The long-standing divide between research and practice in clinical psychology has received increased attention in view of the development of evidence-based interventions and practice and public interest, oversight, and management of psychological services. The gap has been reflected in concerns from those in practice about the applicability of…

Comorbidity and complexity of cases seen in clinical work form a basis for discounting the applicability and generality of evidence-based treatments (EBTs). The authors evaluated treatment outcomes in 2 samples of clinically referred children who met criteria for oppositional defiant disorder (n = 183; 42 girls, 141 boys; ages 3-14) or conduct…

Reviews outcome evidence of psychotherapy for children and adolescents. Illustrates progress in treatment research, highlighting alternative treatments and factors that contribute to outcome in treatment of conduct problem children. Sees pace of progress thwarted by challenges of subject matter and deficiencies in current research. Nonetheless,…

Background: We examined the therapeutic alliance in evidence-based treatment for children (N = 77, 19 girls, 58 boys, ages 6-14) referred clinically for oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behavior. Method: Different alliances (child-therapist, parent-therapist) were assessed from each participant's perspective at two points over the course…

Evaluated alternative treatments for children (N=112) referred for severe antisocial behavior. Assigned children to one of three treatments: (1) problem-solving skills training (PSST); (2) PSST with in vivo practice (PSST-P); or (3) client-centered relationship therapy (RT). Found increases in prosocial behavior in PSST and PSST-P children while…

Evaluated psychometric features and correlates of the Hopelessness Scale for Children. Results indicated the scale was internally consistent, item-total score correlations and test-retest reliability were in the moderate range, and individual items discriminated high and low hopelessness children. Hopelessness correlated positively with depression…

Discusses advances in psychotherapy research with children and adolescents, highlighting three central themes. Discusses scope of clinical dysfunctions, at-risk behaviors, and conditions to which children are exposed. Uses examples of research on negative affect, social behavior, and empathy to illustrate role of development in adjustment.…

The authors examined the therapeutic alliance in evidence-based treatment for children (N = 185, 47 girls, 138 boys; ages 3-14 years) referred clinically for oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behavior. Different alliances (child-therapist, parent-therapist) were assessed from each participant's perspective at 2 points over the course of…

Examined prevalence, characteristics, and continuity of firesetting among psychiatrically disturbed children. Administered seven-item firesetting history screen to 164 outpatients and 136 inpatients and their parents. Found prevalence rates of firesetting and match play high among outpatients and even higher among inpatients. Parents and children…

Evaluated effects of problem-solving skills training (PSST) and parent management training (PMT) on 97 children referred for severe antisocial behavior. Found that, compared to PSST condition or PMT condition, combination PSST and PMT condition led to more marked changes in child and parent functioning and placed greater proportion of youth within…

Reviews recent research in the developmental psychopathology of children, the study of clinical dysfunction in the context of maturational and developmental processes. Many advances have relied heavily on the extension of paradigms developed in research with adults; offers directions for further research. (Author/BJV)

The authors examined the parent-therapist alliance in parent management training for children (N = 218; 53 girls and 165 boys, ages 2-14) referred clinically for oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behavior. The interrelations of pretreatment parent social relationships, the parent-therapist alliance over the course of treatment, and…

Reviews advances in child behavior therapy by illustrating the range of problems treated and the techniques and accomplishments that have emerged. Discusses training of parents, teachers, peers, and children themselves in behavior change techniques, as well as general implications of therapeutic developments for enhancing child welfare. (GC)

Evaluated the effects of cognitive-behavioral problem-solving skills training (PSST) and nondirective relationship therapy (RT) for the treatment of antisocial child behavior. Revealed that a significantly higher proportion of PSST children, compared with those in other conditions, fell within the normative range for prosocial behavior at…

Examined factors that predict dropping out of therapy among children referred for treatment of oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behavior. Several factors related to family (socioeconomic disadvantage, adverse child-rearing practice), parent (stress, life events, history of antisocial behavior), and child functioning (severity and…