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There is a social gradient to the determinants of health; low socioeconomic status (SES) has been linked to reduced educational attainment and employment prospects, which in turn affect physical and mental wellbeing. One goal of preventive interventions, such as parenting programs, is to reduce these health inequalities by supporting families with difficulties that are often patterned by SES. Despite these intentions, a recent individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis of the Incredible Years (IY) parenting program found no evidence for differential benefit by socioeconomic disadvantage (Gardner et al. in Public Health Resesearch 5, 1–144, 2017). However, it did not examine whether this was influenced by engagement in the intervention. Using intervention arm data from this pooled dataset (13 trials; N = 1078), we examined whether there was an SES gradient to intervention attendance (an indicator of engagement). We ran mixed-effects Poisson regression models to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for program attendance for each of five (binary) markers of SES: low income; unemployment; low education status; teen parent; and lone parent status. The multilevel structure of the data allowed for comparison of within-trial and between-trial effects, including tests for contextual effects. We found evidence that low SES was associated with reduced attendance at parenting programs—an 8–19% reduction depending on the SES marker. However, there was no evidence that this association is impacted by differences in SES composition between trials or by the attendance levels of higher-SES families. The findings underscore the importance of developing and prioritizing strategies that enable engagement in parenting interventions and encourage program attendance by low-SES families.

An important question in mental healthcare for children is whether treatments are effective and safe in the long run. Here, we comment on a recent editorial perspective by Roest et al. (2022), who argue, based on an overview of systematic reviews, ‘that there is no convincing evidence that interventions for the most common childhood disorders are beneficial in the long term’. We believe that the available evidence does not justify this conclusion and express our concern regarding the harmful effects of their message. We show that there is evidence to suggest beneficial longer term treatment effects for each of the disorders and explain why evidence-based treatment should be offered to children with mental disorders.

Behavioral parenting programs are a theory-driven and evidence-based approach for reducing disruptive child behavior. Although these programs are effective on average, they are not equally effective in all families. Decades of moderation research has yielded very few consistent moderators, and we therefore still have little knowledge of who benefits from these programs and little understanding why some families benefit more than others. This study applied a baseline target moderation model to a parenting program, by (1) identifying parenting profiles at baseline, (2) exploring their correlations with other family characteristics and their stability, and (3) assessing whether they moderate intervention effects on child behavior. Individual participant data from four Dutch studies on the Incredible Years (IY) parenting program were used (N = 785 caregiver–child dyads). Children (58.2% boys) were at risk of disruptive behavior problems and aged between 2 and 11 years of age (M = 5.85 years; SD = 1.59). Latent profile analyses indicated three distinct baseline parenting profiles, which we labeled as follows: Low Involvement (81.4%), High Involvement (8.4%), and Harsh Parenting (10.1%). The profiles caregivers were allocated to were associated with their education, minority status, being a single caregiver, and the severity of disruptive child behavior. We found neither evidence that baseline parenting profiles changed due to participation in IY nor evidence that the profiles predicted program effects on child behavior. Our findings do not support the baseline target moderation hypothesis but raise new questions on how parenting programs may work similarly or differently for different families.

Contains fulltext : 246674.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), School bullying is a clear violation of children's rights to a safe education and is a major concern among school professionals and parents. Many antibullying interventions focus on enhancing peer defending of victims to combat bullying and to promote victims' psychosocial functioning. However, longitudinal studies on the effects of being defended on (a) diminishing victimization and (b) enhancing victims' psychosocial adjustment are lacking, and the role of the broader peer context has been largely unexplored. Therefore, this study examined whether being defended decreases victimization and improves victims' psychosocial adjustment, and whether defending peer norms moderate these effects. Data were derived from a nationwide Dutch study on the effectiveness of antibullying interventions, with N = 5,415 students (Mage = 9.93; 48.3% girls) from 238 classrooms (54.2% control classrooms) in 68 elementary schools. Findings indicate that victims with at least one defender at the start of the school year (Time 1) experienced higher feelings of belonging at the end of the school year (Time 2) compared with nondefended victims, but experienced lower feelings of belonging compared with nonvictims. Defended victims did not differ from nondefended victims in self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and severity of victimization at Time 2. Nonvictims were significantly better adjusted than defended and nondefended victims regarding these outcomes. Descriptive and popularity norms for defending did not moderate the links between being defended and victims' adjustment and severity of victimization at Time 2. Thus, being defended only partly relieves victims' plight, irrespective of how normative defending behaviors are in classrooms.

