Cette thèse s’intéresse à la mesure des pratiques éducatives et à leur capacité à rendre compte de ces pratiques. Notamment, la sensibilité des instruments à rendre compte des changements dans les pratiques éducatives suite à un programme d’entraînement aux habiletés parentales est abordée tout en tenant compte des facteurs déterminants de ces pratiques. Le corps de cette thèse est composé de deux articles. L’objectif de la première étude consiste à comparer deux instruments de mesure fréquemment utilisés pour mesurer les pratiques éducatives. Les deux instruments, comparés sur la base de données empiriques, sont le Parenting Practices Interview (PPI), un instrument développé afin de mesurer les changements suite au programme d’entraînement aux habiletés parentales Ces Années Incroyables, et l’Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ). Le premier s’adresse aux parents d’enfants de 3 à 8 ans alors que le second cible les parents d’enfants d’âge scolaire. Cent vingt parents ont complété le PPI et l’APQ. Des analyses corrélationnelles, une analyse en composante principale et des corrélations canoniques ont été utilisées afin de comparer les différentes pratiques mesurées par ces deux instruments. Les résultats indiquent que ces deux instruments mesurent sensiblement les mêmes pratiques parentales. Quelques sous-échelles du PPI ne sont pas mesurées par l’APQ et représentent des pratiques éducatives additionnelles. Puisque ces deux instruments mesurent sensiblement les mêmes pratiques, le choix du questionnaire devrait être fait en fonction de l’objectif de l’étude (p.ex. évaluer l’efficacité du programme Ces Années Incroyables ou non), de la facilité d’utilisation de l’instrument et de l’âge des enfants. Le deuxième article a pour objectif d’évaluer les changements dans les pratiques éducatives suite à la participation des parents à un programme d’entraînement aux habiletés parentales (PEHP) à l’aide d’une grille d’observation spécifiquement développée dans le cadre de ce projet. De plus, cette étude vise à identifier les facteurs modérateurs du changement dans les pratiques éducatives telles certaines caractéristiques de l’enfant et des parents. Soixante-dix-sept familles ayant un enfant de 6 à 9 ans avec un trouble du déficit d’attention/hyperactivité (TDA/H) ont été retenues pour cette étude. Les familles ont participé soit au PEHP, soit elles ont reçu du soutien téléphonique (ST), ou elles ont continué à recevoir les services dans la communauté. Les pratiques éducatives ont été évaluées avant et après l’intervention à l’aide d’une mesure observationnelle. Les résultats indiquent que seuls les parents ayant participé au PEHP utilisent davantage de pratiques positives et ont diminué les pratiques sévères et négatives suite à l’intervention. De plus, le sous-type de TDA/H, la présence ou non de comorbidité chez l’enfant et le cumul de risque à l’intérieur d’une famille, calculé à partir de caractéristiques des parents, ne modèrent pas le changement suite à l’intervention. Cette étude démontre donc la capacité de la mesure observationnelle à détecter des changements suite à l’intervention de même que l’efficacité du PEHP auprès des familles d’enfants d’âge scolaire ayant un TDA/H. / The purpose of this thesis was to examine various measures of parenting practices and their ability to account for these practices. The instrument’s sensitivity to changes following a parent training program is also examined while taking into account potential moderators of treatment response. Two studies constitute the body of this thesis. The first study compared two parenting practices questionnaire on the basis of empirical data. The Parenting Practices Interview (PPI) is a self-report questionnaire for 3 to 8-year old children used to evaluate changes in parenting practices following a parent training program (PTP). The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ) is a self-report questionnaire for school-age children that has been used for multiple research purposes. One hundred and twenty parents completed both the PPI and APQ. Correlation analyses, principal component analysis and canonical correlations were performed, with results indicating that the PPI and APQ measure similar parenting practices. Only a few scales from the PPI were not measured by the APQ and represented additional content. Because both measures cover the same parenting practices aspects equally well, choice of questionnaire should be based on purpose of study, practicality and age of children. The second study examined changes in parenting practices following a parent training program for families of school-age children diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Changes were examined with an observational measure specifically created for this project. Seventy-seven families were assigned to either the Incredible Years parent training program (PTP), a support phone call group (SPC), or to a community services (C) control group. Parenting practices were assessed before and after the intervention through direct observations. Results showed that parents in the PTP group reduced the percentage of harsh/negative parenting practices and increased the percentage of positive parenting practices used following the intervention while parents from the other two groups did not change. In addition, ADHD subtypes, comorbidity and cumulative risks based on parent’s characteristics did not moderate treatment response. Findings from this study show that the new observational measure is sensitive enough to detect changes following a PTP and also indicate that a parent training program is a valuable intervention for families of school-age children diagnosed with ADHD.