Reducing risk factors for adolescent behavioural and emotional problems: A pilot randomised controlled trial of a self-administered parenting intervention

Parenting practices and parent-child relationships affect adolescent adjustment. This study examined the efficacy of a self-directed parenting intervention for 51 parents of early adolescents (aged 12-14 years), who reported experiencing difficulties with their adolescent's behaviour. Two levels of intensity of a self-directed intervention (self-directed alone and self-directed plus brief therapist telephone consultations) were compared with a waitlist control group. At post-intervention, parents in the enhanced condition reported significantly fewer adolescent behavioural problems and less use of over-reactive parenting strategies than parents in either the standard or waitlist conditions. Improvements were maintained at 3-month follow-up. This research suggests that a self-directed behavioural family intervention with minimal therapist contact may be an effective early intervention for adolescent problems. It has implications for providing minimally sufficient interventions for parents using a multilevel approach to intervention as well as for making interventions more accessible for families.