Parent Perception of the Working Alliance, Parent Self-Efficacy, And
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Western Kentucky University TopSCHOLAR® Dissertations Graduate School Fall 2018 Parent Perception of the Working Alliance, Parent Self-Efficacy, and Parent Locus of Control as Predictors of Child Therapy Outcome Christopher Glenn Chandler Western Kentucky University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/diss Part of the Child Psychology Commons, and the Clinical Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Chandler, Christopher Glenn, "Parent Perception of the Working Alliance, Parent Self-Efficacy, and Parent Locus of Control as Predictors of Child Therapy Outcome" (2018). Dissertations. Paper 159. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/diss/159 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by TopSCHOLAR®. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TopSCHOLAR®. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PARENT PERCEPTION OF THE WORKING ALLIANCE, PARENT SELF- EFFICACY, AND PARENT LOCUS OF CONTROL AS PREDICTORS OF CHILD THERAPY OUTCOME A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Psychology Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, Kentucky In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Psychology By Christopher Chandler December 2018 PARENT PERCEPTION OF THE WORKING ALLIANCE, PARENT SELF- EFFICACY, AND PARENT LOCUS OF CONTROL AS PREDICTORS OF CHILD THERAPY OUTCOME Dean, The Graduate School Date ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my chairperson Dr. Rick Grieve for his willingness to accept this position as another of his many responsibilities. This project is not possible without his commitment. I would also like to thank each member of my committee as well. Dr. Sally Kuhlenschmidt took several hours from her busy schedule to help me turn a bunch of loose ideas into a completed dissertation. Dr Imelda Bratton inspired an enthusiasm for working with children that inspired this project from the beginning. Dr. Kimberlee Everson made it possible for me to understand, interpret, and generally make sense of every statistic in this project. Dissertations do not happen without a supportive committee and I am very fortunate to have had their guidance and support during this time. iii Contents Introduction Parent Investment in Children’s Counseling and Similar Environments ........................ 3 Child Development Level ............................................................................................ 5 The Working Alliance ..................................................................................................... 6 Bordin and the Working Alliance ................................................................................ 6 Common Factors Theory and the Working Alliance ................................................... 9 Social Cognitive Theory and Measurable Traits ........................................................... 11 The Current Study ......................................................................................................... 18 Method .............................................................................................................................. 21 Participants .................................................................................................................... 21 Measures........................................................................................................................ 23 Procedure ....................................................................................................................... 26 Results ............................................................................................................................... 28 Discussion ......................................................................................................................... 31 Limitations and Future Research................................................................................... 34 Implications ............................................................................................................... 38 Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 39 References ......................................................................................................................... 41 APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................... 50 APPENDIX B ................................................................................................................... 52 APPENDIX C ................................................................................................................... 53 APPENDIX D ................................................................................................................... 55 APPENDIX E ................................................................................................................... 59 APPENDIX F.................................................................................................................... 63 iv List Of Figures Figure 1: Representation of Bandura's Social Cognitive Model…………………………13 v List Of Tables Table 1: Education Level and Marital Status Comparison Between Study Sample of Participants and National Average……………………………………………..22 Table 2: Income Comparison Among Participating Parents…………………………….23 Table 3: Descriptive Statistics for Independent Variables………………………………28 Table 4: Correlations Among Predictor Variables………………………………………29 Table 5: Summary of Multiple Regression Analysis……………………………………30 vi PARENT PERCEPTION OF THE WORKING ALLIANCE, PARENT SELF- EFFICACY, AND PARENT LOCUS OF CONTROL AS PREDICTORS FOR CHLD THERAPY OUTCOMES Christopher Chandler December 2018 66 Pages Directed by: Frederick Grieve, Sally Kuhlenschmidt, Imelda Bratton, and Kimberlee Everson Department of Psychology Western Kentucky University The purpose of this study is to examine the impact that parent-therapist working alliance, parent self-efficacy, and parent locus of control have on child therapy outcomes. Bordin’s model of the working alliance provides a framework for measuring the collaboration between the parents and therapists while Social Cognitive Theory informs the decision to assess parent self-efficacy and parent locus of control. The research questions were as follows: 1) Does a strong parent and therapist working alliance, as perceived by the parent, predict improved outcomes in child counseling? 2) Does parent self-efficacy predict outcomes in child counseling? 3) Does parent locus of control predict improved outcomes in child counseling? Stepwise multiple regression was used to determine the predictive power of the independent variables on treatment goal progress for children in therapy. Parents’ perception of their working alliance with the therapist, parent-self efficacy, and parent locus of control were the independent variables. Therapists’ assessments of child progress on their primary treatment plan goal was the dependent variable. The stepwise multiple regression analysis indicates that parents’ perception of the working alliance with the child’s therapist had an R2 of .11 in relation to the children’s progress on their primary treatment plan goal. Parent self-efficacy and parent locus of control did not contribute vii significantly to the model. However, parent self-efficacy and parent locus of control had a moderate correlation with parents’ perception of the working alliance (r = .55 and .48, respectively). Developing a strong working alliance between parents of child clients and their therapists appears to be an important part of predicting children’s therapy outcomes. Furthermore, parent self-efficacy and parent locus of control appear to have a relationship with parent perception of the working alliance. viii Introduction According to a joint survey by the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institute for Mental Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2012), approximately 13 to 20% of children experience some form of mental disorder in any given year of their lives. The upper end of this range is equivalent to one in every five children. Understanding the factors that improve child therapy outcomes is crucial. Parental investment in their children’s therapy has been shown to be one of those factors (Friedburg & Gorman, 2007, Suveg, Kendall, Comer, & Robin, 2006). An estimated 40-60% of parents end therapy for their child prematurely (Kazdin, 1996). These children experience fewer benefits from their time in counseling than those who finish the process, such a decrease in symptom behaviors (Prinz & Miller, 1994). While some of these termination issues revolve around transportation or childcare, Kazdin, Holland, and Crowley (1997) identified working alliance issues as contributing to why parents may choose to end therapy services for their children. There are several studies identifying factors of adult and child clients that can predict better outcomes in their treatment. However, there appears to be less knowledge about what parent factors positively contribute to or predict better outcomes for child clients. Knowing what factors influence positive child therapy outcomes would allow therapists to assess and target those factors. The therapist can address these factors in either family or collateral sessions or with a referral to an appropriate service (family support, parenting classes,