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Advancing the assessment of parent-child interactions: development of the Parent Instruction-Giving Game with

Stephen D A Hupp1, David Reitman, Debra A Forde

  • 1Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL 62026, USA. sthupp@siue.edu

Behavior Therapy
|March 11, 2008
PubMed

Insights

The Parent Instruction-Giving Game with Youngsters (PIGGY) is a valid direct-observation system for assessing parent-child interactions. PIGGY effectively differentiates compliant and noncompliant children and monitors treatment effectiveness.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Behavioral Science
  • Clinical Assessment

Background:

  • Parent-child interactions are crucial for child development and behavior.
  • Existing observational systems have limitations in capturing specific parent-child dynamics.
  • The Parent Instruction-Giving Game with Youngsters (PIGGY) was developed to address these gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the validity and utility of the PIGGY direct-observation system.
  • To determine if PIGGY can differentiate between compliant and noncompliant children.
  • To assess PIGGY's effectiveness in monitoring treatment outcomes in behavioral parent training.

Main Methods:

  • Study 1: Compared PIGGY coding in mothers with "noncompliant" (n=14) versus "compliant" (n=14) children based on parent reports.
  • Study 2: Utilized PIGGY to track changes in parent and child behavior during behavioral parent training for a child with oppositional-defiant disorder.
  • PIGGY involves parents giving standardized commands and coding parent and child behaviors during the interaction.

Main Results:

  • PIGGY successfully differentiated between compliant and noncompliant child groups based on repeat commands, child defiance, and parenting style.
  • PIGGY scores reflected changes in both parent and child behavior in response to behavioral parent training.
  • The system demonstrated sensitivity to variations in parent-child interaction dynamics.

Conclusions:

  • The PIGGY system shows promise as a valid tool for direct observation of parent-child interactions.
  • PIGGY may serve as a valuable screening instrument for identifying behavioral concerns.
  • The system is also effective in measuring treatment response in parenting interventions.

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