Assessment of a program's effectiveness in selecting individuals "at risk" for problems in parenting

Administered the Child Abuse Potential (CAP) Inventory to 99 parents assessed as "At Risk" of parenting problems by the At Risk Parent-Child Program, Inc., Tulsa, Oklahoma. The study was designed to determine the number and extent of elevated abuse scores in an "At Risk" group compared to a norm group and to discover whether present "At Risk" parents were more seriously "At Risk" than past clients in the same program. During a 3-year period participants were offered the CAP-Inventory as part of the routine evaluation process. Results indicated the "At Risk" group scored significantly above a norm group, with 58% and 52% of the "At Risk" parents scoring above the 95th and 99th percentiles of the norm group, respectively. Comparison of the present results with data from a previous study in the same program (Milner & Ayoub, 1980) showed that the present "At Risk" group earned a significantly higher mean abuse score and had significantly more individual scores above the 95th and 99th percentiles of the norm group than did previous "At Risk" parents. The data indicated the Program is currently more effective in the selection of parents in need of its services. However, because the clients are in greater need, other findings (Thomasson, Berkovitz, Minor, Cassle, McCord, & Milner, 1981) suggest that the Program may now find itself having a more difficult time demonstrating program effectiveness because participants may be more resistant to treatment.