An Investigation of Factors that Influence Acceptability of Parent Training

Parent training is an effective intervention for parents of children with a variety of childhood disorders, including conduct problems, and parents often view behavioral parent training as acceptable. Explanations and rationales for parent training are commonly provided at the beginning of treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine whether changing the description of a behavioral parenting intervention influenced parents’ acceptability ratings and whether mothers and fathers differed in their ratings. There were 78 participants (39 mother-father dyads) in this study. Participants viewed one of two descriptions of parent training that focused on either addressing deficits in parenting skills or enhancing existing parenting skills. Parents’ acceptability of the treatment descriptions was evaluated using the Treatment Evaluation Inventory—Short Form. Participants also completed the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory and The Parental Locus of Control Scale. A multiple linear regression and a mixed factorial ANOVA were used to analyze the data. There was not a significant interaction between parent gender and parent training description type. There was also not a significant difference in the acceptability of the two parent training descriptions. However, mothers rated both treatment descriptions as more acceptable than did fathers. Results indicated that parental locus of control significantly predicted acceptability of the parent training descriptions. The results of the current study suggested that treatment acceptability was not influenced by the way that the interventions were described. Future research should focus on how to increase acceptability of parent training for fathers and parents with an external locus of control