Evaluation of behavioral group counseling for parents of learning-disabled children.
The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a behavioral group counseling program for parent members of the Association for Children with Learning Disabilities. Twenty-two mothers were assigned to two treatment groups (N = 5 and N = 6) and a control group (N = 11). Treatment-group mothers received a series of eight weekly 1 1/2-hour sessions in which they were taught basic principles and procedures of behavior modification which they could apply to specific child-rearing problems. Multiple-success criteria (maternal reports, direct observation, frequency counts, and attitudinal measures) were employed to provide a broad-based measurement of outcome. Results indicated that treatment ratings of childrens' conduct and disruption and parental postbehavioral observations of mother-child interactions showed improvement for the behavioral-counseling groups while control-group ratings and behavior observations remained the same. All treatment-group changes were maintained at 3-month follow-up. Consistency of treatment-group data across measures and over time suggests the effectiveness of this approach as a training method. Implications for future research were discussed.
D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003376:Counseling; D005260:Female; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011581:Psychological Tests