We examined two emergent processes in treatment (parent-therapist alliance and perceived barriers to treatment participation) in parent management training for children (N = 234, 55 girls and 179 boys, ages 4–14) referred clinically for oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behavior. We predicted that two parent characteristics (interpersonal relationships and quality of daily life) evaluated prior to treatment would predict quality of the therapeutic alliance and perceived barriers during treatment. Alliance and perceived barriers were significantly related to treatment outcome. Stronger alliance and fewer perceived barriers were associated with greater therapeutic change. Interpersonal relationships and quality of daily life, each represented with multiple measures, predicted quality of the therapeutic alliance and perceived barriers during treatment. Alliance and barriers continued to predict therapeutic change even after controlling for pretreatment predictors of these emergent processes.
