Skip to main content

Viewing Parent-Child Interactions Through the Lens of Behaviorism

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Integrating Behaviorism and Attachment Theory in Parent Coaching

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Psychology ((BRIEFSCD))

Abstract

In this chapter, I describe the application of behaviorism to parent-child interactions. First, I describe the development of problematic parent-child interactions and disruptive behavior from the perspective of behaviorism. Second, I summarize research on parent-child interactions based on behaviorism. Third, I describe behavioral parent training approaches. Fourth, I summarize research on behavioral parent management training with a particular emphasis on outcomes associated with a specific approach to behavioral parent management training, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT).

“Coercive behaviors are maintained by both positive and negative reinforcement.” (Patterson 1982)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    This is a fictional account written to illustrate application of behavioral principles to parent-child interactions.

References

  • Achenbach, T. R. L. (2000). Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms & profiles. Burlington: ASEBA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aragona, J., & Eyberg, S. (1981). Neglected children: Mothers’ report of child behavior problems and observed verbal behavior. Child Development, 52(2), 596–602.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bagner, D., & Eyberg, S. (2007). Parent-child interaction therapy for disruptive behavior in children with mental retardation: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 36(3), 418–429.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chaffin, M., Silovsky, J., Funderburk, B., Valle, L., Brestan, E., Balachova, T., Jackson S., Lensgraf J., & Bonner, B. (2004). Parent-child interaction therapy with physically abusive parents: Efficacy for reducing future abuse reports. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72(3), 500–510.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chaffin, M., Funderburk, B., Bard, D., Valle, L., & Gurwitch, R. (2011). A combined motivation and parent-child interaction therapy package reduces child welfare recidivism in a randomized dismantling field trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. doi:10.1037/a0021227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenstadt, T. H., Eyberg, S. M., McNeil, C. B., Newcomb, K., & Funderburk, B. (1993). Parent-child interaction therapy with behavior problem children: Relative effectiveness of two stages and overall treatment outcomes. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 22, 42–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eyberg, S., & Funderburk, B. (2011). Parent-child interaction therapy protocol. Gainesville: PCIT International, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eyberg, S., Nelson, M., Ginn, N., Bhuiyan, N., & Boggs, S. (2013). Dyadic parent-child interaction coding system (DPICS) (4th ed.). Gainesville: PCIT International, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forehand, R., & McMahon, R. (1981). Helping the noncompliant child: A clinician’s guide to parent training. New York: The Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forster, A., Eyberg, S., & Burns, L. (1990). Assessing the verbal behavior of conduct problem children during mother-child interactions: A preliminary investigation. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 12(1), 13–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galanter, R., Self-Brown, S., Valente, J., Dorsey, S., Whitaker, D., Bertuglia-Haley, M., & Prieto, M. (2012). Effectiveness of parent-child interaction therapy delivered to at-risk families in the home setting. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 34, 177–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanf, C. (1969). A two-stage program for modifying maternal controlling during mother-child (M-C) interaction. Paper presented at the Western Psychological Association, Vancouver, BC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanf, C., & Kling, J. (1973). Facilitating parent-child interaction: A two-stage training model. Oregon: University of Oregon Medical School.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hembree-Kigin, T., & McNeil, C. (1995). Parent-child interaction therapy. New York: Plenum Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lanier, P., Kohl, P., Benz, J., Swinger, D., Mousette, P., & Drake, B. (2011). Parent-child interaction therapy in a community setting: Examining outcomes, attrition, and treatment setting. Research on Social Work Practice, 21(6), 689–698.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mash, E., & Johnston, C. (1983). The prediction of mothers’ behavior with their hyperactive children during play and task situations. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 5, 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McMahon, R., & Forehand, R. (2003). Helping the noncompliant child: Family-based treatment for oppositional behavior (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNeil, C., & Hembree-Kigin, T. (2010). Parent-child interaction therapy (2nd ed.). New York: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McNeil, C., Eyberg, S., Eisenstadt, T. H., Newcomb, K., & Funderburk, B. (1991). Parent-child interaction therapy with behavior problem children: Generalization of treatment effects to the school setting. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 20(2), 140–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNeil, C., Herschell, A., Gurwitch, R., & Clemens-Mowrer, L. (2005). Training foster parents in parent-child interaction therapy. Education & Treatment of Children, 28(2), 182–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Menting, A., de Castro, B., & Matthys, W. (2013). Effectiveness of the incredible years parent training to modify disruptive and prosocial child behavior: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 33, 901–913.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nieter, L., Thornberry, T., & Brestan-Knight, E. (2013). The effectiveness of group parent-child interaction therapy with community families. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 22, 490–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nixon, R., Sweeney, L., Erickson, D., & Touyz, S. (2003). Parent-child interaction therapy: A comparison of standard and abbreviated treatments for oppositional defiant preschoolers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(2), 251–260.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Owen, D., Slep, A., & Heyman, R. (2012). The effect of praise, positive nonverbal response, reprimand, and negative nonverbal response on child compliance: A systematic review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 15, 364–385.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, G. (1982). Coercive family process. Eugene: Castalia Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearl, E., Thieken, L., Olafson, E., Boat, B., Connelly, L., Barnes, J., & Putnam, F. (2012). Effectiveness of community dissemination of parent-child interaction therapy. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 4(2), 204–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, E., & Eyberg, S. (1981). The dyadic parent-child interaction coding system: standardization and validation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49(2), 245–250.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schuhmann, E., Foote, R., Eyberg, S., Boggs, S., & Algina, J. (1998). Efficacy of parent-child interaction therapy: Interim report of a randomized trial with short-term maintenance. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 27(1), 34–45.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Speltz, M., DeKlyen, M., Greenberg, M., & Dryden, M. (1995). Clinic referral for oppositional defiant disorder: Relative significance of attachment and behavioral variables. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 23(4), 487–507.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, R., & Herschell, A. (2013). Parent-child interaction therapy: A manualized intervention for the therapeutic child welfare sector. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37, 578–584.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, R., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. (2011). Accumulating evidence of parent-child interaction therapy in the prevention of child maltreatment. Child Development, 82(1), 177–192.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, R., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. (2012). Parent-child interaction therapy: An evidence-based treatment for child maltreatment. Child Maltreatment, 17(3), 253–266.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Timmer, S., Urquiza, A., & Zebell, N. (2006). Challenging foster caregiver-maltreated child relationships: The effectiveness of parent-child interaction therapy. Children and Youth Services Review, 28, 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Troutman, B., Moran, T., Arndt, S., Johnson, R., & Chmielewski, M. (2012). Development of parenting self-efficacy in mothers of infants with high negative emotionality. Infant Mental Health Journal, 33(1), 45–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urquiza, A., Zebell, N., McGrath, J., & Whitten, L. (2011). Course of treatment manual for PCIT-TC. Davis: University of California at Davis. http://pcit.ucdavis.edu.

    Google Scholar 

  • Webster-Stratton, C. (1982). Teaching mothers through videotape modeling to change their children’s behavior. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 7(3), 279–294.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Beth Troutman PhD .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Troutman, B. (2015). Viewing Parent-Child Interactions Through the Lens of Behaviorism. In: Integrating Behaviorism and Attachment Theory in Parent Coaching. SpringerBriefs in Psychology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15239-4_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics