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Effect of matching rationales on treatment acceptability of time out
Abstract
This study examined the effects of matching rationales on the treatment acceptability of time out for low income mothers. The relationship between treatment acceptability and mothers' willingness to commit to parent training in the form of a class, videotaped presentation, or book was also explored. Thirty low income mothers ranging in age from 22 to 51 years volunteered to participate in the study. A majority of the mothers were married and ethnicity was predominantly European-American. All participants had preschool aged children attending a Head Start program. A questionnaire developed for the purpose of this study was used to assess parents' positions and was completed with all participants through a telephone interview. Following the completion of the interview, participants were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. Rationales were then developed by the author and colleagues to match parents' positions on the questionnaires for the experimental group. An independent judge determined the match between parent positions and rationales. Vignettes describing a child with a behavior problem and a mother using time out to discipline were read to each participant followed by a rationale for the use of time out. The participants of the experimental group received a matching rationale and the participants of the control group received a generic rationale. Treatment acceptability was assessed using a slightly modified version of the Intervention Rating Profile - 15 (Witt & Martens, 1985). Participants were given an opportunity to sign up to receive educational material regarding child management. The results of an independent t test indicated that there was no difference between mothers' treatment acceptability rating of time out for the matching and generic rationales. Further analysis, excluding control participants whose positions matched the generic rationale, did indicate that matching rationales had a significant effect on treatment acceptability of time out. A point biserial correlation indicated that parents who rated treatment acceptability more favorably agreed to learn more about using time out than parents whose ratings of treatment acceptability were lower. Implications of findings and recommendations for future research are presented.
Subject Area
Academic guidance counseling
Recommended Citation
Werth, Elaine Buterick, "Effect of matching rationales on treatment acceptability of time out" (1996). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9703795.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9703795