Young parents and their children are considered a high-risk population as they are more likely to lack social support networks, have limited access to opportunities to enhance parenting skills, and are often financially dependent. Young children whose mothers have poor parenting skills are more likely to have persistent problem behavior. Three young mothers living in a transitional housing facility participated in this study. The purpose of this study was to determine if these mothers could implement parenting strategies that are a part of a commercially available parenting book and DVD. This study found that: (1) mothers were able to correctly implement the parenting strategies; (2) child problem behavior decreased from baseline to follow-up; and (3) the mother's perception of child problem behavior shifted positively from baseline to follow-up phases.

Previous research has demonstrated the efficacy of a behavioral parent training program for increasing the accuracy of trained skills; however, few studies have examined the extent to which those skills generalize to the natural environment (i.e., the home) and are used with the target individual (i.e., the child). In addition, little is known about the direct effect that caregiver implementation of the skills has on child behavior. A multiple baseline across participants design was used to (a) assess caregiver accuracy with implementation of three parenting skills, and (b) assess subsequent effects of the parenting skills on child behavior. Results demonstrated that three caregiver participants successfully generalized parenting skills taught during behavioral skills training (BST) to naturally occurring routines by recognizing appropriate and inappropriate child behaviors as opportunities to implement the trained skills. In addition, the behavior of each caregiver's child improved following BST, suggesting that the parenting skills were effective in addressing challenging child behavior. All caregivers rated the training and skills to be highly socially valid. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Currently, very little is understood regarding the effectiveness of school-based Behavioral Parent Training (BPT) programs or associated attrition rates. The goal of the current study is to examine the effectiveness of school-based BPT programs, associated attrition rates, and possible moderator variables related to attrition. Searches within the databases EBSCOhost were conducted to find BPT programs located at schools as well as the associated attrition rates for each individual study. Mean associated attrition rates were calculated using the software Comprehensive Meta-Analysis. The mean weighted attrition rate across all trials of school-based studies was 42.2%. Significant moderators were also found to increase the risk of attrition in this study. For instance, interventions that were preventative or delivered at a Tier I level, were individually delivered, involved participants from non-disadvantaged backgrounds and targeted behaviors classified as mixed/comorbid. Additionally, the number of sessions and the average age of child/parent moderated the weighted associated attrition rate. Insignificant results were found for program provider and caregiver attending. Comparisons between results from this study and the clinic-based literature are discussed as well as directions for future research.

Abstract It is estimated that approximately 16-20% of youth will develop a diagnosable behavior disorder. Behavioral parent training is a valuable approach to address disruptive behaviors by teaching parents how to effectively manage their child’s challenging behavior with non-physical disciplinary techniques. While these programs are generally effective, attrition rates have been found to be as high as 60% in some cases. This review provides information about the characteristics commonly associated with these programs, the attrition rates of each program, and the general effectiveness of the programs. Meta-analytic procedures were implemented to identify contributing factors leading to withdrawal from intervention. Keywords: parent training, behavioral parent training, parent management training, parent child interaction therapy