The development of a high-intensity parent training program for the treatment of moderate to severe child conduct problems.

A home-based parent training program for the treatment of moderate to severe conduct problems was developed in 2 stages. Study 1, a case study, examined the inverse covariation between a 6 yr old child's compliance to parental instruction and aversive responding. Study 2, which used a multiple-baseline-across-subjects experimental design with 2 families, examined the effectiveness of a multi component treatment strategy for the reduction of aversive child behavior. In both studies the client was a 7 yr old boy. Treatment was conducted as in Study 1 with the addition of high-intensity training in a time-out procedure. Direct observations of parent and child behavior were conducted in the home setting. Study 1 demonstrated the inverse covariation effect. Study 2 demonstrated significant treatment gains in parent and child behaviors in both training and test settings, which were maintained at 3-mo follow-up. A home-based parent training program that includes high-intensity training in time-out is an effective treatment method for moderate to severe child conduct problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)