Outcome Findings from a Parent Training Programme for Young People with Conduct Problems

BACKGROUND: Group-based parent training programmes are a common intervention for tackling conduct problems in young people. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a parent training programme on young people presenting with conduct problems. METHOD: 123 parents of young people aged 10 to 17 with conduct problems participated in the study. A one-group, pre-post design was adopted. Participants completed the Child Behaviour Check List (CBCL) at the beginning and end of the parenting programme. The degree of change was indexed by: a) Mean change; b) change from clinical to non-clinical status; and c) Reliable change. Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of reliable positive change in CBCL problems. RESULTS: Analyses from all three sources suggest that there was a significant reduction in CBCL internalising, externalising and total scores. Withdrawn score pre-treatment was the only independent predictor of reliable change in internalising and total scores: the higher the score pre-treatment, the greater the chances of reliable improvement in post-treatment scores. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides evidence in support of the therapeutic improvement achieved by some young people whose parents attended the group parent training programme. The programme had a significant impact on internalising as well as externalising problems. Further studies of the programme would benefit from being run as a randomised clinical trial.