Home      Login

Abstract: 

This paper presents an overview of an ongoing research project investigating the implementation and effectiveness of Teacher-Child Interaction Training (TCIT), a consultative, preventive, preschool-based adaptation of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), with an ethnically diverse sample of low-income, urban youth. PCIT is an evidence-based parent-training program for the management of disruptive behavior disorders. The TCIT adaptation is delivered via workshops and in-class practice sessions with the goal of increasing teacher positive attention, decreasing negative interactions, and implementing a structured discipline procedure. By targeting preschool teacher behavior, TCIT is designed to prevent disruptive behavior and increase prosocial behavior in the classroom. Initial data suggest that the majority of participating teachers demonstrated increases in their use of positive attention skills, although the extent of change varied among teachers. Implications for intervention sustainability and future research are also discussed.

Keywords: 

Affiliations:  1: DePaul University; 2: DePaul University Department of Psychology; 3: DePaul University.