Programming for generalization to high and low risk parenting situations in families with oppositional developmentally disabled preschoolers.
Plan practice in both calm and stressful home routines so parent-training gains survive real-life chaos.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Sanders et al. (1989) worked with three families who had preschoolers with developmental delays. The kids showed lots of defiance and non-compliance.
Parents learned child-management skills and how to plan fun activities. Coaches then tested if the new skills worked in both calm and stressful home moments.
What they found
Child problem behavior dropped sharply in every family. Parents used the skills correctly.
Gains moved to low-stress times in all three homes. Two families also kept the gains during high-stress moments like bedtime battles.
How this fits with other research
Glover et al. (1976) saw weak generalization to school. R et al. show that when you plan for tough home moments, gains can stick there too.
Anonymous (2024) later matched these results online. Their telehealth parent training cut behavior problems about the same amount, proving the method still works without home visits.
Perry et al. (2024) added functional assessment and FCT. They kept the parent-coach model but taught moms and dads to find the ‘why’ behind behavior first.
Why it matters
You can copy the 1989 plan today. After teaching parents the basics, rehearse the skills during a high-risk routine like tooth-brushing or grocery checkout. If gains hold there, they will likely hold everywhere else.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study examined the generalization effects of a training program for parents of oppositional, mildly developmentally disabled preschool children. Specifically, the study sought to determine the possible differential generalization effects of treatment to high and low risk parenting settings. Treatment comprised child management and planned activities training procedures specifically designed to enhance generalization effects. A multiple baseline design across subjects that incorporated a non-treatment control subject was employed. Dependent measures included deviant child behavior, accuracy of parent implementation of treatment procedures, and specific measures of aversive and non-aversive parent behaviors. Three of the treated families showed marked reductions in levels of deviant behavior, as well as increases in parental implementation of treatment procedures in both the training setting and the low risk generalization setting. Two of these three families showed comparable improvements in the high risk setting. The control subject showed little improvement in either generalization setting. It was concluded that the treatment program was effective in producing generalization effects in parent training.
Behavior modification, 1989 · doi:10.1177/01454455890133001