Parenting Skills Research

The Research Project: What Does Participation Involve

In addition to examining Family Designs (see Family Designs: The Behavior Management Program), this study is also looking at the potential advantages of using active e-mail consultation with a parenting skills specialist for helping parents maximize the benefits of this behavior program. Parents participating in this study will be sent an Instruction Manual for Family Designs and all the necessary program materials. Parents, however, will have to provide a weekly allowance to their children in association with the use of Family Designs. The exact amount of the allowance is up to the parents to decide. Parents will also have both weekly and as-needed e-mail access to consultation with myself and, through me, with the research team, regarding parenting skills and the use of the program. Research supervision is being provided by Joy Asamen, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine University, and clinical supervision is being provided by Daryl Rowe, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine University. Research Participation Interested parents living in California with at least one child between the ages of 5-12 years will be mailed through the U.S. mail an informed consent form and some research measures which ask about their children's problem behavior and the quality of family relationships. When these materials have been returned to us, and it is determined that you are eligible for inclusion in this study, a brief Instruction Manual describing the program and its use will be mailed to you. If you have more than one child between the ages of 5 to 12 years old, you will be asked to select one "target" child for research purposes but you may also use this program and consult with me regarding all the children in your family. If your family is eligible for participation in this study, I will begin consulting with you individually through e-mail correspondence on specific issues related to your child's behavior and on how to set up and use of the behavior program for effectively addressing these specific problem issues. When you indicate that you are ready, you will be asked to begin to use the behavior program and to continue to use it with the target child for 3 consecutive weeks. You may continue to use this program for longer than 3 weeks (and you will be encouraged to do so), but participating parents will be requested to use the program for at least 3 weeks. You may, however, discontinue your participation in this study at any time. Throughout this 3-week period, parents may consult with me as needed regarding the use of the program with their children's problem behavior. Participating parents will also be strongly encouraged to contact me by e-mail at least once a week to keep me informed regarding the use of the program and to discuss issues which may arise. After 3 weeks of using the program, participating parents will be asked to complete some of the same research measures completed earlier regarding their children's behavior, as well as a questionnaire examining your satisfaction with the program as a whole and with the individual components of the program. This will end this phase of research participation. The availability of ongoing e-mail consultation will also come to a close at this point. You may continue to use the program with your children, and you will be encouraged to do so, but further e-mail consultation will be discontinued. After three months have passed from this end point, you will again be contacted by the researchers and you will be asked whether you have continued to use the program during the interim. You will also be asked to evaluate the program regarding what elements you found helpful and what features where not as helpful. You will also be asked to complete some brief research measures regarding your children's behavior and family relationships. This will end your active participation in the research. At the completion of the entire study, the e-mail address of famconsult@aol.com will be terminated and further contact with the researchers using this e-mail address will be unavailable. However, the research team can still be contacted through Pepperdine University and a contact address and phone number will be provided. Eligibility for Participation It is anticipated that Family Designs will offer a positive and effective approach to behavior management with children from traditional two-parent households, single-parent households, step-families, blended families, and non-traditional family structures. In addition, it is also anticipated that it will be helpful for children with normal-range problems and families DO NOT need to have significant behavior problems to be eligible for participation. Before parents are formally included in the research, however, certain eligibility requirements must be met which will require that parents complete a questionnaire regarding their child's behavior. Because of the unique way in which the parenting skills instruction is being conducted (i.e., using the Internet and e-mail consultation), it may not be in every family's best interest to use this program. If it is determined that a child's behavior problems may be best handled by more traditional forms of treatment involving face-to-face consultation, then the child's parents will be encouraged to seek these other forms of treatment for their family. A list of mental health referrals in your area will be sent to you along with the consent form and the initial research measures in case it is determined that your particular situation would benefit most from a more traditional, face-to-face consultation. If face-to-face professional intervention is deemed appropriate for your situation you will be asked to contact one of the local referrals in your area instead of participating in this study. In addition to the child's behavior, there are also other factors that need to be considered before parents can be included in the study and not all interested families may be allowed to participate in the research. If families do not qualify for inclusion in this research, they will NOT receive the instructional manual. Possible Limitations and Potential Risks While the program used in this study contains procedures which have been proven effective in managing children's problem behavior, it is possible that a given child's behavior may not change as a result of using this program and it is also possible that a child's behavior might even become worse despite the use of the program. In addition, completing the research measures will require approximately 1 hour each time parents are asked to complete them, and participating parents may find the process of answering the questions on several different occasions boring and perhaps intrusive. Of course, parents have the right to refuse to answer any questions that they choose not to answer. The use of the Internet and e-mail consultation is also an experimental and, as yet, unproven method of professional consultation. There are inherent difficulties in using the Internet which need to be thoughtfully considered (see Limitations and Issues in E-mail Consultation). Before parents participate in this research they must read and carefully consider the material contained on the webpage discussing the Limitations and Issues in E-mail Consultation. Potential Benefits The possible benefits from participation include a reduction in both the severity and the frequency of your child's problem behaviors, a reduction in your frustration with managing your child's problem behavior, an increase in your child's self-control in limiting his or her own problem behavior, an increase in your child's self-esteem and feelings of self-worth, and a more positive parent/child relationship between you and your child. If you are interested in participating in this opportunity to learn a more effective parenting approach to problem behavior, or if you would like more information regarding the program or the study, please contact me, Craig Childress, M.A. at famconsult@aol.com, ask to be mailed the consent form and intake measures, or request more information regarding the program or the research. Family Designs: The Behavior Management Program Limitations and Issues in E-mail Consultation Apply for Participation Return to Main Research Webpage

To ask questions about the research or your possible participation, or to apply for research participation, e-mail me, Craig Childress, M.A. at famconsult@aol.com

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