Name: Transforming Parent-Child Relationships in Family Routines: A Longitudinal Study with 10 Families of Children with Developmental Disabilities and Problem Behaviour
Time & Date: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 2:00PM – 3:30PM
Location: Scarfe Building, 2125 Main Mall, Room 310
Description:
The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy and acceptability of a family centered positive behaviour support approach to behavioural family intervention that was designed to promote survivable (i.e., acceptable, effective, sustainable) interventions in natural family routines such as getting ready for school in the morning, having dinner with family members in the evening, or accompanying a parent to a grocery store. An ecological unit of analysis – coercive processes in family routines – was developed that integrates three levels of family ecology: (a) the function(s) of child problem behaviour; (b) coercive processes of parent-child interaction; and (c) the activity settings of daily or weekly routines in the home and community. This ecological unit of analysis informed the development of family-centered PBS plans designed to meaningfully and durably transform coercive processes of parent child-interaction in unsuccessful family routines into constructive processes of parent-child interaction in successful routines.
Ten families of young children with developmental disabilities and severe problem behavior participated in the study. Each family collaboratively defined 2 to 4 target routines for assessment and intervention. Dependent measures included child problem behaviour, child routine steps completed, conditional probabilities of coercive processes of parent-child interaction in routines, conditional probabilities of constructive processes of parent-child interaction in routines, and parent social validity ratings. Data were gathered across a four to seven year period. A multiple baseline design across routines for each family assessed the functional relation between implementation of the approach and child behavioural outcomes. Group design methods assessed whether overall changes in child behaviour and routine participation across 10 families were statistically significant across baseline and intervention. Sequential analysis methods assessed the extent to which coercive processes of parent-child interaction during baseline were transformed into constructive processes of interaction during intervention.
Single subject research design results documented a functional relation between implementation of the family centered PBS approach and improvements in child behaviour and routine participation in 7 of 10 families. Group design results showed statistically significant improvements and large effect sizes in child behavior and routine participation across the 10 families when comparing baseline and intervention phases. Sequential analysis results with individual families documented the transformation of coercive processes into constructive processes in family routines across baseline and intervention phases for 8 of 10 families. Social validity results indicated that families found the goals, procedures and outcome to be important and acceptable. Additional positive effects reported by parents included improvements in parental well-being, relationships between other family members, and community involvement. Implications include the value of: (a) assessing coercive processes; (b) assessing and intervening within family activity settings; (c) assessing family ecology and providing family-centered supports; (d) receiving clinical supervision during implementation support; and (e) adopting a life-span perspective.
Speakers:
Joseph M. Lucyshyn, Ph.D.
This is a FREE event geared towards students, professionals, and families of children with developmental disabilities.
For more information, please visit
www.ecps.educ.ubc.ca/.