Using Time-out for Child Conduct Problems in the Context of Trauma and Adversity: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial

Practitioner Review: A core competencies perspective on the evidence-based treatment of child conduct problems

BACKGROUND

The effective treatment of child conduct problems is understood to rely on a range of therapist competencies, yet these have rarely been an explicit focus of research. In this practitioner review, we examine core competencies for the delivery of evidence-based parenting interventions for conduct problems in early-to-middle childhood. These are examined in light of research into the common elements shared by these interventions, literature regarding common challenges in these interventions, and conceptualisations of such competencies in other fields of mental health.

METHODS

We report on the development of a novel consensus-based model of core competencies for evidence-based practice in this field, based on consultation with an international expert panel. This includes competencies as they apply to complex presentations of conduct problems.

RESULTS

Despite considerable variation among widely disseminated programmes in terms of content, format and skills-training practices, there is strong consensus among practitioners regarding core competencies. These relate to three broad domains: (a) generic therapeutic competencies; (b) parenting intervention competencies; (c) specific parenting skills/techniques.

CONCLUSIONS

Practitioners working with conduct problems, particularly complex presentations thereof, require competencies for engaging not only mothers, but fathers and diverse/non-traditional caregivers and other stakeholders, in evidence-based parenting interventions. Moreover, the successful delivery of these interventions necessitates competencies that extend beyond behaviour management and encompass broader aspects of the family system and the wider ecology of the child.

A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Introduction to the Special Issue

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including child maltreatment and other adversities in the home context and beyond (e.g., witnessing domestic violence; parental mental illness; parental separation; living in a disadvantaged neighborhood) are prevalent in the population and often covary together. Research based on the construct of ACEs has transformed the field of adult mental health, yet child and adolescent mental health has often been overlooked in this work. This special issue of Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology focuses on the developmental science of ACEs and child psychopathology. The research presented here draws on the extensive evidence base that now exists regarding the co-occurrence of common childhood adversities, while informing the integration of theory and research on ACEs with that of developmental psychopathology at large. This Introduction provides an overview of ACEs and child mental health from a developmental psychopathology perspective, with an emphasis on key concepts and recent progress spanning the prenatal period through to adolescence and intergenerational pathways. Models of ACEs that emphasize the multi-dimensional nature of adversity and the importance of developmental timing to risk and protective pathways, have played a driving role in this progress. Methodological innovations in this work are highlighted, along with implications for prevention and intervention.