(PS8-C54) Phase-specific Gains in Child Psychosocial Competencies During Parent-child Interaction Therapy

Particularly in early childhood, psychosocial competencies (e.g., prosociality, attention regulation) are protective factors against both concurrent and future behavior problems as well as promotive factors for future psychosocial development (Dahl & Brownell, 2019; Huber et al., 2019; van der Graaff et al., 2018). Thus, treatments are needed that not only decrease child misbehavior but also increase child competencies. One notable treatment with both of these aims is Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT; Eyberg & Funderburk, 2011). Yet, despite 50+ years of research evincing PCIT as a best practice treatment for conduct problems in early childhood (Niec, 2018; Thomas et al., 2017), relatively few studies have examined PCIT’s impact on child psychosocial competencies (Briegel et al., 2018; Todd & Niec, 2022). Of those, most examined changes in a single competency, with developmental or diagnostic adaptations of PCIT (e.g., infants, ASD), and/or only during PCIT’s first phase (i.e., Allen et al., 2022; Ginn et al., 2017; Graziano et al., 2012; Lieneman et al., 2020; Pemberton et al., 2013; Tempel et al., 2013). To address this gap, we conducted the first study of the phase-specific effects of PCIT’s standard protocol on child psychosocial competencies, both overall and across multiple domains (i.e., prosociality, compliance, attention regulation), and the degree to which these competencies related to child conduct problems during treatment. The state-representative sample consisted of 18 child-caregiver dyads (child age: M = 5.0, SD = 1.2, range: 2.0–6.9; 72.2% boys, 77.8% White, 16.7% Latinx) who received PCIT’s standard protocol from certification-level trained and supervised graduate students at a university clinic. Caregivers completed validated parent-report measures of child psychosocial competence (i.e., Psychosocial Strengths Inventory for Children and Adolescents [PSICA]; Niec et al., 2017) and child conduct problems (i.e., Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory [ECBI]; Eyberg & Pincus, 1999) at pre-, mid-, and post-treatment. As predicted, caregiver ratings of child conduct problems and competencies were inversely related (rs = -.40 to -.73, p = .002–.05), across all three timepoints. Consistent with past findings, child conduct problems decreased, pre- to post-PCIT (d = 1.71, p < .001), and across each phase to a statistically, clinically significant degree (η_p²s = .71, p < .001). More novel, child psychosocial competencies, both overall and per each domain, concurrently increased to a statistically, clinically significant degree, pre- to post-PCIT (ds = 0.92–3.42, ps < .001–.01) and with each phase (η_p²s = .39–72, ps < .001–.01). Notably, comorbid child developmental disorders (i.e., ASD, IDD) did not significantly moderate these results. These results better validate PCIT’s (and its phases’) efficacy in treating clinically significant, comorbid child conduct problems and deficits in psychosocial competencies, and thus further support PCIT’s dissemination and implementation. They also further evince how child psychosocial problem behavior and competencies are related, yet distinct, clinical targets that should be assessed in both research and practice contexts (Briegel et al., 2018; Todd & Niec, 2022).