Reducing Adolescent Oppositional and Conduct Disorders: An Experimental Design Using the Parenting with Love and Limits® Model

Abstract

Ineffective parenting behaviors such as poor supervision, rejection, harsh and inconsistent discipline and poor parenting techniques may place adolescents at risk for developing oppositional and conduct disorders. Parental behavior can increase or decrease an adolescent's risk for delinquency and other problem behaviors. The Parenting with Love and Limits ® (PLL) model was developed to address these issues and engage families in delinquent youths ’ treatment. In an experimental design, the PLL treatment group demonstrated a significant reduction in aggressive behaviors, depression, attention deficit disorder problems, and externalizing problems as measured by the Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL). Dropout rates in the treatment group among parents and teenagers were extremely low with an 85 % attendance rate by the parents and an 80 % attendance rate by youths. Compared with the control group, the PLL treatment group significantly improved parents ’ readiness to change and resulted in significantly lower recidivism rates (16 % PLL vs. 55 % control) over a 12-