[How well do parents and teachers' reports agree on behaviour problems in pre-school-aged children?]. / Wie gut stimmen Eltern und Erzieherinnen in der Beurteilung von Verhaltensproblemen bei Kindergartenkindern überein?

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study is to examine the extent of parental and teacher agreement on behaviour problems in preschool-aged children. METHOD: Families were recruited from preschools in Braunschweig. In total, N=310 children aged three to six years were evaluated by their mothers and fathers and by their preschool teachers using the Child Behavior Checklist and the Caregiver-Teacher Report for ages 1(1)/(2) to 5. RESULTS: The inter-parental agreement on behaviour problems was high. Parents consistently reported more problem behaviour than did preschool teachers. The median of intra-class correlation between the evaluations by the mothers with those by the fathers was 0.65, and 0.18 (0.17) for parent-teacher dyads. For the agreement between parents with respect to the borderline/clinical range a mean of kappa=0.41 was found, while there was no agreement between parents and teachers. CONCLUSIONS: The results are integrated into the literature, and implications, particularly those for clinical assessment procedures at preschool age, are discussed.

[17 tips on parenting--which strategies do parents apply?]. / 17 Tipps wie man Kinder erzieht--Welche Erziehungsstrategien setzen Eltern ein?

The necessity to make available education support to parents is undisputed because of the epidemiology of child behavior problems. Parent trainings are a method to increase parenting competence. Triple P as a successful example of a parenting and family support program is introduced briefly with his theoretical bases, intervention levels, basic principles and education strategies. In addition, findings are reported to the effectiveness and consumer satisfaction. The present work examines which Triple P-strategies use parents after the training in the everyday life. The data come from the project "Zukunft Familie" in which the long-term effectiveness of the Triple P-training was examined in a controlled study in 280 families. 144 parents took part in the Triple P-group training and filled before, directly after the intervention and with 1-year-follow up questionnaires to the education strategies. The results show that the positive education strategies were used for promotiong child development already before the training more often as the ideas to managing misbehavior. More than 90% of the parents, above all, the positive education strategies also practised with the 1-year follow-up. In addition, there was a significant decrease by the use of the "time out"-strategy.

[Promotion of parental competence with triple P]. / Förderung der Elternkompetenz durch Triple P-Elterntrainings.

Parental competencies have great impact on child development. The concept of parental competency is a comprehensive construct, that involves functional and dysfunctional rearing behavior as well as evaluation of parental coping with challenging rearing situations and self-efficacy of rearing. Enhancing parental education is an important challenge on the background of high prevalence rates of child behavior problems. In the present randomised controlled study the effects of a Triple P parent training on parental competence was examined. 280 families were randomly assigned to a training of a control group. After pre-assessment, the training group participated in a Triple P parent training. 6 and 12 month after pre-assessment, post- and follow-up-1-year-assessments were conducted. Mothers in the training group showed significantly increased parental competencies compared to the control group. Especially overt functional and dysfunctional rearing behavior changed positively. Fathers showed no such change, but did often also not participate in the training. The study illustrates that parental competence can be promoted through Triple P.

[The prevalence of ADHD and attention problems in preschool-aged children. A comparison of two diagnostic instruments]. / Prävalenz hyperkinetischer Symptome und Störungen im Vorschulalter--ein Vergleich zweier Diagnoseinstrumente.

OBJECTIVES: In order to analyse the prevalence of ADHD and attention problems in preschool-aged children, mothers were asked to rate their children using two measuring instruments. METHODS: The analysis is part of a prospective, randomised control study of N = 280 children aged three to six years, whose mothers rated them using the Child Behaviour Checklist/CBCL 1 1/2-5 and the Parent Rating Scale for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). RESULTS: The prevalence rates ranged from 2.7% to 9.9%. There was no significant gender effect in this age group. CONCLUSIONS: The study delivers initial findings and provides support for decisions to implement in Germany new assessment methods for preschool-aged children with ADHD or hyperkinetic syndrome. Finally, the different rates of prevalence and the implications of the findings for epidemiology and the prevention of ADHD and attention problems among preschool-aged children are discussed.

