PREVENTING ADJUSTMENT PROBLEMS IN YOUNG SIBLINGS

先前的研究已经证明，一个兄弟姐妹的反社会行为与其他兄弟姐妹随着时间的推移出现的类似行为显著相关（例如，Farrington, Barnes, & Lambert, 1996; Wasserman, et al., 1996）。虽然兄弟姐妹干预的研究很少（Johnston & Freeman，出版中），但许多干预研究报告发现，与对照组的弟弟妹妹相比，对有反社会行为问题的哥哥妹妹进行治疗，可以减少弟弟妹妹的反社会行为。Bank等人（1997）已经证明，童年中期的高水平兄弟姐妹冲突预示着青春期适应不良的结果——包括反社会行为。Bank等人的研究结果在育儿变量的背景下在统计上是可靠的，这表明作为父母培训干预的伴侣的兄弟姐妹干预成分应该进行评估。在本研究中，我建议从俄勒冈健康计划参与者中招募150个有6至8岁有行为问题儿童的家庭。这些孩子中的每一个都将有一个至少4岁的弟弟妹妹。家庭将被随机分配到三组中的一组——父母培训组（N=50）、兄弟姐妹和父母培训组（N=50）和对照组（N=50），对照组将像往常一样接受来自莱恩县服务提供者的干预。有三个中心假设。首先，在干预结束和1年的随访中，接受兄弟姐妹干预成分（SPT）的家庭与接受父母培训（PT）和控制（CT）的家庭相比，接受兄弟姐妹干预成分（SPT）的家庭中由父母报告并在家庭观察中编码的兄弟姐妹冲突显著减少；第二，对于终止和随访的SPT的哥哥姐姐，以及在学校环境中随访的弟弟妹妹，同伴技能预期明显优于PT或CT组。第三，在干预结束和1年的随访中，与对照组相比，两个干预组的哥哥姐姐表现出行为问题水平的降低和学习技能水平的提高；然而，在学校环境的随访中，与接受过CT的弟妹相比，接受过SPT的弟妹表现出更少的行为问题和更好的学习技能，而不是接受过PT的弟妹。多主体、多方法的数据——包括观察家庭、学校和实验室的相互作用——将在基线、干预完成时收集，并对父母纪律、父母监督、问题解决、兄弟姐妹消极互动、反社会行为、学业技能和同伴关系的关键结构进行随访。将使用方差分析和结构方程模型来检验关键假设。

Prior work has demonstrated that antisocial behavior in one sibling is significantly correlated with the emergence of similar behavior across time in other siblings (e.g., Farrington, Barnes, & Lambert, 1996; Wasserman, et al., 1996). Although sibling interventions have been studied only rarely (Johnston & Freeman, in press), a number of intervention studies have reported findings in which treatment of an older sibling with antisocial behavior problems has resulted in reductions in antisocial behaviors in younger siblings as compared to control group younger siblings. Bank et al. (1997) have demonstrated that high levels of sibling Conflict during middle childhood are predictive of poor adjustment outcomes--including antisocial behavior -- during adolescence. The Bank et al. findings were statistically reliable in the context of parenting variables, suggesting that sibling intervention components as a companion to parent training interventions should be evaluated. In the present study, I proposed that 150 families with a 6- to 8-year-old child with conduct problems be recruited from Oregon Health Plan participants. Each of these children will have a younger sibling at least 4 years of age. Families will be randomly assigned to one of three groups--Parent Training (N=50), Sibling and Parent Training (N=50), and a Control (N=50--who will receive intervention as usual from Lane County service providers. There are three central hypotheses. First, at intervention completion and 1-year follow-up, sibling conflicts reported by parents and coded during home observations will be significantly reduced in those families receiving the siblings' intervention component (SPT) as compared to the Parent Training (PT) and Control (CT) families; second, for the SPT older siblings at termination and follow-up and for their younger siblings at follow-up in the school setting, peer skills are expected to be significantly better than in the PT or CT groups. Third, at intervention completion and 1-year follow-up, older siblings in both intervention groups will show diminished levels of conduct problems and improved levels of academic skills as compared to control older siblings; among younger siblings, however, at follow-up in the school setting, SPT, but not PT, will exhibit significantly fewer conduct problems and better academic skills than CT younger siblings. Multiple-agent, multiple-method data--including observation of home, school, and laboratory interactions--will be collected at baseline, intervention completion, and follow-up for key constructs for Parent Discipline, Parent Supervision, Problem Solving, Sibling Negative Interaction, Antisocial Behavior, Academic Skills, and Peer Relations. MANOVA and structural equation modeling will be used to test the key hypotheses.