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:18:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Daniela Fazzio.pdf: 555426 bytes, checksum: 2c90c904bcc3dce2b7cc35c0bb40d4d7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2002-04-24 / Considering behavioral intervention for autism / developmental disabilities one of the most successful fields in Behavior Analysis, measured by, although not only, the great number of publications in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (Northup, Vollmer e Serret, 1993) it is observed that the field is a target of attention from parents and professionals of other areas. The present study found 15 parent and professional training manuals published between 1981 and 2000. Among those, six, which consisted of a curriculum, were considered for analysis. Among those, four were analyzed in regards to the repertoires proposed for teaching and the sequence of implementation of the programs for each of the repertoires. In order to allow the comparative analysis of the manuals, as a consequence of distinct styles of presenting its proposals, every program, of every repertoire, was reclassified according to Skinner s analysis of verbal behavior, as systematized by Sundberg e Partington (1998). Results are presented in three parts: 1. general presentation of the manuals, describing the contents and organization of contents; 2. repertoires, analyzing the distribution of programs for each repertoire and comparing them; 3. sequence of programs, comparing emphasis on each verbal repertoire (i.e.class). The analysis shows important characteristics of behavioral intervention, among which a consistency of procedures and target behaviors among manuals. One of the products of the study is the presentation of a model to evaluating behavioral intervention programs / Considerando a intervenção comportamental na área do autismo / deficiências de desenvolvimento um dos campos mais bem-sucedidos da Análise do Comportamento, com intensa produção de conhecimento medida pela quantidade de publicações na principal revista da área aplicada, o The Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (Northup, Vollmer e Serret, 1993) observa-se que a área é também foco de interesse de pais e profissionais de outras áreas. Este estudo encontrou 15 manuais de treinamento de pais e profissionais publicados entre 1981 e 2000. Destes, 6 foram selecionados com critérios mais estritos, consistindo de propostas de currículos. Destes, 4 foram analisados em relação aos repertórios propostos para ensino e a seqüência de treino das respostas em cada um dos repertórios. Para possibilitar a comparação entre os diferentes manuais, devido à característica de que apresentam suas propostas de maneira bastante distinta, todos os treinos, de cada repertório, de cada manual, foram reclassificados de acordo com as classes verbais de Skinner, sistematizadas por Sundberg e Partington (1998). Os resultados são apresentados em três partes: 1. apresentação geral dos manuais, descrevendo o conteúdo e a divisão em capítulos e seções ; 2. repertórios, analisando a participação de treinos em cada repertório para cada manual e comparando-os; 3. seqüência de treinos, comparando a ênfase colocada no treino de cada repertório. A análise dos resultados mostra importantes características da intervenção comportamental, dentre elas uma consistência de procedimentos e comportamentos-alvo entre os manuais. Um dos produtos do estudo é a apresentação de um modelo de avaliação de programas de intervenção comportamental

Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of programs that include a videotaped self-observation component. The self-observation protocols, however, have not been clearly specified within programs that teach and report parents’ use of general teaching strategies. The current study investigates the effects of a training package with a self-observation component to teach parents to improve teaching interactions with their children at-risk for a developmental delay using an AB design replicated across participants. Data were collected across play interactions to assess the number of parent teaching episodes, child target responses, and various parent and child relationship qualities. Relationship quality measures included parent and child affect and engagement, parent directives, parent confidence and stress, and parent and child interest. The results of this study suggest that the training package was effective in that parents engaged in higher rates of teaching, their children engaged in more desired responding, and certain aspects of the parent-child interaction were enhanced. These results are discussed in terms of the effects on the parent-child teaching interaction and implications for future use of parent self-observation techniques.

