Effects of Parent Management Training and Problem‐solving Skills Training Combined in the Treatment of Antisocial Child Behavior

Abstract

This investigation evaluated the combined effects of parent management training (PMT) and cognitive-behavioral problem-solving skills training (PSST) for the treatment of antisocial behavior. Psychiatric inpatient children (N = 40, ages 7 to 12) and their parents were assigned randomly to either PMT-PSST combined or to a contact-control condition. In the combined treatment, parents received PMT and the children received PSST. In the control condition, parents received contact meetings in which the child's treatment was discussed; children met with a therapist in individual sessions where they discussed activities on the ward. All children participated in a short-term hospital program before their return to the community. Children in the PMT-PSST condition showed significantly less aggression and externalizing behavior at home and at school and greater prosocial behavior and overall adjustment than contact-control children. These results were evident immediately after treatment and at a 1-year follow-up assessment. © 1987, The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. All rights reserved.