This article reviews the literature from 1996 to 2007 to update the 1998 Brestan and Eyberg report on evidence-based psychosocial treatments (EBTs) for child and adolescent disruptive behavior, including oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder. Studies were evaluated using criteria for EBTs developed by the task force on promotion and dissemination of psychological procedures (Chambless et al., 1998; Chambless et al., 1996). Sixteen EBTs were identified in this review, up from 12 in the earlier report, and 9 "possibly efficacious" treatments (Chambless & Hollon, 1998) were identified as well. This article describes the EBTs and their evidence base and covers research on moderators and mediators of treatment outcome, as well as the clinical representativeness and generalizability of the studies. Best practice recommendations from the current evidence base also are offered, as well as calls for future research that increases understanding of the moderators and mechanisms of change for children and adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders.

Describes interim results of a study examining the effectiveness of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) with families of preschool-age children with oppositional defiant disorder. Following an initial assessment, 64 clinic-referred families were randomly assigned to an immediate treatment (i.t.) or a wait-list control (WL) condition. Results indicated that parents in the IT condition interacted more positively with their child and were more successful in gaining their child's compliance than parents in the WL condition. In addition, parents who received treatment reported decreased parenting stress and a more internal locus of control. Parents in the IT group reported statistically and clinically significant improvements in their child's behavior following PCIT. All families who received treatment reported high levels of satisfaction with both the content and process of PCIT. Preliminary 4-month follow-up data showed that parents maintained gains on all self-report measures.

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This study explored predictors of treatment response and attrition in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). Participants were 99 families of 3- to 6-year-old children with disruptive behavior disorders. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify those pretreatment child, family, and accessibility factors that were predictive of success or attrition. For all study participants, waitlist group assignment and maternal age were the significant predictors of outcome. For treatment participants (study participants excluding those who dropped out after the initial evaluation but before treatment began), only maternal ratings of parenting stress and maternal inappropriate behavior during parent-child interactions were significant predictors of treatment outcome. These results suggest that for treatment studies of disruptive preschoolers, the benefits of using a waitlist control group may be outweighed by the disproportionate number of dropouts from this group. Once families begin PCIT, however, parent-related variables become salient in predicting treatment outcome.

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