Cumulative Risk in a Low-Income Behavioral Parent Training Pilot Study (2016)

Undergraduate: Sarah Pittman

Faculty Advisor: Deborah Jones
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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Cumulative risk is linked to the development of early onset behavior problems in young children (Conger et al., 1999). This Honors Thesis will extend this work by examining the link between cumulative risk and treatment outcome in low-income families with a child with clinically significant behavior problems, as well as the extent to which increasing family¿¿¿s support, competence, and, in turn, autonomy via technology between sessions mitigates risk. Methods: Low-income families (N = 22) enrolled in a pilot study that compared a standard treatment program, Helping the Noncompliant Child (HNC; McMahon & Forehand, 2003) with a technology-enhanced version (TE-HNC), which yielded higher levels of treatment engagement and, in turn, boosted treatment outcome (Jones et al., 2014). Plan of Analyses: Building upon these findings, a cumulative risk index (range = 0 to 5) will be assessed using a combination of the following variables: Marital status, positive parenting, parental depressive symptoms, parent-coparent relationship, and callous-unemotional traits. The link between the cumulative risk index and retention/drop-out status, number of weeks to complete treatment, and treatment outcome, as well as the moderating role of treatment group, will be examined. Conclusions: Findings will have implications for understanding variability in treatment engagement and outcomes among low-income families as well as the potential for technology to mitigate the impact of cumulative risk.