A mixed method research methodology based on the principles of empirical research in social learning family interventions and narrative inquiry was employed to explore and explicate the effects of in-home Parent Management Training (PMT) for mothers of children/adolescents who have Conduct Problems (CP). Prior research has indicated that mothers of such children and adolescents experience more psychological, social and emotional distress than their same-sex peers. As well, these mothers report feeling less confident about their ability to parent their children in the face of on-going challenging behaviors such as child non-compliance, defiance, disobedience and aggression. In previous research, mothers have described themselves as isolated socially, personally defeated, and often economically disadvantaged by the demands of coping with their children's/adolescents' acting-out behaviors at home, school, and in their neighborhoods. The current research evaluated the effectiveness of treatment for mothers and children based on a multisystemic approach (MST) to providing in-home PMT.
Mothers (n = 26) in the treatment condition were measured three times using standardized questionnaires of parenting stress and parenting self-agency. In addition, mothers and teachers each completed the appropriate form of the same behavior checklist of child/adolescent psychopathology three times. Nine of the mothers also participated in three narrative interviews, which queried their experiences of parenting a child/adolescent with CP, their subsequent experiences of the in-home parenting skills intervention, and their ability to cope four months post-treatment. Statistical analyses indicated positive changes in mothers' reported levels of parenting self-agency, and reductions in their levels of parenting stress. Teachers' scores remained unchanged. Thematic analysis of mothers' interviews yielded data that supported the quantitative findings; however, the interview data was also found to contribute unique information about the quality of mothers' parenting, marital and other relationships, as well as their opinions of whether the in-home counselling was personally supportive and effective in teaching them additional behavior management skills.
Whereas most of the mothers interviewed reported feeling supported by the in-home counsellor, as well as significant improvements to their parenting skills, the mothers also reported that their children required on-going parenting efforts that were consistent with reduced but not unremitting child/adolescent CP. Implications for clinical practice and future research are suggested, based on the limited generality of the findings. / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/9863 |
| Date | 03 August 2018 |
| Creators | Tate, Candace Bette |
| Contributors | Harvey, Brian, Timmons, B. A. |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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