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Dealing with Disobedience: An Evaluation of a Brief Parenting Intervention for Young Children Showing Noncompliant Behavior Problems

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Abstract

The study was a randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of a brief and preventatively-focused parenting discussion group for dealing with disobedient behavior in preschool-aged children. Eighty-five parents with children aged between 3 and 5 years who were concerned about the noncompliant behavior of their child were recruited from Auckland, New Zealand and Brisbane, Australia. Compared to the waitlist control group (n = 40), parents in the intervention group (n = 45) reported greater improvements in disruptive child behavior, ineffective parenting practices and parenting confidence, as well as clinically significant improvements in child behavior and parenting. All of these effects were maintained at 6-month follow up. No group differences were found for parental wellbeing, inter-parental conflict and general relationship quality, although intervention parents reported improvements in parental wellbeing and inter-parental conflict at 6-month follow-up. The findings are discussed in terms of the implications for making brief and effective parenting support available to parents.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Kirsten Smeets from the University of Auckland and Amy Little from the University of Queensland for their assistance with data collection on this trial.

Conflict of interest

Dr Dittman is a Triple P trainer and Professor Sanders is the founder and co-author of the variant of Triple P tested in this study. The Triple P—Positive Parenting Program is owned by The University of Queensland (UQ). The University through its main technology transfer company, UniQuest Pty Ltd, has licensed Triple P International Pty Ltd to publish and disseminate the program worldwide. Royalties stemming from published Triple P resources are distributed to the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences at UQ, Parenting and Family Support Centre, School of Psychology at UQ, and contributory authors. No author has any share or ownership in Triple P International Pty Ltd.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Parenting and Family Support Centre, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Cassandra K. Dittman & Matthew R. Sanders

  2. The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, USA

    Susan P. Farruggia

  3. The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Louise J. Keown & Matthew R. Sanders

Authors
  1. Cassandra K. Dittman
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  2. Susan P. Farruggia
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  3. Louise J. Keown
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  4. Matthew R. Sanders
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Correspondence to Cassandra K. Dittman.

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Dittman, C.K., Farruggia, S.P., Keown, L.J. et al. Dealing with Disobedience: An Evaluation of a Brief Parenting Intervention for Young Children Showing Noncompliant Behavior Problems. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 47, 102–112 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-015-0548-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-015-0548-9

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