Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2014;42(3):343-54.
doi: 10.1007/s10802-013-9768-2.

Prevention of problem behavior through annual family check-ups in early childhood: intervention effects from home to early elementary school

Thomas J Dishion  1 , Lauretta M Brennan, Daniel S Shaw, Amber D McEachern, Melvin N Wilson, Booil Jo
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Prevention of problem behavior through annual family check-ups in early childhood: intervention effects from home to early elementary school

Thomas J Dishion et al. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2014.

Abstract

This randomized intervention trial examined the effects of yearly Family Check-Ups (FCUs) and tailored parent management training on parent report of problem behavior from age 2 to 5 years and teacher report of oppositional behavior at age 7.5. A multiethnic risk sample of 731 families in 3 distinct geographical settings who were receiving assistance from the Women, Infants, and Children Nutritional Supplement (WIC) program were randomly assigned to a yearly FCU. Intention to treat (ITT) analyses were used to examine overall intervention effects, and complier average causal effect (CACE) modeling was used to examine the effects of annual intervention engagement in the FCU on parent reports of child problem behavior from age 2 to 5 and teacher reports of problem behavior at age 7.5. ITT intervention effects were found regarding parent report at ages 2 to 5 and teacher report at age 7.5, indicating less growth in problem behavior for children in the intervention group than for those in the control group. CACE modeling of intervention engagement revealed that the effect sizes on parent- and teacher-reported problem behavior increased as a function of the number of yearly FCUs caregivers participated in. Findings suggest that embedding yearly FCU services within the context of social, health, and educational services in early childhood can potentially prevent early-onset trajectories of antisocial behavior. The increases in effect size with successive FCU engagement underscores the importance of a motivational approach to parenting support among high-risk families.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
An overview of recruitment, assessment, randomization, and participation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Latent growth model of intervention effects on early-childhood problem behavior and teacher ratings of oppositional behavior.
Figure 3
Figure 3
CACE results for the effect of the intervention on changes in child oppositional-defiant behavior for 3 FCU engagers and nonengagers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Achenbach TM, Rescorla LA. Manual for the ASEBA School-Age Forms & Profiles: Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6–18, Teacher’s Report Form, & Youth Self-Report. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth & Families; 2001.
    1. Angrist J, Imbens G, Rubin D. Identification of causal effects using instrumental variables. Journal of the American Statistical Association. 1996;91:444–455.
    1. Bentler PM, Bonett DG. Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin. 1980;88:588–606.
    1. Biglan A. Selection by consequences: One unifying principle for a transdisciplinary science of prevention. Prevention Science. 2003;4:213–232. - PubMed
    1. Campbell SB, Pierce EW, Moore G, Marakovitz S, Newby K. Boys’ externalizing problems at elementary school: Pathways from early behavior problems, maternal control, and family stress. Development and Psychopathology. 1996;8:701–720.

Publication types