Publication year
2010
Citation Title
Coaching parents to change: The impact of in vivo feedback on parents’ acquisition of skills
Journal Name
Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology
Journal Volume
39
Issue Number
2
Page Numbers
282-287
DOI
10.1080/15374410903532627
Summary
Parent educators use many different strategies in order to increase positive parenting behavior. This study investigated the use of in-the-moment coaching (i.e., coaching offered during parent-child interactions) for mothers with young children. Results indicated that the in-the-moment coaching was effective in increasing positive parenting behavior.
Key Findings
Mothers who received in-the-moment coaching regarding positive parenting skills showed a significant increase in those skills.
Those who did not receive coaching showed a significant decrease in positive parenting skills over the course of the study.
Increases in positive parenting skills for the mothers who received coaching were specific to the skills that were targeted by the coaching.
Implications for Military Professionals
Provide coaching for military parents regarding in-the-moment strategies for increasing positive interactions with their children
Help parents recognize strategies they already use to create positive interactions with their children
Implications for Program Leaders
Incorporate in-the-moment coaching into parent education classes for military parents
Teach new skills for parents by first modeling the skill and then allowing the parents to practice that new skill through role playing, offering coaching during that practice; this can be used especially in cases when it is impractical to give feedback regarding actual parent-child interactions
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend training for professionals who work with military families regarding the use of coaching
Continue to support programs for military parents that aim to increase positive parenting skills
Methods
Mother-child pairs were recruited through flyers at local schools and daycares.
The pairs were randomly assigned to a coaching group or a group who did not receive coaching.
The coaching group received direct feedback in an ear piece to increase a specific skill for creating positive interactions with their child. The other group played with their child without feedback.
Data were analyzed to determine if there was a difference in use of skills to create positive interactions between the coaching and non-coaching group during a play period at a later time.
Participants
Participants were 60 mother-child dyads; the children had an average age of 4.38 years old (SD = 1.53) and 55% of them were girls.
Mothers identified as White (88%), Multiracial (5%), Black (2%), or Native American (2%), while 3% did not identify their race.
Most (88%) of the mothers were married and they had on average 15 years of education (SD = 2.69).
Limitations
The children in this study were two to seven years old; it is unclear whether these results extend to children of other ages.
Coaching was provided in one session; results may differ if coaching is provided over a period of time.
Mothers in the group that did not receive coaching received no instruction. Therefore, it is unknown whether coaching is superior to simply providing information to increase parents’ knowledge.
Avenues for Future Research
Compare the use of coaching in the development of positive parenting behaviors to providing information regarding positive parenting behaviors without coaching
Evaluate the effectiveness of coaching parents with older children
Investigate whether coaching over a longer period of time is more effective than short-term coaching
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
Behavioral parent training (BPT) includes a variety of evidence-based treatments with diverse techniques to alter parent behavior. Parent_Child Interaction Therapy is an innovative BPT with its use of in vivo feedback (i.e., ‘‘coaching’’) during parent_child interactions. An experimental design was used to assess whether coaching without elaborate didactic improves parenting. Sixty mothers with children 2 to 7 years old were recruited from the community and randomly assigned to a coaching or no coaching group. After a baseline assessment, all dyads participated in two play interactions 1 week apart during which parents in the coaching group were provided with in vivo feedback. Coached parents displayed significant improvements in skills, and coaching predicted skill gains beyond the influence of baseline ability. Findings suggest that providing parents with feedback through in vivo coaching is an important mechanism of change.
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