An Open Trial of Parent–Child Care (PC-CARE)-A 6-Week Dyadic Parenting Intervention for Children with Externalizing Behavior Problems

Research shows that parenting interventions are plagued with the problem of early treatment termination. A brief 6-week intervention, parent–child care (PC-CARE) was developed to minimize the time investment for parents while maximizing the probability of improving behavioral problems of their 1–10 year old children. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of PC-CARE and examine preliminary outcomes. The data were collected as part of an open trial in a community mental health clinic and included pre- and post-treatment performance outcomes, weekly measures of treatment progress, and assessments of treatment fidelity. Participants were 64 children and their primary caregivers, referred by physicians, social workers, or self-referred for help with their children’s difficult behaviors. The retention rate was 94%. Results of analyses pre- to post-intervention scores showed significant improvements in child behavioral problems as well as improvements in parenting stress and positive parenting skills. The findings suggest that PC-CARE may be a beneficial treatment for children with disruptive behaviors, encourage future research into the efficacy of this brief parenting intervention, and its effectiveness in other populations and contexts.