Evaluating a Brief Tailored Behavioral Parent Training Compared to Usual Care for Children Ages 2 to 12 With Behavioral Difficulties

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to evaluate a new brief and individually tailored behavioral parent training program designed for children aged 2 to 12 who experience behavioral difficulties such as oppositional, defiant, aggressive, hyperactive, impulsive, and inattentive behaviors. The study compares the short- and long-term effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of this brief parent training with optional booster sessions against the usual care provided by mental healthcare centers. The trial is conducted as a two-arm, multi-center randomized controlled trial embedded within routine mental healthcare settings. Parents in the intervention group receive a three-session training program two sessions of two hours each, delivered biweekly, followed by a one-hour session for evaluation and maintenance. Afterward, they may opt for additional booster sessions, each lasting one hour and offered up to once every four weeks for one year. The control group receives care as usual, which may include psychoeducation, parent counseling, long parent training, child therapy, or family therapy, with no restrictions on type or duration except exclusion of the brief program. Participants provide information on child behavior, well-being, parenting behaviors, and stress through questionnaires, audio recordings of mealtime routines, and daily phone calls at four timepoints baseline, shortly after the intervention or equivalent time for controls, six months later, and twelve months later. Researchers measure changes in specific behavioral difficulties parents aim to address, alongside secondary outcomes like child well-being and parenting stress. Therapists and parents evaluations of the program are also collected. The study monitors adherence and intervention fidelity through audiotaped sessions and supervision. Participation lasts up to one year with regular assessments.

A Randomized Controlled Trial on Brief Behavioral Parent Training