The current research considered parent report of sleep problems in children with an intellectual disability (ID). Of specific interest were parents who reported child sleep issues/disturbances but who did not consider their child to have a sleep problem. Also of interest was the use of a general parent-training program to treat both the sleep and behaviour problems in children with an ID. Study 1 examined parent perceptions regarding sleep in children with an ID. Parents who reported a child sleep problem provided information on the types of sleep treatment tried and rated their effectiveness. Overall, 243 questionnaires were completed by parents of children with a range of disabilities aged between 3.1 to 18.7 years. While 62% of parents rated their child as displaying problematic night settling, night waking, early waking, or other disturbing sleep behaviours, only 27% of parents considered their child to have a sleep problem. A higher number of parents (75%) than expected had tried at least one type of intervention, although it was not possible to discern 'self help' treatments from 'professionally sought' treatments. Study 2 investigated child and parent factors associated with parent perception of sleep problems in children with an ID. Seventy-six parents from Study 1 completed measures in relation to child adaptive and daytime behaviour, parent stress, locus of control, personality (extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism), parenting competence, and perceived control over the child's sleep and daytime behaviour. Based on parent report on a sleep measure and response to the question 'do you think your child has a sleep problem' parents were allocated into one of three sleep groups: Parents who recognised a sleep problem (RSP, N=20), parents whose child did not have a sleep problem (NSP, N=35), and parents who did not recognise their child to have a sleep problem (USP, N=21). The results revealed differences between parents who do (RSP) and parents who do not (USP) recognise their child's sleep problem. These differences related to amount of child sleep (as reported by parents) and parent perceived control over the child's sleep and daytime behaviour. Study 3 examined the efficacy of a general parent-training (behaviour management) program, with sleep used as the training exemplar, for the treatment of sleep problems in children with an ID. Of the 20 parents in the RSP group in Study 2, five agreed to take part in Study 3 and three completed the intervention. The effect of the intervention on (a) a targeted sleep problem, (b) a targeted behaviour problem, (c) other sleep and daytime behaviours, (d) parent stress, (e) parent sleep, (f) parent sense of competence, and (g) parent perceived control over the child's sleep and daytime behaviour were examined. All parents reported an improvement in target sleep behaviour, and at follow-up all of the parents no longer considered their child to have a sleep problem. One parent reported a decrease in stress and an increase in measures of perceived control, and parenting competence, while two parents showed minimal to no improvement on child and parent outcomes.

Parent training programs are widely used to remediate ineffective strategies being used by parents of children with maladaptive behaviors. While there are a multitude of parenting workshops available, it has been estimated that over half have no established effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to advance our knowledge regarding the effects of modeling and role-playing (in an experimentally controlled design), used to supplement the parent workshop called “Winning at Parenting” and enhance development of adaptive parenting skills of participants. This study trained parents in the behavioral techniques of clear communication, differential attention, and time-out procedures via modeling by the instructor, roleplaying with the parents, and instructor feedback to parents. A multiple-baseline design across four participants was used in an experimentally controlled manner to demonstrate the positive effect of modeling and role-playing on the development of these adaptive skills in a parent training program. Two research questions were analyzed. The first considered whether participants would increase their use of adaptive parenting strategies via modeling, role-playing and instructor feedback, within the multiple baseline design. The results clearly showed a mean increase in correct demonstration of each target behavior for each parent only after the treatment condition was introduced, indicating a significant treatment effect. Furthermore, because there was no overlap of data points from baseline to treatment, changes in level were evident, providing a strong case that behavior was changed due to treatment effects. Although trend of the behaviors in baseline varied, data points in the treatment phase for each target behavior for each parent made such a dramatic and immediate jump that they each were indicative of a treatment effect. These findings are consistent with previous research demonstrating that the use of modeling and roleplaying are superior to readings and lecture-style for parent training programs. The second question considered whether or not parent’s ratings of competence, depression, and life stress, as measured on the Parenting Stress Index (PSI), would change as a result of the intervention. Results showed no clear trends in data for the effects of treatment on the PSI scores.

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.

