Two-year Follow-up of Internet-based Parent Training with Telephone Coaching Aimed at Treating Child Disruptive Behaviors in a Clinical Setting during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Preprint)

BACKGROUND There is a lack of studies examining the long-term outcomes of internet-based parent training programs implemented in clinical settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE To study two-year outcomes of families with 3–8-year-old children referred from family counseling centers to the Finnish Strongest Families Smart Website (SFSW), which provides digital parent training with telephone coaching aimed at treating child disruptive behaviors. METHODS Counseling centers in Helsinki identified 50 3–8-year-old children with high levels of disruptive behavioral problems. Child psychopathology and functioning as well as parenting styles and parental mental health were reported by parents at baseline, posttreatment and at 6-, 12- and 24-month follow-ups. RESULTS The SFSW program had positive long-term change on child psychopathology and parenting skills. Improvements in child psychopathology, including Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) total score (Cohen’s d = 0.47, p CONCLUSIONS The study shows that the SFSW parent training program can yield significant long-term benefits. Findings indicate that the benefits of the treatment may vary between different parenting profiles, which is important to consider when developing more personalized parenting interventions. CLINICALTRIAL