Information Sheet for Clinics and Facilitators

Personalised Assessment and Intervention Packages for Children with Conduct Problems in Child Mental Health Services

Study Summary

  • For children in the UK with conduct problems, Parent Training Groups are the main recommended treatment. Although Parent Training Groups can be very successful, there are often high drop-out rates and some families do not have positive outcomes after treatment.
  • We are hoping to investigate the factors that might affect outcomes for families and children, so that in future we can develop a new, personalised treatment that can account for individual needs of parents and children.
  • We will conduct a baseline assessment of 160 parents and their children(e.g., emotional responsiveness, depression, etc.) prior to the start of their Parent Training Group. This assessment will be conducted in the participants’ homes (or somewhere they find more convenient). We will then followtheir journey through the groups by conducting two short follow up assessments at 3 months and 6 months after the initial assessment. This is to assess how they found the Parent Training Group and to measure outcomes.

Who is conducting the research?

  • The research team is made up of people with a range of expertise in researching and treating child conduct problems. We are based at three ‘research sites’, two NHS sites (in North and South London) and the University of Reading.

Who will take part in the study?

  • Participants will comprise of parents referred to existing services offering Parent Training Groups who have opted to partake in this study. This could be CAMHS services or local authorities that run the groups.
  • We aim to obtain a total sample of 160 families across all participating sites.

What is required of the group facilitators?

  • Practitioners at participating sites will be asked to complete minimal screening of parents and children referred to Parent Training Groups.
  • Group facilitators should consider individuals referred to Parent Training Groups as possible participants for the study if:
  • Their child is within the age range of 4 to 8 years old.
  • The child presents with behavioural problems similar to those described by the DSM-V for Oppositional Defiant Disorder (see attached).
  • They are English speaking.
  • For all parents who meet these criteria, group facilitators will be asked to have a brief face-to-face conversation with the parents to gain their consent for a research assistant to call them and give them more information about the study.
  • We will provide the facilitators with a script to usewith the parents. This is to ensure the facilitators are clear and confident in their understanding and all parents are told the same information.
  • At this stage consent is only being given to allow a researcher to contact them, not to participate in the full study.
  • After the research assistant has contacted them by phone, the participant will receive further information via a Participant Information Sheet in the mail.
  • The research assistant will then screen more completely for eligibility criteria and collect informed consent from those willing to participate.
  • Participants will receive £100 worth of shopping vouchers to thank them for their participation.

If you have a concern or query about any aspect of this study, please do not hesitate to contact either:

Dr Rob Senior

Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust

Tavistock Centre, 120 Belsize Lane, London NW3 5BA

Email

Leah Jesnickand Lucy Karwatowska

Assistant Research Psychologists

Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust

Tavistock Centre, 120 Belsize Lane, London NW3 5BA

Email: and

The whole research team would like to thank you for your help with participant recruitment for the study.We really appreciate the time and effort you have spent to help us with this endeavour.

DSM-V Criteria:

Oppositional Defiant Disorder

  1. A pattern of angry/irritable mood, argumentative/defiant behaviour, or vindictiveness lasting at least 6 months as evidenced by at least four symptoms from any of the following categories, and exhibited during interaction with at least one individual who is not a sibling.

Angry/Irritable Mood

  1. Often loses temper.
  2. Is often touchy or easily annoyed.
  3. Is often angry and resentful.

Argumentative/Defiant Behaviour

  1. Often argues with authority figures or, for children and adolescents, with adults.
  2. Often actively defies or refuses to comply with requests from authority figures or with rules.
  3. Often deliberately annoys others.
  4. Often blames others for his or her mistakes or misbehaviour.

Vindictiveness

  1. Has been spiteful or vindictive at least twice within the past 6 months.
  1. The disturbance in behaviour is associated with distress in the individual or others in his or her immediate social context (e.g., family, peer group, work colleagues), or it impacts negatively on social, educational, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
  1. The behaviours do not occur exclusively during the course of a psychotic, substance use, depressive, or bipolar disorder.

Example Facilitator Script:

“AsIsaid the reason we offer the <programme name> is because we are convinced it works, and research shows that it does. But we also think it could be even better, and we are working with Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust and other universities on a major research project into how to go about this. Would you be willing for one of the research team to ring you to tell you more about the project to see if you might be able to help?”

(The facilitator may want to keep in mind that we are able to offer payment or shopping vouchers in recognition of the time parents and children give to the study)