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Training parents of hyperactive children in child management: A comparative outcome study

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Abstract

Parents of 44 hyperactive children were assigned to either a behavior modification group (PA T), a comunications group (PET), or a delayedtreatment control group. Parents in the treatment groups participated in 9-week training workshops. Parents and their children were assessed before and after the workshops on measures that included ratings of hyperactivity and severity of problems, a daily checklist of problem occurrence, parental attitudes, and direct observations in a laboratory situation. Both treatment methods were more effective than a no-treatment control condition in reducing hyperactivity ratings, problem severity ratings, and daily problem occurrence. Additionally, parents receiving behavior modification training rated their children as more improved than did PET parents, were more willing to recommend the program to a friend, felt the program was more applicable to them, and were less likely to drop out of the program. Nine-month followup assessments indicated that treatment parents continued to view their children's behavior more positively than did control group parents. Results are discussed with respect to the implications that an educational approach to teaching child management can be an effective means of reducing behavioral itproblems in children, that methods differing in theoretical background and actual skills taught may result in similar outcomes, and that a “psychological,” as opposed to a medical, approach to the treatment of hyperactive children can have considerable merit.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA

    Dennis R. Dubey & Susan G. O'Leary

  2. Sagamore Children's Center, Box 755, 11747, Melville, New York

    Kenneth F. Kaufman

Authors
  1. Dennis R. Dubey
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  2. Susan G. O'Leary
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  3. Kenneth F. Kaufman
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Additional information

This article is based on a dissertation submitted by the first author in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Ph.D. at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Gratitude is expressed to K. Daniel O'Leary, David Cross, and the late Mortimer Kreuter, who served on the dissertation committee. The authors also thank Jack Bowman and Carol Novak, who served as PET instructors, and Ron Prinz, who assisted in data analysis.

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Dubey, D.R., O'Leary, S.G. & Kaufman, K.F. Training parents of hyperactive children in child management: A comparative outcome study. J Abnorm Child Psychol 11, 229–245 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00912088

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00912088

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