Het rapport bevat de wetenschappelijke rapportage over de langetermijnresultaten van Betere Start. Dit is een opvoedtraining voor (ex-)gedetineerde moeders tijdens de overgang van de gevangenis naar huis. De training richt zich op het voorkomen van recidive (terugval) bij gedetineerde en ex-gedetineerde moeders en van latere gedragsproblemen bij hun kinderen.

BACKGROUND: Psychological interventions targeting children with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning (MID-BIF) are suggested to be effective in reducing their externalizing problem behavior, but less is known about the specific treatment processes that may be associated with these effects.AIMS: The current study investigated whether the treatment processes of observed treatment adherence (i.e., the degree to which a therapist sticks to the protocol of a treatment and provides the treatment as intended) and observed therapist alliance-building behavior (TA-BB; i.e., behavior contributing to the affective bond between the therapist and the client) predicted treatment outcomes in a group behavioral parent training combined with group child cognitive behavior therapy targeting externalizing problem behavior in children with MID-BIF.METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Seventy-two children (aged 9-18; Mage = 12.1) and their parents in The Netherlands received the intervention program. They reported on children's externalizing behavior, parenting practices and the parent-child relationship by questionnaires at pre-test and post-test, and the observed treatment processes were coded by audio tapes of therapeutic sessions.OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: The results showed high levels of both treatment adherence (M = 2.49; SD = 0.20; range 1 - 3) and TA-BB (M = 4.11; SD = 0.32; range 1 - 5). Additionally, repeated measures analyses revealed that levels of treatment adherence significantly predicted the improvement of the parent-child relationship (F(1, 66) = 5.37; p = .024) and that levels of TA-BB significantly predicted the decrease of parent reported externalizing problem behavior (F(1, 66) = 9.89; p = .002).CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The current study suggested that optimal treatment processes are important for treatment outcomes in an intervention targeting children with MID-BIF.

Kinderen die geneigd zijn de intenties van anderen als vijandig te interpreteren, hebben een grotere kans om agressieve gedragsproblemen te ontwikkelen. Het is dus belangrijk de vroege ontwikkeling van een vijandige interpretatiestijl beter te begrijpen. Wij onderzochten of de gesprekken die ouders met hun kinderen voeren over het gedrag van leeftijdsgenootjes hierop van invloed is. Studie 1 (N = 109, leeftijd 4-7) was een observatiestudie waarin ouders met kinderen in gesprek gingen over een prentenboek met daarin sociale conflictsituaties. Uit de resultaten blijkt dat wanneer ouders in een gesprek vijandige interpretaties nadrukkelijker ontkrachtten, hun kinderen hierna een minder vijandige interpretatiestijl hadden. Studie 2 (N = 160, leeftijd 4-6) was een experimentele studie waarin ouders instructies kregen om het prentenboek te bespreken op één van drie manieren: het ontkrachten van vijandige interpretaties, het benadrukken van sociale normen of het beschrijven van de prenten (controleconditie). Uit deze studie bleek dat kinderen wiens ouders vijandige interpretaties ontkrachtten of sociale normen benadrukten op de nameting een minder vijandige interpretatiestijl hadden dan kinderen uit de controleconditie. Samenvattend suggereren deze resultaten dat ouders hun kinderen via gesprekken kunnen helpen om met een minder vijandige blik naar leeftijdsgenoten te kijken.

