Effectiveness of Group Parent-Child Interaction Therapy on Problem Behaviors in Chinese Kindergartners

Juanjuan Sun; Mowei Liu; Xiaoyun Li; Yuena Zhou; Yan Li

doi:10.3390/ijerph20043446

Effectiveness of Group Parent-Child Interaction Therapy on Problem Behaviors in Chinese Kindergartners

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 15;20(4):3446. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20043446.

Authors

Juanjuan Sun¹, Mowei Liu², Xiaoyun Li¹, Yuena Zhou¹, Yan Li¹

Affiliations

¹ Shanghai Early Childhood Education College, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai 200234, China.
² Department of Psychology, Trent University, Peterborough, ON K9J 7B8, Canada.

Abstract

Problem behaviors in early childhood may put young children at risk for negative behavioral and psychosocial problems. This study examined the effectiveness of group PCIT on Chinese young children's externalizing and internalizing problems. The participants were 58 mothers with their children aged 2-3 years (M = 2.95 years, SD = 0.22), assigned to an immediate treatment (n = 26) group or to a waitlist (n = 32) control group. The program involved comprehensive group intervention and featured weekly 60-90-min sessions, totaling ten sessions over three months. Results indicate that group PCIT not only significantly improved teacher-reported problem behaviors in children, but also improved observed maternal parenting behavior. These findings support the use of group PCIT in Chinese children and provide mothers with an evidence-based tool to address problem behaviors in a non-clinical population.

Keywords: externalizing problems; internalizing problems; kindergartner; parenting intervention.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Child, Preschool
East Asian People
Female
Humans
Mothers / psychology
Parent-Child Relations
Parenting / psychology
Problem Behavior* / psychology
Psychotherapy, Group*

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Social Science Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (20YJA880042) and China National Society of Early Childhood Education (K20210054).