ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The Training with Aggressive Children (Petermann & Petermann, 2008) was integrated into the setting of a child welfare service. This study examined, if mental health care of aggressive children in child welfare settings can be improved, compared the effectiveness of a combination of the training and child welfare intervention after six months with effects of the TAK. METHOD: 25 Children with conduct problems (24 boys, one girl) aged 7;6 to 13;0 years participated in the study. RESULTS: A pretest-follow up comparison of parent ratings on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) documented a large reduction of aggressive-delinquent behaviour and social problems in the training and child welfare group. Furthermore, conduct and peer relationship problems decreased essentially on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). By reducing conduct, attention and social problems, and delinquent behaviour, the therapeutic outcome of the training and child welfare group was clearly superior to training group. CONCLUSIONS: In comparison to the training, the combination of child welfare and training seemed to reduce a wider range of behavioural problems more effectively. This indicates that combined intervention programs can optimize mental health care of aggressive children.
Subject(s)
Aggression/psychology , Child Welfare/psychology , Cognitive Behavioral Therapy , Conduct Disorder/therapy , Delivery of Health Care , Mental Health Services , Adolescent , Antisocial Personality Disorder/diagnosis , Antisocial Personality Disorder/psychology , Antisocial Personality Disorder/therapy , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/diagnosis , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/psychology , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/therapy , Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/diagnosis , Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/psychology , Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/therapy , Child , Combined Modality Therapy , Conduct Disorder/diagnosis , Conduct Disorder/psychology , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Juvenile Delinquency/psychology , Male , Psychotherapy, GroupABSTRACT
Children and adolescents with aggressive disorders are prevalent in child welfare settings. Therefore, the assumption is that child welfare services would benefit from a cognitive-behavioral intervention. This study investigates whether implementation of the training with aggressive children (TAC) could improve the outcome of child welfare. Twelve children (average age 10 years), diagnosed with an oppositional defiant disorder or a conduct disorder, are treated either with a child welfare program or with a combined intervention of child welfare program and TAC. Before and immediately after completion of the combined treatment, parent and teacher ratings are collected. Parents report children participating in child welfare and TAC to show a stronger decline in social and conduct problems as well as a clearer increase in prosocial behavior. Teachers see a better improvement in social problems and tended to report a decrease in aggressive behavior. Results confirm that the TAC can enhance effects of a child welfare program.
