Efficacy of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: Interim Report of a Randomized Trial with Short-Term Maintenance

Abstract

Describes interim results of a study examining the effectiveness of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) with families of preschool-age children with oppositional defiant disorder. Following an initial assessment, 64 clinic-referred families were randomly assigned to an immediate treatment (i.t.) or a wait-list control (WL) condition. Results indicated that parents in the IT condition interacted more positively with their child and were more successful in gaining their child's compliance than parents in the WL condition. In addition, parents who received treatment reported decreased parenting stress and a more internal locus of control. Parents in the IT group reported statistically and clinically significant improvements in their child's behavior following PCIT. All families who received treatment reported high levels of satisfaction with both the content and process of PCIT. Preliminary 4-month follow-up data showed that parents maintained gains on all self-report measures.

Parent-child interaction therapy: A comparison of standard and abbreviated treatments for oppositional defiant preschoolers.

“…1 Previous research with young conduct problem children has supported this diagnostic method (e.g., Campbell et al, 1986;Lavigne et al, 1994;Schuhmann et al, 1998), and it has been accompanied by good interrater agreement (99%-100%; Eisenstadt et al, 1993;McNeil et al, 1991). To index the severity of behavior, a scorer rated each symptom on a 4-point scale (1 ϭ rarely, 4 ϭ very often) and summed them to give a total score for each diagnostic category.…”

Viewing Preschool Disruptive Behavior Disorders and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Through a Developmental Lens: What We Know and What We Need to Know

“…[79][80][81] Although a comprehensive review of this literature is beyond the scope of this article (see articles in this issue), we highlight here some key findings of the primary psychosocial intervention for which there is substantial evidence of validity in preschoolers, specifically, Behavioral Parent Training (BPT). 79,82,83 BPT has been evaluated as a treatment for ODD, CD, and ADHD in children as young as 2 years old, demonstrating significant reductions in observed and parent-reported behavioral problems [84][85][86][87][88][89] and inattentive and hyperactive behavior. 84,90 Moreover, beyond statistical significance, studies demonstrate that some preschool children attain clinically significant (i.e., normalization of behavior) benefits from BPT.…”

“…84,90 Moreover, beyond statistical significance, studies demonstrate that some preschool children attain clinically significant (i.e., normalization of behavior) benefits from BPT. 91,92 BPT has also been shown to reduce punitive parenting behavior 86,89,92 and parenting stress, 84,93 and to increase positive parenting behavior 91 and parenting sense of competence. 86,91 Furthermore, maintenance of treatment gains for some preschool children has been seen for periods ranging from a few months 84,86 to a year 94 or more.…”

“…91,92 BPT has also been shown to reduce punitive parenting behavior 86,89,92 and parenting stress, 84,93 and to increase positive parenting behavior 91 and parenting sense of competence. 86,91 Furthermore, maintenance of treatment gains for some preschool children has been seen for periods ranging from a few months 84,86 to a year 94 or more. 87,89,95 Some studies have demonstrated continued improvement for these children after termination of treatment.…”

Evaluation of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy on Anxiety Level in Pre-Elementary School Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Clinical experiments express that interaction therapy is concomitant with a significant improvement of children's destructive behaviors and parents' anxiety and leads to an increase in parents' confidence in their children's control of extreme behaviors (Abrahamse et al, 2012;Hood & Eyberg, 2003;Nixon, Sweeney, Erickson, & Touyz, 2003;Nixon, Sweeney, Erickson, & Touyz, 2004;Schuhmann, Foote, Eyberg, Boggs, & Algina, 1998). In two studies (Choate, Pincus, Eyberg, & Barlow, 2005), PCIT has been successfully used in decreasing separate anxiety symptoms.…”