Comparing Web, Group, and Telehealth Formats of a Military Parenting Program

The overarching goal of this study is to advance research on family-based prevention of negative child outcomes for reintegrating Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom personnel by evaluating different formats of a parenting program, After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools (ADAPT). The ADAPT program is based upon the Parent Management Training-Oregon Model/PMTO, but adapted for military deployed families. The investigators will examine which of three delivery formats of ADAPT is most effective at reducing youth risk behaviors associated with negative childhood outcomes by improving parenting, child, and parent adjustment. There is a clear intent to benefit all subjects in this study (except surveyed teachers), including children.

Combat deployment and related challenges are family stressors, associated with more negative parent-child interactions, ineffective and coercive parenting practices and lower levels of parenting satisfaction. Disrupted parenting practices are well-known predictors of risk for child adjustment difficulties that are precursors to youth substance use, including behavior problems, school failure, deviant peer association, and depression . These child adjustment problems can contribute to continuing parental stress, increasing parental distress, and further disrupting parenting.