Cette thèse s’intéresse à la mesure des pratiques éducatives et à leur capacité à rendre compte de ces pratiques. Notamment, la sensibilité des instruments à rendre compte des changements dans les pratiques éducatives suite à un programme d’entraînement aux habiletés parentales est abordée tout en tenant compte des facteurs déterminants de ces pratiques. Le corps de cette thèse est composé de deux articles. L’objectif de la première étude consiste à comparer deux instruments de mesure fréquemment utilisés pour mesurer les pratiques éducatives. Les deux instruments, comparés sur la base de données empiriques, sont le Parenting Practices Interview (PPI), un instrument développé afin de mesurer les changements suite au programme d’entraînement aux habiletés parentales Ces Années Incroyables, et l’Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ). Le premier s’adresse aux parents d’enfants de 3 à 8 ans alors que le second cible les parents d’enfants d’âge scolaire. Cent vingt parents ont complété le PPI et l’APQ. Des analyses corrélationnelles, une analyse en composante principale et des corrélations canoniques ont été utilisées afin de comparer les différentes pratiques mesurées par ces deux instruments. Les résultats indiquent que ces deux instruments mesurent sensiblement les mêmes pratiques parentales. Quelques sous-échelles du PPI ne sont pas mesurées par l’APQ et représentent des pratiques éducatives additionnelles. Puisque ces deux instruments mesurent sensiblement les mêmes pratiques, le choix du questionnaire devrait être fait en fonction de l’objectif de l’étude (p.ex. évaluer l’efficacité du programme Ces Années Incroyables ou non), de la facilité d’utilisation de l’instrument et de l’âge des enfants. Le deuxième article a pour objectif d’évaluer les changements dans les pratiques éducatives suite à la participation des parents à un programme d’entraînement aux habiletés parentales (PEHP) à l’aide d’une grille d’observation spécifiquement développée dans le cadre de ce projet. De plus, cette étude vise à identifier les facteurs modérateurs du changement dans les pratiques éducatives telles certaines caractéristiques de l’enfant et des parents. Soixante-dix-sept familles ayant un enfant de 6 à 9 ans avec un trouble du déficit d’attention/hyperactivité (TDA/H) ont été retenues pour cette étude. Les familles ont participé soit au PEHP, soit elles ont reçu du soutien téléphonique (ST), ou elles ont continué à recevoir les services dans la communauté. Les pratiques éducatives ont été évaluées avant et après l’intervention à l’aide d’une mesure observationnelle. Les résultats indiquent que seuls les parents ayant participé au PEHP utilisent davantage de pratiques positives et ont diminué les pratiques sévères et négatives suite à l’intervention. De plus, le sous-type de TDA/H, la présence ou non de comorbidité chez l’enfant et le cumul de risque à l’intérieur d’une famille, calculé à partir de caractéristiques des parents, ne modèrent pas le changement suite à l’intervention. Cette étude démontre donc la capacité de la mesure observationnelle à détecter des changements suite à l’intervention de même que l’efficacité du PEHP auprès des familles d’enfants d’âge scolaire ayant un TDA/H. / The purpose of this thesis was to examine various measures of parenting practices and their ability to account for these practices. The instrument’s sensitivity to changes following a parent training program is also examined while taking into account potential moderators of treatment response. Two studies constitute the body of this thesis. The first study compared two parenting practices questionnaire on the basis of empirical data. The Parenting Practices Interview (PPI) is a self-report questionnaire for 3 to 8-year old children used to evaluate changes in parenting practices following a parent training program (PTP). The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ) is a self-report questionnaire for school-age children that has been used for multiple research purposes. One hundred and twenty parents completed both the PPI and APQ. Correlation analyses, principal component analysis and canonical correlations were performed, with results indicating that the PPI and APQ measure similar parenting practices. Only a few scales from the PPI were not measured by the APQ and represented additional content. Because both measures cover the same parenting practices aspects equally well, choice of questionnaire should be based on purpose of study, practicality and age of children. The second study examined changes in parenting practices following a parent training program for families of school-age children diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Changes were examined with an observational measure specifically created for this project. Seventy-seven families were assigned to either the Incredible Years parent training program (PTP), a support phone call group (SPC), or to a community services (C) control group. Parenting practices were assessed before and after the intervention through direct observations. Results showed that parents in the PTP group reduced the percentage of harsh/negative parenting practices and increased the percentage of positive parenting practices used following the intervention while parents from the other two groups did not change. In addition, ADHD subtypes, comorbidity and cumulative risks based on parent’s characteristics did not moderate treatment response. Findings from this study show that the new observational measure is sensitive enough to detect changes following a PTP and also indicate that a parent training program is a valuable intervention for families of school-age children diagnosed with ADHD.

