Assessing the Efficacy of the Family-Check up on Different Types of Ineffective Parenting Styles

Children who engage in antisocial behavior before 10 years old are responsible for a disproportionate amount of criminal behavior later in life (Fergusson, Horwood, & Ridder, 2005; Offord, Boyle, & Racine, 1991). Early intervention programs have had success preventing criminal behavior in adolescents and children who displayed a troublesome amount of problem behavior, but such programs are often expensive and difficult to bring to scale (Dishion, Andrews, Kavanagh, & Soberman, 1996; Reynolds, Temple, Robertson, & Mann, 2001). The present study focuses on the Family Check-Up (FCU), a brief cost-effective intervention aimed at reducing antisocial behavior through altering parenting practices. More specifically, the present study examines the efficacy of the FCU in reducing the use of ineffective parenting strategies (harsh and permissive parenting) over a three-year period in a low-income, ethnically diverse sample.  Harsh parenting is associated with factors largely outside of the parent’s control (i.e., financial stress [Conger et al., 1994; Elder, 1974; McLoyd, 1990]), whereas permissive parenting is not. As such, we reasoned that permissive parenting may be more responsive to intervention than harsh parenting, especially in a low-income sample. It was predicted that the FCU would reduce the use of permissive parenting strategies but not the use of harsh parenting strategies. Data analysis was conducted using a mixed-effects growth curve model. Permissive and harsh parenting strategies were assessed with both observational and self-report measures. Results indicated that the FCU reduced the use of permissive parenting strategies over time. The FCU did not reduce the use of harsh parenting strategies over time. The findings of this study are discussed in comparison to other parenting interventions, and the potential need for more intensive programs to reduce harsh parenting strategies.