Parent-child interaction therapy and ethnic minority children

Disruptive behaviours constitute the most frequent reason for referral of young children to mental health services. Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) is a theoretically grounded, assessment-driven, empirically supported treatment for children with disruptive behaviour disorders. PCIT is based on Baumrind's research demonstrating positive outcomes for children of parents with an authoritative parenting style. The child-directed interaction phase of PCIT focuses on strengthening the parent-child bond and increasing positive parenting. The parent-directed interaction phase focuses on increasing parental consistency, predictability and fairness in discipline. This article presents an overview of PCIT and highlights PCIT research with ethnic minority children.