EBD Blog

In a systematic review of the research about parent training, Jennifer Wyatt Kaminski and colleagues of the US Centers for Disease Control identified factors that contribute to the effectiveness of programs that help parents manage the problematic behavior of their children. Of the 18 factors that they examined, only five proved to be important. Parent training programs that taught parents to respond consistently to problems, practice positive interactions, use time out, and required them to practice these skills with their own children led to greater effects on children’s externalizing behavior, but those that emphasized promoting children’s social skills had smaller effects on externalizing behavior.

The last finding, that social skills training didn’t help, will probably come as a surprise to some. However, given the weak track record for social skills training with students with Learning Disabilities and Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in schools, it shouldn’t be surprising.

These results are valuable because they help guide the provision of effective services for parents of children with emotional and behavioral disorders. Clinical services can take guidance from this study, and I hope that those who make decisions about the delivery of child management programs for parents will take heed of them.

I’ve only highlighted one small part of the results here (the results for child behavior). There are lots of other outcomes (e.g, on parenting behavior) worth considering.

Kaminski, J. W, Valle, L. A., Filene, J. H., & Boyle, C. L. (2008). A Meta-analytic Review of Components Associated with Parent Training Program Effectiveness. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 567–589.

This component analysis used meta-analytic techniques to synthesize the results of 77 published evaluations of parent training programs (i.e., programs that included the active acquisition of parenting skills) to enhance behavior and adjustment in children aged 0–7. Characteristics of program content and delivery method were used to predict effect sizes on measures of parenting behaviors and children’s externalizing behavior. After controlling for differences attributable to research design, program components consistently associated with larger effects included increasing positive parent–child interactions and emotional communication skills, teaching parents to use time out and the importance of parenting consistency, and requiring parents to practice new skills with their children during parent training sessions. Program components consistently associated with smaller effects included teaching parents problem solving; teaching parents to promote children’s cognitive, academic, or social skills; and providing other, additional services. The results have implications for selection and strengthening of existing parent training programs.