Parent Management Training with Preschool Children at Risk for Disruptive Behavior Disorders

Executive Summary - Aims of the Study?

In the present study we assess the preventive effects of the IY BASIC and ADVANCE parent programs in preschool children at risk for disruptive behavior disorders. We are studying the moderating effects of psychophysiological and neuropsychological variables on intervention outcome. We also study whether positive outcomes are caused by favorable changes in parenting skills. Finally, costs and cost-effectiveness are studied. One hundred and forty children, aged four and a half years are selected for the study on the basis of high aggression scores on the Child Behavior Checklist. The parents of half of these children are randomly assigned to the IY BASIC and ADVANCE programs; the other children serve as 'care as usual' controls. Assessments are conducted 00at pre-treatment, post-treatment, one year follow-up, and two year follow-up. Measures consist of parent questionnaires (e.g., Child Behavior Checklist, Eyberg Children?s Behavior Inventory), parent interviews (e.g., Daily Discipline Interview, NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children IV), teacher questionnaires (e.g., Child Behavior Checklist - Teacher Rating Form, Parent-teacher Involvement Questionnaire), and observations of parent-child interactions at home (Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System). Detailed information on the costs of the intervention and on the costs generated by the conduct problems (e.g., medical consumption, education) are monitored.