An examination of the social validity of a parent training program

Abstract

This study examined the social validity of a parent training program. Subjects were 15 clinic-referred children and their mothers and 15 nonclinic mother-child pairs. Home observations were conducted pre- and posttreatment and at a 2-month follow-up for the clinic group and at comparable times for the nonclinic group. Parental questionnaires regarding child adjustment also were completed. Fifteen months after treatment, consumer satisfaction measures were collected from parents in the clinic group. Treatment involved teaching parents to use social reinforcement and time-out. Clinic children were less compliant and more deviantbefore treatment but not after treatment or at the follow-up than the nonclinic children. Clinic parents perceived their children as being less well adjusted prior to and after treatment, but not at the 2-month follow-up, than the nonclinic parents perceived their children. At the 15-month follow-up, parents indicated satisfaction with the treatment they had received.