An Open Trial of Parent-Child Care (PC-CARE)-A 6-Week Dyadic Parenting Intervention for Children with Externalizing Behavior Problems

Abstract

Research shows that parenting interventions are plagued with the problem of early treatment termination. A brief 6-week intervention, parent-child care (PC-CARE) was developed to minimize the time investment for parents while maximizing the probability of improving behavioral problems of their 1-10 year old children. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of PC-CARE and examine preliminary outcomes. The data were collected as part of an open trial in a community mental health clinic and included pre- and post-treatment performance outcomes, weekly measures of treatment progress, and assessments of treatment fidelity. Participants were 64 children and their primary caregivers, referred by physicians, social workers, or self-referred for help with their children's difficult behaviors. The retention rate was 94%. Results of analyses pre- to post-intervention scores showed significant improvements in child behavioral problems as well as improvements in parenting stress and positive parenting skills. The findings suggest that PC-CARE may be a beneficial treatment for children with disruptive behaviors, encourage future research into the efficacy of this brief parenting intervention, and its effectiveness in other populations and contexts.

Keywords: Brief parenting intervention; Child behavior problems; Open trial; Treatment fidelity; Treatment outcomes.