Evidence-based parent training and family interventions for school behavior change

In this article the guidelines of the Evidence-Based Interventions in School Psychology Task Force were used to evaluate the efficacy of parent training and family intervention for changing children's school behavior. Nineteen parent training and five family intervention studies that were conducted in schools, had a school treatment component, or included measurement of school change were identified and coded. Results found one parent training program and one family intervention to be proven efficacious across two randomized clinical trials. Several family interventions were probably efficacious or promising. Despite the established link between the family environment and school behavior, parent training and family interventions are uncommon in schools, and clinic-based treatment studies infrequently measure generalization of parent and family interventions to the school setting. Future researchers are encouraged to address these limitations and to include samples representative of the diversity of the public schools in family-focused intervention studies.