THE EFFECTS OF PARENT TRAINING ON PARENTING STRESS AND SENSE OF COMPETENCE

The effects of behavioural parent training groups on parenting stress and sense of competence were investigated. Subjects were 91 families of ADDH preschoolers who participated in one of two randomized control studies that demonstrated the efficacy of group parent training in the amelioration of child noncompliance. Compared to parents awaiting treatment, parents who completed training reported significant improvements on the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) Parent Domain, and both Skills and Valuing subscales of the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSCS) immediately after treatment and three months later. Intercorrelations among the self-report measures as well as their relationships with other variables were examined. Significant correlations were found between improvements on the PSCS Skills and Valuing subscales. Improvement on the PSCS Valuing subscale was also associated with decreases in the PSI Parent Domain. Improvements on the PSI Child Domain and PSCS Valuing subscale were significantly correlated with parents' perceptions of improvement in their children's behaviour. No significant correlations were found between self-report improvements and observed changes in parent or child behaviour or parental compliance to treatment. The results indicated that group parent training had a positive impact on parenting stress and sense of competence. These changes were independent of improvements in actual parent and child behaviour assessed in the clinic.