A COMPARISON OF ECLECTIC TREATMENT WITH WEBSTER-STRATTON PARENTS AND CHILDREN SERIES IN A CHILDRENS MENTAL-HEALTH-CENTER - A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of empirically supported therapy in applied settings, or typical service in such settings. In t his study, parents seeking help at a children's mental health center f or managing their 3- to 8-year-old children's behaviors were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Webster-Stratton's Parents and Ch ildren Series (PACS) parenting groups (46 families), the eclectic appr oach to treatment typically offered at the center (46 families), or a wait-list control group (18 families). After 15 weeks, mothers in both treatments reported fewer child behavior problems than mothers on the wait list. Mothers in the PACS program reported fewer behavior proble ms and greater satisfaction with treatment than mothers in the eclecti c treatment. These findings support the effectiveness of the PACS prog ram, relative to typical service, for parents seeking help managing th eir children's behavior.