title: The effectiveness of parent-child interaction therapy with depressive mothers: the changing relationship as the agent of individual change.
abstract: This study uses a multi-method approach to investigate the effectiveness of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) in reducing children's behavior problems when parents report clinical levels of depressive symptoms. Participants were 132 children, 2-7 years of age, and their biological mothers, who either reported low (N = 78) or clinical levels of depressive symptoms (N = 54). Results showed that depressive mothers were likely to report more severe child behavior problems than non-depressive mothers at the pre-treatment assessment, but that depressive mothers reported greater reductions in child behavior problems than non-depressive mothers from pre- to post-treatment. The two groups showed similar levels of observed interaction quality at the pre-treatment assessment (i.e., parent and child emotional availability and parent verbalization patterns) and similar improvements in interaction quality from pre- to post-treatment. The implications of the findings for clinical practice were discussed.
authors.affiliation: CAARE Diagnostic and Treatment Center, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, USA. susan.timmer@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
authors.forename: Susan G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Timmer
authors.forename: Lareina K L
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Urquiza
authors.forename: Nancy M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Zebell
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fernandez Y Garcia
authors.forename: Deanna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Boys
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D016896:Treatment Outcome