Research | Okcpcit

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy

Research from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC)

The PCIT training faculty share the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center’s long history of applied research, evaluation, and advocacy of evidence-based treatments for promotion of child and family well-being. Areas of PCIT research in which we have published include cultural translations:

BigFoot, D., & Funderburk, B. (2018). Cultural Enhancement of PCIT for American Indian Families: Honoring Children, Making Relatives. Handbook of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, 235-251. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-97698-3_15

BigFoot, D. S., & Funderburk, B. W. (2011). Honoring children, MAKING Relatives: The cultural translation of parent-child Interaction therapy for American Indian and Alaska native families. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 43(4), 309-318. doi:10.1080/02791072.2011.628924

As leaders in dissemination of evidence-based treatments, we have done research on best practices in training PCIT therapists and sustaining PCIT programs in the community:

Dopp, A. R., Narcisse, M., Mundey, P., Silovsky, J. F., Smith, A. B., Mandell, D., . . . Mendel, P. (2020). A scoping review of strategies for financing the implementation of evidence-based practices in behavioral health systems: State of the literature and future directions. Implementation Research and Practice, 1, 263348952093998. doi:10.1177/2633489520939980

Funderburk, B., Chaffin, M., Bard, E., Shanley, J., & Bard, D. (2015). Comparing Client Outcomes for Two Evidence-Based Treatment Consultation Strategies. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 730-741. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2014.910790

Nelson, M. M., Shanley, J. R., Funderburk, B. W., & Bard, E. (2012). Therapists’ attitudes toward evidence-based practices and implementation of parent–child interaction therapy. Child Maltreatment, 17(1), 47-55. doi:10.1177/1077559512436674

Funderburk, B. W., Ware, L. M., Altshuler [Bard], E., & Chaffin, M. (2008). Use and Feasibility of Telemedicine Technology in the Dissemination of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. Child Maltreatment, 13(4), 377-382. doi:10.1177/1077559508321483

Our group has a strong interest in the prevention of child maltreatment, with work including a series of randomized controlled trials that helped establish PCIT as an effective treatment for families with a history of child maltreatment:

Chaffin, M., Funderburk, B., Bard, D., Valle, L. A., & Gurwitch, R. (2011). A combined motivation and parent–child interaction therapy package reduces child welfare recidivism in a randomized dismantling field trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79(1), 84-95. doi:10.1037/a0021227

Chaffin, M., Valle, L. A., Funderburk, B., Gurwitch, R., Silovsky, J., Bard, D., McCoy, C., & Kees, M. (2009). A Motivational Intervention Can Improve Retention in PCIT for Low-Motivation Child Welfare Clients. Child Maltreatment, 14(4), 356–368. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559509332263

Hakman, M., Chaffin, M., Funderburk, B., & Silovsky, J. F. (2009). Change trajectories for parent-child interaction sequences during parent-child interaction therapy for child physical abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33(7), 461-470. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2008.08.003

Chaffin, M., Silovsky, J. F., Funderburk, B., Valle, L. A., Brestan, E. V., Balachova, T., Jackson, S., Lensgraf, J., & Bonner, B. L. (2004). Parent-Child Interaction Therapy With Physically Abusive Parents: Efficacy for Reducing Future Abuse Reports. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72(3), 500–510. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.72.3.500

Nekkanti, A. K., Jeffries, R., Scholtes, C. M., Shimomaeda, L., DeBow, K., Norman Wells, J., . . . Skowron, E. A. (2020). Study protocol: The coaching alternative parenting strategies (caps) study of parent-child interaction therapy in child welfare families. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00839

Gardner, T., Schmidt, S., Funderburk, B. et al. Building Strong Children Together: Ending Child Maltreatment in Our Lifetime Through Disruption of Educational Systems and Approaches. Int. Journal on Child Malt. 3, 317–325 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42448-020-00055-5

The breadth of our PCIT program and integration with other evidence-based treatments at the OU Health Sciences Center has supported research in applications of PCIT for special populations:

Egan, R., Wilsie, C., Thompson, Y., Funderburk, B., & Bard, E. (2020). A community evaluation of parent-child interaction therapy for children with prenatal substance exposure. Children and Youth Services Review, 116, 105239. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105239

Shawler, P. M., Elizabeth Bard, M., Taylor, E. K., Wilsie, C., Funderburk, B., & Silovsky, J. F. (2018). Parent-child interaction therapy and young children with problematic sexual behavior: A conceptual overview and treatment considerations. Children and Youth Services Review, 84, 206-214. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.12.006

Chaffin, M., Hanson, R., Saunders, B. E., Nichols, T., Barnett, D., Zeanah, C., Berliner, L., Egeland, B., Newman, E., Lyon, T., Letourneau, E., & Miller-Perrin, C. (2006). Report of the APSAC Task Force on Attachment Therapy, Reactive Attachment Disorder, and Attachment Problems. Child Maltreatment, 11(1), 76–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559505283699

A complete list of PCIT published research can be found at PCIT.org

Additionally, click on the logos below to read about government agencies and professional groups that have recognized PCIT as a model program or evidence-based treatment.