Multiple Family Groups to reduce child disruptive behavior difficulties: moderating effects of child welfare status...

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Family Therapy
• Social Work

Background:

• Children remaining home after child welfare involvement often exhibit behavioral difficulties, increasing risks for maltreatment.
• Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBDs) in youth require effective interventions to prevent negative long-term outcomes.
• Multiple Family Group (MFG) models show promise for engaging disadvantaged families and improving child behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore if child behavioral outcomes differ for families with child welfare (CW) involvement using the MFG model compared to other families.
• To assess the effectiveness of MFG for youth with Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBDs) in families with and without a history of CW services.
• To determine if CW involvement impacts the success of MFG interventions for child behavior.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory study used a block comparison design, assigning youth (aged 7-11) and families to MFG or services as usual (SAU).
• Caregivers reported on child behavior, social skills, and functional impairment across four assessment points: baseline, mid-test, post-test, and 6-month follow-up.
• Mixed effects regression modeled multilevel outcomes to analyze treatment effects between MFG and SAU groups, comparing CW-involved and non-CW-involved families.

Main Results:

• Among families with child welfare (CW) involvement, MFG participants showed significantly reduced oppositional defiant disorder symptoms at 6-month follow-up compared to SAU.
• No significant differences were found in the effectiveness of MFG treatment between families with and without CW involvement for other measured outcomes.
• MFG demonstrated comparable efficacy in improving child behavior difficulties across both CW-involved and non-CW-involved families.

Conclusions:

• Multiple Family Group (MFG) therapy appears to be an effective intervention for reducing child behavior difficulties, regardless of a family's history with child welfare (CW) services.
• MFG's engaging and efficient nature makes it a potentially valuable service for families navigating the child welfare system.
• The findings support MFG as a viable treatment option for youth with disruptive behaviors, offering consistent benefits across diverse family backgrounds.