A Review of Manualized Behavioral Parent Training Interventions for Young Children with Problem Behavior

Behavioral parent training (BPT) interventions have been developed to aid in the treatment of children with problem behavior. The goals of these interventions are to reduce child specific problem behavior and improve skills, and enhance parenting skills and competence. However, more information is needed on the manualized BPT interventions in particular, on children and parents who benefited from the BPT interventions, any individualized cultural adaptations made for families from diverse cultural backgrounds, and training provided to the parents to help them address their children’ problem behavior during family routines. Therefore, this study reviewed literature on BPT interventions, in particular, single case experimental design studies designed for addressing problem behavior in young children needing individualized interventions. A total of 975 articles were initially identified. Of those, 11 were included in the final review. Results indicate that most studies targeted children with disabilities of families from the White population, provided both initial training and implementation support during intervention to parents, and assessed parent implementation fidelity and social validity. Some studies reported maintenance and generalization effects of the interventions. Findings suggest an increase in research involving parents from diverse cultural backgrounds, evaluating the needed adaptations made to the manualized interventions to support these diverse groups