The relationship of parents\u27 knowledge and causal attributions to parenting skills

Parents\u27 attributional styles and knowledge of behavioral principles were assessed before and after participation in a parenting workshop to explore cognitive changes resulting from behavioral parent training. Training was expected to decrease parents\u27 internal attributions for child behavior problems and to increase their knowledge of social learning principles. All parents were taught to focus their attention on factors outside of the child to decrease child noncompliance. Three workshop curricula were created by supplementing a standard behavioral parent training program with one of three cognitive training components: (a) instruction in social learning principles (SLP), (b) instruction in attribution theory and reducing a common attributional bias (ATT), and (c) combined instruction in attribution and social learning principles (ATSL). Parents in all workshops were trained to use behavioral discipline techniques. The Parents\u27 Causal Dimension Scale (PCDS) was developed to assess the locus, stability, and controllability of parental attributions about child behavior problems. The PCDS demonstrated good reliability and structural validity, and was used with other instruments to assess cognitive and behavioral changes 105 parents experienced in one of the three workshops or in a wait-list control group (WLC). Analysis of variance with trainer, time, and treatment factors revealed time, and time with treatment interaction effects for parents\u27 knowledge of social learning principles; SLP parents scored significantly higher than WLC parents on a knowledge questionnaire at posttraining. Also at posttraining parents\u27 attributions for child behavior problems were more internal for SLP parents and less internal for ATT and ATSL parents than at pretraining. All workshop parents reported a lower perceived frequency and intensity of child problem behaviors at posttraining. Minor reductions occurred in the frequency of parent-recorded problem behaviors at home. As expected, parents who received direct training in social learning principles (SLP and ATSL parents) increased their knowledge of social learning principles the most and parents who received direct attribution retraining (ATT and ATSL parents) most decreased their internal attributions