Efficacy of an Individualized Computer-Assisted Social Competence Training Program for Children With Oppositional Defiant Disorders/Conduct Disorders

Anja Goertz-Dorten; Manuela Groth; Kerstin Detering; Anne Hellmann; Laura Stadler; Barbara Petri; Manfred Doepfner

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00682

Efficacy of an Individualized Computer-Assisted Social Competence Training Program for Children With Oppositional Defiant Disorders/Conduct Disorders

Front Psychiatry. 2019 Sep 18:10:682. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00682. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Anja Goertz-Dorten^{1

2

3}, Manuela Groth², Kerstin Detering², Anne Hellmann², Laura Stadler², Barbara Petri², Manfred Doepfner^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty at the University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
² School of Child and Adolescent Behavior Therapy at the University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
³ Institute of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy of the Christoph-Dornier-Foundation for Clinical Psychology at the University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Abstract

Group-based child-centered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for children with aggressive behavior has been found to significantly reduce child behavior problems. Nevertheless, most children suffer from residual symptoms at the end of treatment. Therefore, individualized interventions that treat the specific problem-maintaining factors and that use digital support may enhance treatment effects. However, enhanced computer-facilitated interventions have not been examined in clinical samples. Therefore, we tested the efficacy of an individualized computer-facilitated social skills training for children with clinically referred aggressive behavior problems. Fifty children aged 6-12 years with peer-related aggressive behavior problems were included in a within-subject design with two phases (waiting, treatment). The course of the outcome measures during an 8-week waiting phase was compared with that in the subsequent treatment phase (16 weekly child sessions and 2 parent psychoeducation contacts at the beginning of the treatment) using multilevel modeling. The primary outcome was peer-related aggressive behavior rated by parents. Further outcome measures included parent ratings and patient self-reports of aggressive and prosocial behavior. No significant changes occurred for any of the outcome variables during the waiting phase. During treatment, most parent-rated outcome measures (including the primary outcome measure) showed a significant decrease, which was stronger than changes in the waiting phase. Most self-rated outcome measures also showed significant decreases during treatment, but a stronger decrease than in the waiting phase was only found for peer-related aggressive behavior. The computer-facilitated social skills training appears to be an effective CBT intervention for children with peer-related aggressive behavior.

Keywords: and conduct disorders; cognitive behavioral therapy; computer-assisted; disruptive; impulse control; social skills; therapy; treatment outcome.