Coaching Parents to Change: The Impact of In Vivo Feedback on Parents' Acquisition of Skills

Abstract

Behavioral parent training (BPT) includes a variety of evidence-based treatments with diverse techniques to alter parent behavior. Parent–Child Interaction Therapy is an innovative BPT with its use of in vivo feedback (i.e., “coaching”) during parent–child interactions. An experimental design was used to assess whether coaching without elaborate didactic improves parenting. Sixty mothers with children 2 to 7 years old were recruited from the community and randomly assigned to a coaching or no coaching group. After a baseline assessment, all dyads participated in two play interactions 1 week apart during which parents in the coaching group were provided with in vivo feedback. Coached parents displayed significant improvements in skills, and coaching predicted skill gains beyond the influence of baseline ability. Findings suggest that providing parents with feedback through in vivo coaching is an important mechanism of change.

Notes

Note. Values in parentheses correspond to mean square errors. G = group; T = time; P = participants.

*p < .05. **p < .001.

Note. N = 60. PSI = Parenting Stress Index; BASC = Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition–Parent Report Form; BSI = Behavioral Symptoms Index; DPICS Positive Parenting Skills = Dyadic Parent–Child Interaction Coding System, sum of parent praises, behavior descriptions, and reflections.

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001 (one-tailed tests)..

Note. N = 60. R ² = .14 (p < .01) for Step 1; ΔR ² = .23 (p < .001) for Step 2.

*p < .001.