The Efficacy of Conjoint Behavioral Consultation on Parents and Children in the Home Setting: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Authors

Susan M. Sheridan, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Ji Hoon Ryoo, University of VirginiaFollow
Andrew Garbacz, University of OregonFollow
Gina M. Kunz, Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and SchoolsFollow
Frances L. Chumney, Western Georgia UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2013

Citation

Published in Journal of School Psychology 51:6 (2013), pp. 717–733

Comments

Copyright © 2013 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Used by permission.

Abstract

The present study is a large-scale randomized trial testing the effects of a family-school partnership model (i.e., Conjoint Behavioral Consultation, CBC) for promoting behavioral competence and decreasing problem behaviors of children identified by their teachers as disruptive. CBC is a structured approach to problem solving that involves consultants, parents, and teachers. The effects of CBC on family variables that are commonly associated with important outcomes among school-aged children (i.e., family involvement and parent competence in problem solving), as well as child outcomes at home, were evaluated. Participants were 207 children with disruptive behaviors from 91 classrooms in 21 schools in kindergarten through grade 3 and their parents and teachers. Results indicated that there were significantly different increases in home-school communication and parent competence in problem solving for participants in the CBC relative to control group. Likewise, compared to children in the control group, children in the CBC group showed significantly greater decreases in arguing, defiance, noncompliance, and tantrums. The degree of family risk moderated parents’ competence in problem solving and children’s total problem behaviors, teasing, and tantrums.