Psychometric Properties of the Parent Cognition Scale in a Clinical Sample of Parents of Children With Disruptive Behavior.

The Parent Cognition Scale (PCS; Snarr, Slep, & Grande, 2009) is a self-report measure of parental attributions of child behavior that has demonstrated validity in community samples. However, its psychometric properties have not been examined in a clinical sample of parents of children with disruptive behavior. Examining the psychometric properties of the PCS in this population is important given research linking parent attribution with childhood disruptive behavior. The present study aimed to: (a) examine the psychometric properties of the PCS in a sample of parents whose children were clinic-referred for disruptive behavior problems; and (b) investigate the concurrent validity of the PCS and its factors using correlations with parent reports of children's emotional and behavioral difficulties, and parenting skills (i.e., discipline, supervision). A confirmatory factor analysis was run on 225 parents' responses on the PCS, and revealed that a two-factor structure of the PCS fit the data well. Significant correlations were found between Parent Causal Attributions (Factor 1) and parent-reported parenting difficulties. Child Responsible Attributions (Factor 2) were correlated with elevations in children's emotion, attention, and conduct difficulties. The results provide information on the utility of the PCS for parents of children with disruptive behavior and its potential clinical relevance.

Mental effort and discomfort: Testing the peak-end effect during a cognitively demanding task.

We applied the peak-end paradigm that was first introduced in the pain literature to examine the experience of effort and discomfort during a cognitively demanding working memory task. A total of 401 participants were asked to rate their effort and discomfort during and after the administration of a working memory task, which systematically varied task difficulty within participants and task duration between participants. Over the course of the task, participants reported a decrease in reported effort and an increase in reported discomfort. Peak and end real-time ratings were significant predictors of retrospective ratings for effort and discomfort; average and initial ratings predicted a small amount of additional variance. The regression analyses with effort and discomfort were largely consistent, with some exceptions. End discomfort significantly predicted willingness to do the task again, but not end effort. These findings highlight the ways in which the experience of effort and discomfort are integrally related, yet importantly separate, during a cognitively demanding task.

Comparing the Multicomponent Coping Power Program to Individualized Parent-Child Treatment for Improving the Parenting Efficacy and Satisfaction of Parents of Children with Conduct Problems.

This study compared the multicomponent Coping Power (group) program to individualized parent-child treatment with respect to changing the parenting efficacy and satisfaction of parents of children with conduct problems. One hundred fourteen parents of 9-12-year-old children with conduct problems were randomized to Coping Power or individualized treatment at an urban children's mental health clinic. Parents reported their pre- and post-treatment parenting efficacy and parenting satisfaction (Parent Sense of Competence Scale). Mixed effect models revealed that parenting efficacy and satisfaction significantly increased from pre- to post-treatment, and there was no evidence that this effect is different between Coping Power and individualized treatment, even after controlling for initial severity of child symptomatology. Findings support the effectiveness of Coping Power as an intervention for parenting efficacy and satisfaction among parents of children aged 9-12 years with conduct problems.