Abstract
The current pilot study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and initial outcome of an intensive and more condensed version of Parent–child Interaction Therapy (90 min sessions for 5 days/week over the course of 2 weeks). Using an open trial design, 11 children (M child age = 5.01 years) and their mothers completed a baseline period of 2 weeks, a treatment period of 2 weeks, and a post-treatment evaluation. A follow-up evaluation was also conducted 4 months following treatment completion. Across all assessments, mothers completed measures of child behavior and parenting stress, and observational data was collected during three 5-min standard situations that vary in the degree of parental control (child-led play, parent-led play, & clean-up). All 11 families completed the intervention with extremely high attendance and reported high satisfaction. Results across both mother report and observations showed that: a) externalizing behavior problems were stable during the baseline period; b) treatment was effective in reducing externalizing behavior problems (ds = 1.67–2.50), improving parenting skills (ds = 1.93–6.04), and decreasing parenting stress (d = 0.91); and c) treatment gains were maintained at follow-up (ds = 0.53–3.50). Overall, preliminary data suggest that a brief and intensive format of a parent-training intervention is a feasible and effective treatment for young children with externalizing behavior problems with clinical implications for improving children’s behavioral impairment in a very brief period of time.
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The current study was conducted with the informed consent of all participants. This project was approved by the university Institutional Review Board.
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Graziano, P.A., Bagner, D.M., Slavec, J. et al. Feasibility of Intensive Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (I-PCIT): Results from an Open Trial. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 37, 38–49 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-014-9435-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-014-9435-0