Integrating emotion into behaviourally-based parenting programmes: can this enhance outcomes for child conduct problems?

The current pilot study aimed to integrate emotion focused elements into an already well-established parenting programme in the hope of improving outcomes for children with conduct problems (CPs). Thirty-six parents of children with conduct problems (aged 3-7 years) were randomly allocated to two versions of the Triple P parenting programme; standard Group Triple P (GTP) or a new Emotion-Enhanced Group Triple P programme (EEGTP) that taught parents to engage in an elaborative, emotion-rich conversational style when discussing past events with their children. As expected, child CPs significantly reduced across both conditions post-intervention. Additionally, parents in the EEGTP condition were using more emotion coaching statements with their children. However, these differences did not translate to changes in children’s emotion knowledge and further behavioural improvements. Theoretical implications of these findings, explanations reflecting on the nature by which emotion knowledge develops over time, and recommendations for future studies are discussed