Given the proliferation of factor analysis applications in the literature, the present article examines the use of factor analysis in current published research across four psychological journals. ...

Use of Exploratory Factor Analysis in Published Research Common Errors and Some Comment on Improved Practice

The aim of this mental health promotion initiative was to evaluate the effectiveness of a universally delivered group behavioral family intervention (BFI) in preventing behavior problems in children. This study investigates the transferability of an efficacious clinical program to a universal prevention intervention delivered through child and community health services targeting parents of preschoolers within a metropolitan health region. A quasi-experimental two-group (BFI, n = 804 vs. Comparison group, n = 806) longitudinal design followed preschool aged children and their parents over a 2-year period. BFI was associated with significant reductions in parent- reported levels of dysfunctional parenting and parent-reported levels of child behavior problems. Effect sizes on child behavior problems ranged from large (.83) to moderate (.47). Positive and significant effects were also observed in parent mental health, marital adjustment, and levels of child rearing conflict. Findings are discussed with respect to their implication for significant population reductions in child behavior problems as well as the pragmatic challenges for prevention science in encouraging both the evaluation and uptake of preventive initiatives in real world settings.

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Prevention of Child Behavior Problems Through Universal Implementation of a Group Behavioral Family Intervention

Objective: This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of a four-session, caregiver–child Intervention, the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI), to prevent the development of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) provided within 30 days of exposure to a potentially traumatic event (PTE). Method: One-hundred seventy-six 7 to 17-year-old youth were recruited through telephone screening based on report of one new distressing posttraumatic stress symptom after a PTE. Of those, 106 youth were randomly assigned to the Intervention (n = 53) or a four-session supportive Comparison condition (N = 53). Group differences in symptom severity were assessed using repeated measures with mixed effects models of intervention group, time, and the interaction of intervention and time. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess treatment condition and any subsequent traumas experienced as predictors for full and partial PTSD diagnosis at 3-month follow-up. An exploratory chi-square analysis was performed to examine the differences in PTSD symptom criteria B, C, and D at follow-up. Results: At baseline, youth in both groups had similar demographics, past trauma exposures and symptom severity. At follow-up, the Intervention group demonstrated significantly fewer full and partial PTSD diagnoses than the Comparison group on a standardized diagnostic measure of PTSD. Also, there was a significant group by time interaction for Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children’s Posttraumatic Stress and Anxiety Indices as the CFTSI group had significantly lower posttraumatic and anxiety scores than the Comparison group. Conclusions: The results suggest that a caregiver–youth, brief preventative early intervention for youth exposed to a PTE is a promising approach to preventing chronic PTSD. Keywords: Trauma, prevention, family. Abbreviations: CFTSI: Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention; F/U: 3-month follow-up; PTSD-RI: UCLA PTSD Reaction Index; TSCC: Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children.

The Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention: Secondary prevention for youth at risk of developing PTSD

Although researchers using parental self-report data have questioned its validity (Holden, 2001) and called for more work in this area (Krevans & Gibbs, 1996; Locke & Prinz, 2002), methodological concerns regarding self-report about parenting practices have not been addressed adequately. The susceptibility of parental report to systematic distortions suggests a need for research on ways to improve self-report. This paper attempts to synthesize research findings from other fields (e.g., survey methodology) about ways to improve the validity of self-report, and to discuss the implications for self-report of parenting behaviors. Methods for improving self-report are presented for each of the 5 major tasks in responding to a question: (1) understanding the question, (2) recalling relevant behavior, (3) inference and estimation, (4) mapping the answer onto the response format, and (5) "editing" the answer for reasons of social desirability. Self-administered interviewing, audio-computer-assisted interviewing, pretesting, conversational interviewing, and the decompositional item may be among the best candidates for use in parental self-report. Recommendations are offered with respect to strategies that might prove useful in improving parental assessment of parenting, and to research efforts to evaluate the utility and potential costs of these strategies.

Understanding and Improving the Validity of Self-Report of Parenting

This study examined mediators of the Strong African American Families Program, a randomized, dual-focus prevention trial intended to delay the onset of alcohol use and reduce alcohol consumption among rural African American youths. More specifically, it demonstrated that changes in consumption 2 yrs after the intervention were mediated through 2 different paths, a social reaction path and a reasoned/intention path. The social reaction path provided evidence that relative to the control condition, the intervention decreased children's willingness to drink by making their images of drinkers less favorable. The reasoned/intention path provided evidence that the intervention influenced the children's intentions to drink by increasing targeted parenting behaviors related to alcohol. Furthermore, the data demonstrate that these changes in willingness and intentions were independently associated with alcohol consumption at the follow-up, and they suggest that a dual-process model approach that targets both intentions and willingness can be more successful than either approach alone.

A theory-based dual-focus alcohol intervention for preadolescents: the Strong African American Families Program.

The Parent Behavior Inventory (PBI) is a brief measure of parenting behavior for use with the parents of preschool-age and young school-age children. It may be used as a parent self-report measure, a report measure for others familiar with the parent, or as an observational rating scale. Its parallel forms offer clinicians and researchers a single measure capable of multimethod, multi-informant, and multisetting assessment. The PBI's two independent scales, Supportive/Engaged and Hostile/Coercive, have sufficient content validity, show adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability, and relate to measures of parental affect, parental stress, and child behavior problems. Evidence for its usefulness as a rating scale is presented. The results provide support for the reliability and construct validity of the PBI and demonstrate its versatility as a measure of parenting behavior.

Elizabeth C. Rubin

Papers

Development and initial validation of the Parent Behavior Inventory