Assessing parental response patterns in the treatment of noncompliance in children

Child noncompliance is one of the most frequently reported behavior problems in clinic-referred children. One difficulty with treating noncompliance in the clinic is that the demand characteristics of the situation may alter the rates of child compliance. The observation of parent-child interactions, with an emphasis on parent behaviors, may be a more meaningful way to assess parent training programs. In the current study, the parents of three children each showed a distinctive pattern in their responding to their children's compliant and noncompliant behaviors. An in vivo direct instruction procedure, that involved the therapist working directly with the parent to provide immediate consequences was used. Following training, improvements in correct responding were evident for al parents. Particularly noteworthy was that child compliance was not an accurate indicator when assessing parents' initial skill levels.