BEHAVIORAL PARENT TRAINING VERSUS DIETARY EDUCATION IN THE TREATMENT OF CHILDREN WITH PERSISTENT FEEDING DIFFICULTIES

This controlled treatment-outcome study compared the effects of behavi oural parent training (BPT) and standard dietary education (SDE) on th e mealtime interaction, feeding behaviour, nutritional status, and adj ustment of children with feeding disorders. Participants were 20 child ren (aged between 18 months and five years) with persistent feeding di fficulties, and their families. Children underwent initial screening ( involving medical assessment, behavioural observation of mealtime inte raction, nutritional intake analysis, and self-report measures of pare nt and child adjustment) and were randomly assigned to BPT or SDE. Res ults indicated that children in both treatment conditions showed impro vement on the child behaviour measures (e.g. food refusal, disruptive behaviour during mealtimes) at home and in mealtime observations in th e clinic. Children in both conditions also showed an increase in the v ariety of foods sampled by follow-up. Following treatment, mothers who received BPT showed more positive mother-child interaction during mea ltimes, and both parents were more satisfied with treatment than paren ts in SDE. Mothers in both conditions showed slight elevations in mood at posttest and follow-up, and increased marital satisfaction at post test (which decreased by follow-up). All other treatment effects were maintained at a three- to four-month follow-up assessment.