Effectiveness of Video-based Parenting Training in a Canadian CMHC

The Parents and Children Series (PACS) is group parenting-training program based on approximately 250 brief video-taped vignettes showing both effective and ineffective parent-child interactions. Over the course of the program, a variety of topics are introduced such as how to play with young children, using praise and rewards effectively, setting appropriate limits, ignoring attention-seeking behavior, establishing logical consequences, etc. For each topic, a number of brief videos are shown, the therapist facilitates a discussion of the videos, parents are provided with handouts and homework assignments, and they are asked to practice the new skills before the next session.

A number of controlled studies have demonstrated the efficacy of this approach, have shown that this treatment program is as effective as one-on-one behavioral parenting training while requiring one fifth as much therapist time, and have found that it is well-recieved by parents. Taylor et al (1998) tested the effectiveness of this treatment approach with 108 families who contacted a Canadian CMHC for help with conduct problems with a child between 3 and 8 years old. The therapists were full-time CMHC staff members. The results include:

• Both the PACS treatment and eclectic "treatment as usual" were effective in problems with the child's behavior as reported by the child's mother.
• Neither treatment produced significant changes in teachers' ratings of the childrens' behavior.
• The PACS treatment was superior to eclectic treatment on a number of measures.
• No long-term follow-up was reported.

Taylor, T.K., Schmidt, F., Pepler, D. & Hodgkins, C. (1998) A comparison of eclectic treatment with Webster-Stratton's Parents and Children Series in a children's mental health center: A randomized controlled trial, Behavior Therapy, 29, 221-240.

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