This study evaluates therapeutic alliance as a mediator of the relationship between dosage and clinical outcomes for the Family Check‐Up (FCU) Online, a telehealth adaptation of an evidence‐based parenting intervention for parents of middle school youth. The sample consisted of N = 111 parents with children in middle school who received the FCU Online as part of an ongoing clinical trial. They were randomly assigned to receive telehealth coaching and participated in the intervention and follow‐up assessment 12 months later. Data was collected using parent and child questionnaires as well as engagement data collected as part of the online intervention, using both parents and children as reporters of parent behavioral change. Using parent report measures, there was clear support for a mediation model, with parent report of alliance predicting parent self‐report ratings of clinical progress (parent behavior change) at 12‐month follow‐up. However, for the child‐report data, there was no clear relationship between dosage or therapeutic alliance with child reports of parenting. Clinical implications and future research directions are discussed.

No abstract

Objective: Prior intent to treat evaluation of the Fathering Through Change (FTC) online interactive behavioral parent training program demonstrated a causal link from the FTC intervention to reductions in pre-post changes in fathers' coercive parenting and, in turn, reductions in pre-post changes in child behavioral problems (a moderate indirect effect size d = .30). The present study expands on this work by investigating mediational mechanisms. Method: The present study employed a sample of 426 recently divorced or separated fathers who were each randomly assigned to either the FTC program or to the wait-list control. We tested a set of intent-to-treat serial mediation hypotheses positing that effects of the FTC on fathers' reductions in coercive parenting would be mediated through reductions in emotion regulation problems. To be included in this intervention, fathers had to have been separated or divorced within the past 2 years and also had to have children between the ages of 4 and 12. Results: The intervention obtained a significant total and set of unique pathways linking the FTC intervention to improved child adjustment. This supports a causal experimental link to reduced child behavior problems (d = .39). Emotion regulation did not fully mediate the intervention effect on parenting. Conclusions: Emotion regulation added both direct and indirect experimental explained variance over and above parenting alone. Clinical implications are discussed for the application of online training through pediatric settings. Implications for Impact StatementFathers are underrepresented in the literature on parenting. This study focused on an online parenting program for divorced fathers of children ages 4 to 12. It found support for a cascade from receiving the parenting program to reduction in fathers' emotion regulation problems, to reduction in coercive parenting, and finally to lowered child adjustment concerns. In addition to providing more knowledge about how parenting programs affect fathers and their children, this study emphasizes the importance of including fathers in parenting interventions.

Purpose One in fourteen children in the United States experiences the incarceration of a parent with whom they have lived. Although prior research has established that witnessing the arrest of a parent is a common occurrence for children of criminal justice-involved parents, child outcomes following such an event are understudied. Little is known about the long-term impacts of witnessing an arrest on children and the extent to which they may vary by child age. Methods Using longitudinal data from the Parent Child Study of mothers and fathers incarcerated in state prison, we examine the witnessing of parental arrest as an acute traumatic event and identify the extent to which this type of trauma predicts externalizing and internalizing symptoms for children during their parents’ incarceration and following release. Results Witnessing a parent’s arrest predicted greater internalizing behavior concerns while parents were incarcerated, with a greater magnitude of effect for children under eight years of age. Six months post-release of the parent, children younger than age eight who witnessed the arrest showed significantly higher internalizing and externalizing behaviors. No effect was found for children ages eight years or older. Conclusion Implications for future policies to reduce the likelihood of children witnessing parental arrests, as well as the potential benefit of screening for trauma when working with children with incarcerated parents, are discussed.