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.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:30:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 6792.pdf: 12810361 bytes, checksum: 652c5b3b2e53c96e691c13281d5d958c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-04-02 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / This thesis involves a compilation of scientific texts and comprises four manuscripts: one book chapter and three Journal papers. Such texts are articulated in order to structure the theoretical support, the development and evaluation of an intervention program to mothers who use corporal punishment, suggesting improvements for future research. The definition of corporal punishment was initially presented, as well as a brief overview of this disciplinary practice in Brazil, identifying strategies to curb and prevent it. A systematic review the Brazilian and international literature on parenting programs focused on the prevention of corporal punishment follows, suggesting the need to develop more programs on this theme with solid methodological rigor. In sequence, the sociodemographic profile, history of violence and disciplinary practices of 40 mothers who use corporal punishment was determined, finding that the mothers justified the physical violence towards the children by nervousness , demonstrating an urgent need to receive specialized guidance. Finally, the program involving Project Parceria s second Unit on Positive Parenting of Children was described in detail, including technological resources: coaching and videofeedback of videotaped mother-child interaction sessions, in a randomized controlled trial. Significant positive results in the post-test measures of mothers in the experimental group were observed in comparison to the control group, regarding decrease of depression scores, increase of children's strengths, as well as diminished behavior problems and hyperactivity. In addition, there was a significant improvement in mother-child positive interaction measured in observation sessions at post-test. / A presente tese é descrita no formato de uma composição de textos científicos, compreendida por quatro textos: um capítulo de livro e três artigos. Tais textos estão articulados de modo a estruturar a base, o desenvolvimento e a avaliação de um programa de intervenção a mães que aplicam castigo corporal, além de sugerir aprimoramentos para pesquisas futuras. Inicialmente foi realizada uma apresentação teórica sobre a definição do castigo corporal; um breve panorama dessa prática no Brasil; além de estratégias para o seu combate e prevenção. Em seguida, fez-se uma revisão sistemática de literatura nacional e internacional sobre programas parentais com foco na prevenção do castigo corporal, apontando a necessidade de se desenvolver mais programas nessa temática e com o devido rigor metodológico. Posteriormente, foi traçado o perfil sociodemográfico, histórico de violência e práticas disciplinares de 40 mães que aplicam castigo corporal, tendo identificado que essas mães justificaram as agressões por nervosismo , o que demonstra a necessidade urgente de que recebam orientação profissional especializada. Por fim, foi descrito detalhadamente o programa Educação positiva dos seus filhos (módulo do Projeto Parceria), incluindo os recursos tecnológicos: coaching e videofeedback das sessões de interação mãe-criança filmadas, tendo sido utilizado ensaio clínico randomizado. Foram observados resultados positivos significativos no pósteste das medidas das mães do grupo experimental, em comparação ao grupo controle, relativos à diminuição do escore total de depressão, aumento do escore total de capacidades das crianças, bem como diminuição de seus problemas de comportamento e hiperatividade. Além disso, houve melhora significativa da interação positiva da mãe com seu filho conforme medido em sessões de observação no pós-teste.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:41:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria Luiza Guedes de Mesquita.pdf: 3223053 bytes, checksum: 7233fde246c91329017c898671a1ca6b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-14 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Prader-Willi Syndrom (PWS) is a genetic disorder caused by the lack of expression of the genes from the paternal chromosome region 15q11-13 that suffer from genomic imprinting. Cardinal symptoms of the disorder are neonatal hypotony, hyporeflexia in the six first months of age and the ulterior development of hyperfagia, obesity, behavioral problems and intellectual disability in varied levels. Studies indicate that, despite the evident neurobiological factors involved in the pattern of hyperfagia and behavioral alterations, parent training is still considered fundamental and one of the most adequate intervention options for children and adolescents with the syndrome. Parenting practices adapted to the main demands of personal care can result not only in improvement in behavioral problems, but also improves indicators of family relations and can cause a reduction of parental mental health problems. The study had the objective of developing, applying and assessing the efficiency of a parent training program for behavioral management of children and adolescents with PWS. The sample was composed of five children/adolescents with genetic diagnosis of PWS, age range 6 to 16 years old. Data collection procedures and