Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences - Theses
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ItemSignposts for building better behaviour: a study within a Mexican population of children with acquired brain injury( 2019)Background Children with acquired brain injuries (ABI) often present with poor self-regulation and disruptive behaviour. Children with poor self-regulation are more likely to present with novel mental health problems. Poor self-regulation is a core aspect of disruptive behaviour. Disruptive behaviour risks child safety and undermines their participation in the community. Deficits in self-regulation and disruptive behaviour are exacerbated by the presence of dysfunctional parenting practices as well as high levels of parental trait anxiety, parental stress and social risk. The dysregulation profile has been used to identify children who are at risk of mental health problems in non-clinical paediatric populations. A cognitive behaviour therapy intervention parenting programme (Signposts) seems to be effective in decreasing child disruptive behaviour, dysfunctional parenting practices and parental stress following ABI. The current study aimed to investigate the contribution of parents’ characteristics to self-regulation and disruptive behaviour in children and to then assess the effectiveness of Signposts in reducing children’s disruptive behaviour along with dysfunctional parenting practices following ABI. Methods The study was conducted in Mexico where parents of 77 children with ABI participated in the study. Children and their parents were assessed. The children’s teachers also completed questionnaires regarding the child’s disruptive behaviour. These assessments were conducted prior to the intervention, immediately following the intervention and three months post- intervention. Results and Conclusion This study identified high levels of parent trait anxiety and child disinhibition as major contributors to children’s disruptive behaviour following ABI. Within a Mexican population, distal environmental factors (i.e. parents’ levels of education, their occupations) did not seem to be related with child impairment, whereas proximal environmental factors (i.e. parenting practices, parental stress) appeared to be related to child outcomes. The dysregulation profile may be used as a proxy for risk of novel mental health issues in children with ABI. Signposts was not effective in reducing parental stress or child disruptive behaviour at school, nor was it successful in improving child self-regulation. Signposts was feasible and effective in reducing child disruptive behaviour in the home setting and dysfunctional parenting practices following ABI. These results were maintained at three months post-intervention. The reduction in disruptive behaviour was associated with the implementation of authoritative parenting practices (external regulation).