(PS3-60) Exploring the Efficacy of a New Adaptation to Parent Child Interaction Therapy: Video-Feedback Parent Child Interaction Therapy (VF-PCIT)

Abstract Text: Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), originally developed for children between the ages of two and seven presenting with disruptive behavior, is now an evidence-based treatment used for a wide variety of populations. Parental mastery of the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System (DPICS) skills is required for parents to move from the first phase of treatment (child-directed interaction; CDI) to the second (parent-directed interaction; PDI) to graduation. According to the PCIT protocol manual, the average treatment length is 14 sessions; however, anecdotal data and data from case studies show that treatment tends to be closer to 25 sessions. To address this discrepancy in treatment length, Lu et al., (2023) conducted a preliminary study exploring the use of adding video feedback to PCIT (VF-PCIT) as a potential means of increasing parental skills acquisition. Results from the study deemed video feedback to be a crucial addition to the first phase of treatment, with parents who received video feedback completing CDI in half the time it took those who did not receive video feedback. The current study seeks to expand the addition of video feedback to the second phase of PCIT.

Participants will consist of qualifying PCIT families who will be seen through a university clinic in the northeastern United States. The sample will include a total of twenty-six parent-child dyads which will be matched into thirteen pairs. Matching will be based on the child’s age, gender, parental perception of child’s disruptive behavior via the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory score, parents’ level of comfort with regards to watching videos of themselves, and parents’ attitude towards attending treatment twice a week. After matching, the dyadic pairs will be randomized into one of two groups: video-feedback treatment (n=13) or control (n=13).

A series of matched pairs analyses will be conducted in SPSS to explore whether the addition of a video feedback component will result in more effective PCIT outcomes. A McNemar’s test will be utilized to determine if the addition of video feedback to PDI aided parents to reach PDI mastery faster than families who did not receive video feedback. Additionally, a pre-post matched paired t-test analysis will be conducted to compare the mean difference in effective command sequences used during the five-minute observation coding period between the control and treatment group. Finally, another pre-post matched paired t-test analysis will be conducted to compare differences in ECBI scores between the control and treatment group.

It is hypothesized that families receiving VF-PCIT will meet mastery faster, exhibit greater usage of effective commands, and report a greater decrease in ECBI scores by the end of PDI. Results will inform clinicians on how PCIT can be augmented to increase treatment response, making it a more beneficial and therapeutic tool to address childhood noncompliance and aggression. PCIT is a demanding form of therapy with high levels of attrition; thus, results from this study would provide evidence that video feedback can enhance skill acquisition. This would lead to greater treatment compliance and retention, which in turn, provides our patients with therapeutic benefits on a faster and larger scale.