Parent–Child Interaction Therapy adapted for older children

Authors

Luke W. BadleyFollow

Preferred Name

Luke Badley

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

ORCID

Parent–Child Interaction Therapy Adapted for Older Children

Date of Graduation

4-20-2025

Semester of Graduation

Summer

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Department of Graduate Psychology

First Advisor

Trevor F. Stokes

Abstract

Externalizing behavior problems in children refer to negative outward actions directed toward others and the environment (Liu, 2004; Maughan et al., 2005). Between 2013–2019, the CDC reported a prevalence of 8.9%, with the highest rates in children aged 6–11 (Bitsko et al., 2022). If untreated, these behaviors may worsen and impact broader psychological functioning (Masten & Cicchetti, 2010). A review of the literature regarding the treatment of child behavior problems using Behavioral Parent Training (BPT) interventions highlights the critical role that parents play in the development and treatment of childhood behavior problems. BPT interventions enable parents and other important adults to address externalizing behavior problems in children by changing the behavior of the caregivers (Kaehler et al., 2016; Reitman & McMahon, 2013).

Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is a BPT intervention with strong empirical support. Its effectiveness is well established with children aged 3–6. Few studies have explored PCIT with older children (Chaffin et al., 2004; Stokes et al., 2017), however, similar BPT interventions have been used with children up to age 15 prompting the current study’s question: Does an adaption of PCIT for older children change the behavior of older children and their parents? To answer this question, the current study conducted a multiple-baseline assessment across the behaviors of multiple caregivers and children. Results suggest that an adapted version of PCIT increased desired behaviors and reduced undesired behaviors in caregivers. Additionally, child compliance increased and there were reductions in disruptive behavior as measured by the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI).