. (1984). Randomized trial of two parent-training programs for families with conduct-disordered children.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52, 666–678.
Webster-Stratton, C., Hollinsworth, T., & Kolpacoff, M. (1989). The long-term effectiveness and clinical significance of three cost-effective training programs for families with conduct-problem children.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 550–553.
Webster-Stratton, C., Kolpacoff, M., & Hollinsworth, T. (1988). Self-administered videotape therapy for families with conduct-problem children: Comparison with two cost-effective treatments and a control group.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 558–566.
Wolf, M. M., Braukmann, C. J., & Ramp, K. A. (1987). Serious delinquent behavior as part of a significantly handicapping condition: Cures and supporting environments.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 20, 347–359.
Wolf, M. M., Phillips, E. L., Fixsen, D. L., Braukmann, C. J., Kirigin, K. A., Willner, A. G., & Shumaker, J. (1976). Achievement Place: The teaching family model.Child Care Quarterly, 5, 92–103.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thompson, R.W., Ruma, P.R., Schuchmann, L.F. et al. A cost-effectiveness evaluation of parent training. J Child Fam Stud 5, 415–429 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02233863
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02233863