Elsevier

Behavior Therapy

Volume 34, Issue 4, Autumn 2003, Pages 517-534
Behavior Therapy

Special Series: Behaviorally Oriented Interventions For Children With Aggressive Behavior And/Or Conduct Problems
Engagement of families in treatment for childhood conduct problems*

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(03)80033-3Get rights and content

This study examined critical pretreatment variables related to the engagement and retention of families in mental health services designed to reduce serious childhood aggression. One hundred and twenty-four families of 5- to 9-year-old boys who met diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder were randomly assigned to receive either parent-only, child-only, or combined parent-child treatments. Premature termination was greatest in the parent-only condition. Pretreatment attributional motivations that were externalizing-oriented showed a clear association with premature termination. Moreover, assignment to a treatment condition that did not match parents' incoming motivations was predictive of premature termination. Overall, the findings have implications for the further study of barriers and facilitators for the delivery of mental health treatment for childhood conduct problems, especially with regard to pretreatment motivational cognitions and engagement issues.

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    *

    This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH38667).

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