Evaluation of Intensive Parent-Child Interaction Therapy"

Florida International University60 enrolled

Overview

The purpose to the current study was to examine the comparative efficacy of a more condensed intensive version of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (I-PCIT; 5 days/week over the course of 2 weeks) versus a more traditional weekly PCIT format (1 day/week over the course of 10 weeks) in treating early childhood externalizing behavior problems (EBP). Using a randomized trial design, 60 young children (M child age = 4.33 years; range 2-6.92; 65% male; 85% Latinx) with elevated levels of EBP and their mothers were assigned to either I-PCIT (n = 30) or traditional PCIT (n = 30). Families completed pre-treatment and post-treatment assessments as well as a follow-up assessment 6-9 months following treatment completion. Across all assessments, mothers completed measures of child behavior, discipline practices, and parenting stress. Observational data on child behavior and parenting was also collected during three 5-minute standard situations that vary in the degree of parental control (child-led play, parent-led play, \& clean-up).

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Behavior Problem Parenting

Interventions

Parent Child Interaction TherapyBEHAVIORAL

Behavioral parent training program targeting parent-child relationship

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 2 YearsMax age: 7 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * children had to be between 2 and 7 years of age * mothers had to rate their children above the clinically significant range (T-score \> 60) on a measure of child EBP (Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory; Eyberg \& Pincus, 1999), * be willing to come to treatment every day (Monday - Friday) during a two-week period, * both mother and child had to be able to speak and understand English. Exclusion Criteria: * An intellectual disability (full scale IQ \< 70 based on the WPPSI-IV; Wechsler, 2012), * A previous Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis, * The inability of parents to attend sessions daily.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in Externalizing Behavior Problems

Mothers completed the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI; Eyberg \& Ross, 1978), a 36-item questionnaire that is designed to assess the presence of externalizing problems in children ages 2 through 16 years. The total intensity scale t-score was used in the current study as the main measure of EBP (α's .84-.93). The total raw score ranged from 36 to 252. Higher scores indicate the presence of more externalizing behavior problems.

Time frame: The measure was collected prior to the start of treatment, immediately following treatment, as well as 6-9 months upon treatment completion

Secondary Outcomes

Change in Parenting Skills

The Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System-4th Edition (DPICS-IV; Eyberg, Nelson, Ginn, Bhuiyan, \& Boggs, 2013), an established behavioral coding system was used to measure the quality of parent-child interactions across all assessments. Consistent with prior PCIT research, we created a composite of do skills (behavior descriptions, reflections, praises) and don't skills (questions, commands, and negative talk) reflecting behaviors parents are taught during treatment to use and not use during a child-led play. Undergraduate student coders, who were masked to treatment status, were trained to 80% agreement with a criterion tape and coded 20% of the observations a second time to assess reliability. Reliability for the do (r's range from .87 to .94) and don't skills were excellent (r's .99).

Time frame: The measure was collected prior to the start of treatment, immediately following treatment, as well as 6-9 months upon treatment completion

Change in Parenting stress

Mothers completed the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF; Abidin, 1983). The PSI-SF is a widely used 36-item self-report instrument for parents of children ages 1 month to 12 years measuring parental stress (Abidin, 1983). The PSI-SF total raw score was used to measure overall parenting stress (α's .88-.94). Total score range from 36 to 180 with higher scores indicating greater levels of parenting stress.

Time frame: The measure was collected prior to the start of treatment, immediately following treatment, as well as 6-9 months upon treatment completion

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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