03 februari 2022, Item does not contain fulltext, School bullying is a clear violation of children's rights to a safe education and is a major concern among school professionals and parents. Many antibullying interventions focus on enhancing peer defending of victims to combat bullying and to promote victims' psychosocial functioning. However, longitudinal studies on the effects of being defended on (a) diminishing victimization and (b) enhancing victims' psychosocial adjustment are lacking, and the role of the broader peer context has been largely unexplored. Therefore, this study examined whether being defended decreases victimization and improves victims' psychosocial adjustment, and whether defending peer norms moderate these effects. Data were derived from a nationwide Dutch study on the effectiveness of antibullying interventions, with N = 5,415 students (Mage = 9.93; 48.3% girls) from 238 classrooms (54.2% control classrooms) in 68 elementary schools. Findings indicate that victims with at least one defender at the start of the school year (Time 1) experienced higher feelings of belonging at the end of the school year (Time 2) compared with nondefended victims, but experienced lower feelings of belonging compared with nonvictims. Defended victims did not differ from nondefended victims in self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and severity of victimization at Time 2. Nonvictims were significantly better adjusted than defended and nondefended victims regarding these outcomes. Descriptive and popularity norms for defending did not moderate the links between being defended and victims' adjustment and severity of victimization at Time 2. Thus, being defended only partly relieves victims' plight, irrespective of how normative defending behaviors are in classrooms.

Contains fulltext : 285191.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), Background: Psychological interventions targeting children with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning (MID-BIF) are suggested to be effective in reducing their externalizing problem behavior, but less is known about the specific treatment processes that may be associated with these effects. Aims: The current study investigated whether the treatment processes of observed treatment adherence (i.e., the degree to which a therapist sticks to the protocol of a treatment and provides the treatment as intended) and observed therapist alliance-building behavior (TA-BB; i.e., behavior contributing to the affective bond between the therapist and the client) predicted treatment outcomes in a group behavioral parent training combined with group child cognitive behavior therapy targeting externalizing problem behavior in children with MID-BIF. Methods and procedures: Seventy-two children (aged 9–18; Mage = 12.1) and their parents in The Netherlands received the intervention program. They reported on children’s externalizing behavior, parenting practices and the parent-child relationship by questionnaires at pre-test and post-test, and the observed treatment processes were coded by audio tapes of therapeutic sessions. Outcomes and results: The results showed high levels of both treatment adherence (M = 2.49; SD = 0.20; range 1 - 3) and TA-BB (M = 4.11; SD = 0.32; range 1 - 5). Additionally, repeated measures analyses revealed that levels of treatment adherence significantly predicted the improvement of the parent-child relationship (F(1, 66) = 5.37; p = .024) and that levels of TA-BB significantly predicted the decrease of parent reported externalizing problem behavior (F(1, 66) = 9.89; p = .002). Conclusions and implications: The current study suggested that optimal treatment processes are important for treatment outcomes in an intervention targeting children with MID-BIF.

Item does not contain fulltext, Adolescents with Developmental Language Disorders (DLD) have more difficulties in social emotional functioning than their typically developing peers (TD), such as shyness and anxiety in social situations, fewer peer relations, greater risk of victimization, social isolation and depression. In addition, they are more likely to report higher levels of hyperactivity and conduct problems. These problems derive from a complex interplay between difficulties in language, social communication, underlying cognitive deficits in Theory of Mind (ToM), Executive Functioning (EF) and self-directed speech (SDS). The aim of this mini review is to provide an overview of studies examining the effectiveness of interventions targeting the factors underlying social emotional functioning of school-aged children and adolescents with DLD. We found that studies dedicated to social emotional functioning in school-aged children and adolescents with DLD were relatively scarce. Based on this overview, we give suggestions to improve social emotional functioning in adolescents with DLD. We propose that intervention programs should target the social, linguistic and cognitive functions underlying social emotional functioning and create opportunities to practice these skills in daily, real-life situations with peers.