Children as independent variables: Some clinical implications of child-effects

The influence that children's behavior has on changing the behavior, cognitions, or affect of adults is an important but often overlooked factor in clinical interventions with children. Children's behavior often plays a prominent role in maintaining patterns of adult-child interactions that are detrimental to the child's healthy psychological adjustment. Recognition of such child-effects holds important implications for improving assessment and follow-through in adult-mediated behavior change programs. This recognition also suggests that children can act as the primary change agent in certain interventions, a strategy that may serve to empower children while enhancing their perceptions of control. In general, the concept of reciprocal influence in adult-child interactions underscores the importance of the emerging concept of behavioral family therapy.