[Early prevention of externalizing disorders--basic principles and parent-centered approaches to prevention of expansive childhood behavior disorders]. / Frühprävention von externalisierenden Störungen--Grundprinzipien und elternzentrierte Ansätze zur Prävention von expansiven kindlichen Verhaltensstörungen.

Conduct disorder is an area of mental disorder, in which prevention seems to be advisable for different reasons. First, relevant factors that help identifying a population at risk are well-known. Second, a number of research efforts showed negative developmental trajectories for children with early conduct disorder, and third, we have effective treatment programs that facilitate deriving prevention strategies. This paper first describes results which clarify the need for prevention. Then basic principles and contents of effective prevention programs for conduct disorder are described. Finally, four behaviorally oriented examples from the numerous existing universal, selected and indicated prevention programs are illustrated and discussed.

Long-term outcome of a randomized controlled universal prevention trial through a positive parenting program: is it worth the effort?

BACKGROUND: Approximately 20% of children experience internalizing or externalizing DSM-IV-TR disorders. This prevalence rate cannot be reduced through treatment only. Effective preventive interventions are therefore urgently needed. The aim of the current investigation is to evaluate the two-year efficacy of the group Triple P parenting program administered universally for the prevention of child behavior problems. METHODS: Based on their respective preschool, N = 280 families were randomly assigned either to the parent training or to the control group. The efficacy was analyzed using multi-source assessments, including questionnaires by mother and father, behavioral observation of mother-child interaction, and teacher evaluations. RESULTS: At the 2-year follow-up, both parents in the Triple P intervention reported significant reductions in dysfunctional parenting behavior, and mothers also an increase in positive parenting behavior. In addition, mothers reported significant reductions in internalizing and externalizing child behavior. Single-parent mothers in the Triple P intervention did not report significant changes in parenting or child problem behavior which is primarily due to inexplicable high positive effects in single parent mothers of the control group. Neither mother-child interactions nor teacher ratings yielded significant results. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the long-term efficacy of the Triple P - group program as a universal prevention intervention for changing parenting behavior in two-parent households, but not necessarily in single-parent mothers.

Therapist-assisted, self-administered bibliotherapy to enhance parental competence: short- and long-term effects.

The efficacy of bibliotherapy has primarily been investigated in anxiety disorders, depression, or substance dependence. The efficacy of self-help books to increase parenting competence was only investigated in a few studies despite their broad dissemination in public. The aims of the study were to investigate the short- and long-term efficacy of a therapist assisted version of the Triple P self-help booklet (Sanders, Markie-Dadds, & Turner, 2003) for families with preschool-age children in Germany. Sixty-nine families were randomly assigned to either a therapist-assisted self-administered parent training (SDPT+T) or to a waitlist control group (WL). Parents in the SDPT+T received the 10 chapter self-help book and an accompanying video. A Triple P facilitator offered seven telephone consultations which aimed to support parents in skill implementation. After the post test, the WL parents were also offered the intervention. A follow-up assessment was conducted six months after post. Compared to waitlist controls, SDPT+T mothers reported significant short- and long-term reductions in child behavior problems as well as in dysfunctional parenting practices. Fathers reported only marginal changes. The study adds further empirical support of parenting self-help materials.

Parent recruitment and retention in a universal prevention program for child behavior and emotional problems: barriers to research and program participation.

Despite the potential of parent training as a prevention and behavioral family intervention strategy, there are a number of important issues related to implementation (e.g., recruitment and retention of families). This paper presents recruitment and retention data from families enrolling in a randomized controlled universal prevention trial for child behavior problems conducted in Germany. The recruitment rate averaged 31% (general project participation), with families of lower socioeconomic status (SES) participating at a lower rate. Project-declining families most often reported intrusion of privacy as their primary concern. In contrast, once parents were enrolled in the project, participation among those randomized to the parent training group averaged 77% (program/intervention participation); non-participation was mostly due to logistical issues. Parents accepting the offer of parent training were more likely to report child behavior problems than did declining parents. Although parents from more disadvantaged areas had a lower overall level of participation in the project once recruited, parents with children having higher levels of behavior problems indeed were more likely to participate in the intervention. Different recruitment methods may be required to engage high-risk families from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas to further improve community-level impact on child mental health.