tools were: a) Questionnaire for assessing the knowledge of mothers about the syndrome; b) Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6-18 (CBCL/6-18); c) Adult Self-Report for Ages 18-59; d) Parenting Styles Inventory maternal and paternal educational practices; e) anthropometric examination of body weight indicators; f) Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children WISC III. The research was composed of four phases: pre-intervention assessment, intervention, post-intervention assessment, follow-up. Parallel to intervention, it was carried out a nutritional intervention program, which was the subject of an MA dissertation developed by the Post-Graduation Program in Development Disorders. Data collected with behavioral assessment tools was analyzed through their specific patterns. Descriptive analysis of the data were carried out through the use of tables and figures of simple frequency and comparison of data related to children, adolescents and mothers that took part in the study at the phases of pre-intervention, post-intervention and follow-up. The main results indicate that the group presented expressive improvement in all emotional and behavioral aspects, as well as in the indicators of body weight (mainly due to nutritional intervention). Socialization indicators did not present improvement due to the inadequate obtention of food in these socialization environments. Mothers started to adopt parenting educational practices based on positive monitoring, reduced or eliminated the use of risk practices and acknowledged harm effects of the use of negative parenting practices with their children. The study concluded that the group of mothers learned to identify and manage several factors that impaired physical health, behavior and academic performance of their children and the need of the involvement of parents, grandparents and siblings in the proper care and behavioral management of the child with the syndrome. / A Síndrome de Prader-Willi (SPW) é uma doença genética cuja causa decorre da falta de expressão de genes da região cromossômica 15q11-13 paterna que sofrem o fenômeno de imprinting genômico. Os sintomas cardinais da doença são hipotonia neonatal e hiporreflexia nos primeiros seis meses de vida e posteriormente o desenvolvimento progressivo de hiperfagia, obesidade, problemas de comportamento e deficiência intelectual em níveis variados. Estudos apontam que, apesar do evidente envolvimento neurobiológico no padrão de hiperfagia e nas alterações comportamentais, continua sendo considerado prioritário o treinamento parental como uma das opções de intervenção mais adequadas para crianças e adolescentes com a síndrome. Práticas parentais adaptadas às principais demandas de cuidado da pessoa podem resultar não só em melhoras de problemas de comportamento desta, mas também na melhora de indicadores de relacionamento familiar e redução de problemas de saúde mental dos pais. O estudo teve como objetivo geral desenvolver, aplicar e avaliar a eficácia de um programa de treinamento parental para manejo de comportamentos de crianças e adolescentes com SPW. A amostra foi composta por cinco crianças/adolescentes com diagnóstico genético de SPW, na faixa etária de 6 a 16 anos e suas mães. Os instrumentos e procedimentos de coleta de dados foram: a) Questionário para verificação de conhecimentos das mães sobre a síndrome, b) Inventário de Comportamentos de Crianças e Adolescentes de 6 a 18 anos (CBCL/6-18); c) Inventário de Auto-avaliação para Adultos de 18 a 59 anos (ASR/18-59), d) Inventário de Estilos Parentais (IEP) - Práticas educativas maternas e paternas, e) Exame antropométrico de indicadores de peso corporal, f) Escala de Inteligência Wechsler para crianças WISC-III. O estudo foi realizado em quatro fases: avaliação pré-intervenção, intervenção, avaliação pós-intervenção e seguimento. Paralelamente à fase de intervenção do estudo foi conduzido um programa de intervenção nutricional tema de uma dissertação de mestrado desenvolvida no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Distúrbios do Desenvolvimento. Os dados provenientes da aplicação dos instrumentos de avaliação comportamental foram analisados por meio das padronizações específicas destes. Foram conduzidas análises descritivas dos dados mediante uso de tabelas e gráficos de frequência simples e comparação dos dados referentes às crianças, adolescentes e mães participantes entre as fases de pré-intervenção, pós-intervenção e seguimento. Os principais resultados apontaram que o grupo de crianças/adolescentes apresentou melhoras expressivas em todos os aspectos emocionais e comportamentais e indicadores de peso corporal (esses últimos associados predominantemente à intervenção nutricional). Indicadores de socialização não apresentaram na amostra a mesma melhora devido à obtenção inadequada de comida nesses ambientes de socialização. As mães passaram a adotar práticas parentais educativas baseadas na monitoria positiva, diminuíram ou extinguiram o uso de práticas de risco e reconheceram os efeitos prejudiciais do uso de práticas parentais negativas em relação ao manejo do filho. O estudo permitiu concluir que o grupo de mães apreendeu a identificar e manejar diversos fatores que prejudicavam a saúde física, o comportamento e a aprendizagem escolar dos filhos e a necessidade do envolvimento de pais, avós e irmãos no cuidado e manejo comportamental adequado do filho acometido pela síndrome.