Comparing online versus in-person codability of the Parent Child Interaction Teaching Scale (PCITS)

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Family Studies

Background:

• The Parent-Child Interaction Teaching Scale (PCITS) is a standard measure for assessing parent-child interaction quality.
• Virtual family services are increasing, but the codability of online PCITS assessments is unstudied.
• This study explored the codability of online versus in-person PCITS assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the codability of online (Zoom™) and in-person PCITS videorecordings.
• To examine if codability differs based on child age, maternal age, depressive symptoms, or maternal birthplace.
• To assess the feasibility of online PCITS administration.

Main Methods:

• Utilized PCITS videorecordings from the VID-KIDS trial involving mothers with postpartum depressive symptoms and their children.
• Assessed codability of online (n=109) and in-person (n=109) assessments using a tool for seven PCITS components.
• Employed two-sample t-tests and ANOVAs for comparative analysis.

Main Results:

• Only the Parent Body component showed a statistically significant difference, favoring in-person assessments, but with a small effect size.
• Few significant differences were found in subgroup analyses (e.g., child age, maternal birthplace).
• Overall codability was comparable between online and in-person PCITS assessments.

Conclusions:

• Observed differences between online and in-person PCITS were clinically insignificant, supporting the feasibility of online assessment.
• Recommendations are provided to enhance the optimization of online PCITS assessments.
• Online PCITS administration is a viable option for virtual family services.