Universal parent training as a supplement to inpatient psychiatric treatment for children and adolescents

Parent trainings constitute an effective method to target aspects of parenting in child and adolescent psychiatric and psychotherapeutic care. Past research has mainly been conducted in outpatient contexts, with parents of children with externalizing disorders and often included only small sample sizes. The aim of the current study was first to assess the effectiveness of a novel parent training which is characterized by a universal approach, an open group concept, and short duration, and second to identify variables that have an influence on the effectiveness. A sample of n = 151 parent–child dyads treated in an inpatient clinic was included in the study and randomly assigned to a treatment group and a waiting-list control group. As dependent measures served child behavior problems, dysfunctional parenting, parental mental health, and parental self-efficacy measured with parent-rated questionnaires prior to the training, post training and 3 months after discharge of the clinic. Additionally, a parent–child-interaction observation was conducted and rated by blind raters. Results indicated a general inpatient treatment effect on all dependent measures assessed with questionnaires. An additional effect of the parent training was only shown for parenting and parental mental health with the treatment group revealing better outcomes post training and at follow-up. No effects were found for the measures assessed by interaction observation. Out of a number of variables, only a low monthly income was associated with a higher reduction of dysfunctional parenting. Results indicate that parent training does not contribute additionally to standard inpatient care with respect to child behavior, but does have an influence on parental well-being, which might have a positive effect on the long run.