Training predelinquent youths and their parents to negotiate conflict situations.

Mulvaney et al. (1974) worked with three parent-youth pairs. Each pair practiced solving arguments in a clinic room.

They used role-play, praise, and quick feedback. No homework, no manual, just live coaching.

The goal was to see if the skills would move to real fights at home.

All three pairs learned the negotiation steps during practice.

Later, when real conflicts popped up at home, they used the same steps and solved problems faster.

Emmelkamp et al. (1986) and Bryant et al. (1984) took the same rehearsal-plus-praise package and showed parents can keep the gains alive for months. The 1974 paper never checked long-term follow-up, so these studies extend it by adding a parent-led maintenance phase.

Rahaman et al. (2024) is a 50-year update. It keeps the skill-based heart but swaps simple praise for modern reinforcement blends and tests many settings at once. The core idea—rehearse, reinforce, generalize—survives intact.

Kohler et al. (1985) and Rider et al. (1984) used the exact BST script with preschoolers and adults with schizophrenia. Same method, new ages and problems. This pattern shows the package travels across populations, not just predelinquent youth.

You can teach families to stop yelling and start negotiating in one clinic afternoon. Script the steps, rehearse, praise each try, then send them home. Later studies prove the skills stick if parents keep the praise going. Use this when you need a fast, portable fix for family conflict.