Is parenting the mediator of change in behavioral parent training for externalizing problems of youth?

Abstract

Change in parenting behavior is theorized to be the mediator accounting for change in child and adolescent externalizing problems in behavioral parent training (BPT). The purpose of this review is to examine this assumption in BPT prevention and intervention programs. Eight intervention and 17 prevention studies were identified as meeting all criteria or all but one criterion for testing mediation. Parenting behaviors were classified as positive, negative, discipline, monitoring/supervision, or a composite measure. Forty-five percent of the tests performed across studies to test mediation supported parenting as a mediator. A composite measure of parenting and discipline received the most support, whereas monitoring/supervision was rarely examined. More support for the mediating role of parenting emerged for prevention than intervention studies and when meeting all criteria for testing mediation was not required. Although the findings do not call BPT into question as an efficacious treatment, they do suggest more attention should be focused on examining parenting as a putative mediator in BPT.

Could scale-up of parenting programmes improve child disruptive behaviour and reduce social inequalities? Using individual participant data meta-analysis to establish for whom programmes are effective and cost-effective

“…Trials ideally need to be designed with three or more assessment points, in order to conduct these analyses, so that baseline, mediator and outcome can all be separated in time. 194 Finally, further primary research, and up-to-date research synthesis, is needed on factors predicting equity of initial access to parenting programmes, as our study could examine outcomes only for those families who had signed up to the IY programme.…”

Involvement in Child Rearing and Firm Control Parenting by Male Cohabiting Partners in Black Low-Income Stepfamilies

“…The adolescents in the current sample can be considered an at-risk, but not clinical, sample based on living in (a) an inner-city environment, (b) low income families, and (c) stepfamilies where the two residential adults are not married (see Brown, 2004; Hofferth, 2006). The MCPs in the current study were actively involved in parenting and daily childrearing activities (Forehand et al, 2014; Reid et al, 2014), particularly when mothers provided support for them engaging in these activities (Forehand, Parent, Golub, & Reid, in press). …”

Telephone-supported versus self-directed delivery of an online parenting program: Outcomes, mediators and moderators of change

“…While many parenting studies have focused on the importance of parenting changes for improvements in child behaviour (e.g. Forehand et al, 2014), the processes that lead to parenting change have received less attention in the literature, and there have been no studies examining theoretically and empirically-supported mechanisms of parenting change within an online parenting intervention. The focus on mediators is important for identifying the active components of the program that drive change, which has implications for ongoing refinement of program content, structure, or dissemination approaches (Kraemer et al, 2002).…”

“…Changes in parental self-efficacy has also received prior support within Triple P research as a mediator of change in dysfunctional parenting (McTaggart & Sanders, 2007). Increases in the use of positive parenting behaviours have also been shown to mediate the effects of parent training interventions on child outcomes (Forehand et al, 2014;Gardner et al, 2010), however the mediating relationship between increases in the use of positive parenting practices and reductions in negative or dysfunctional parenting styles through behavioural family intervention is less well-established.…”

“…So far, prior mediation studies have largely focused on examining the link between parenting changes and child behaviour improvements (e.g. Beauchaine et al, 2005;Forehand, Lafko, Parent, & Burt, 2014;Gardner, Hutchings, Bywater, & Whitaker, 2010). Triple P draws on established theoretical frameworks such as cognitive, behavioural and social learning principles in conjunction with self-regulation models (Sanders & Mazzucchelli, 2013;Sanders, 1999), however the causal pathways and processes responsible for parenting improvements, defined here as reductions in dysfunctional parenting behaviours, are still not well understood.…”