Parenting in a Pandemic: Preliminary Support for Delivering Brief Behavioral Parent Training Through Telehealth

• Published in: Behavior modification Vol. 47; no. 1; pp. 128 - 153
• Main Authors: Holzman, Jacob B. W., Hawks, Jessica L., Kennedy, Sarah M., Anthony, Bruno J., Anthony, Laura G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2023; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Behavior Therapy - methods; Child; Child, Preschool; COVID-19; Humans; Pandemics; Parenting - psychology; Parents - education; Retrospective Studies; Telemedicine; brief intervention; behavioral parent training; telehealth; behavioral problems
• ISSN: 0145-4455; 1552-4167
• DOI: 10.1177/01454455221103226

Behavioral problems, such as noncompliance and aggression, are a common referral reason to mental health services for young children. Behavioral parent training (BPT) is the leading intervention for addressing behavioral problems and leads to benefits in a variety of parental factors (e.g., parenting efficacy and parenting stress). While the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically shifted service delivery toward telehealth services, limited work has evaluated the effectiveness of BPT when delivered in a brief, group format through telehealth. The current retrospective chart review study evaluated the engagement to and preliminary effectiveness of a brief version of BPT delivered through telehealth to 64 families of 3- to 7-year-olds referred for behavioral problems. Families attended an average of 4.55 of 6 sessions and most families had two caregivers who engaged in the intervention. Significant reductions in caregivers’ report of children’s behavioral problems and improvements in parenting self-efficacy resulted. Future research and clinical implications are discussed.