| Behavioral parent training (BPT) is an effective treatment to reduce noncompliant behaviors in children with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Symptoms of ADHD have a significant impact on the functioning of families. This psycoeducational program design evaluates the efficacy of a multi-therapeutic approach, based on concepts from Russell A. Barkley's Ph.D. Defiant children: A clinician's manual for parent training (1997) in combination with a counselor led support group on behavioral symptomology, parental stress, and parental sense of competence and efficacy related to parenting skills. This nine-week Behavioral Parent Training Program was aimed at increasing parent knowledge and skills in interacting with children with ADHD. Thirty-six parents from families with ADHD children aged 6 to 12 years were randomly assigned to one of two groups: treatment or wait-list control. Treatment outcomes were evaluated by the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6-18 (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001), Teacher's Report Form (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001), The Parent-Child Relationship Inventory (Gerard, 1994), and the Parenting Stress Index (Short Form) (Abidin, 1995). The multi-therapeutic approach of utilizing concepts from Russell Barkley's parent training model in combination with a counselor led support group resulted in no statistically significant decrease in parents' or teachers' perceived severity of the child's ADHD symptoms in comparison to the control group. Second, the program did not demonstrate statistically significant increases in parents' sense of competence and efficacy in comparison to the control group. There was also no statistically significant decrease in parents' reported stress in comparison to the control group. Although increases were not found to be statistically significant, there was an increase in the mean scores of the treatment group on each variable. |
