Parents' Adherence to Treatment Recommendations: Do It for the Children

The primary aim of this study was to test a method for increasing adherence to treatment recommendations for parents of children with emotional/behavior problems. Mental health problems in parents can be a serious risk factor for psychiatric and medical problems in children, yet most parents of children receiving services for mental health or medical problems do not get treatment for their own problems. The specific aim of this study was to increase parents' adherence to recommendations for treatment. Parents were randomly assigned to either the Enhanced Motivational Intervention (EMI) or an information only control group. The EMI involves motivational interviewing comprised of a brief intervention that elicits the parents' "story," provides education about their problem(s), describes the potential link between parents' and children's symptoms, assesses their prior treatment history, expectations, and concerns about treatment, identifies potential barriers to treatment seeking, and determines the next step. Evaluations at baseline and 8-weeks and 4-months post intervention will assess parents' symptoms, functioning, and service utilization. The investigators hypothesized that adherence to treatment recommendations would be significantly greater for parents in the EMI group compared to parents in the control group.