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PCIA-II/MAP Modifying Attributions of Parents

Clincians utilize the PCIA-II/MAP intervention (Bohr, 2005, 2004a, 2004b) to alter the attributions of parents in high-risk families. The PCIA-II/MAP is a manualized treatment employed in Canada and the USA that integrates direct observation, video-recall, free response, and rating scale assessment (see Bohr & Holigrocki, 2005).

The goal of the six-session intervention is to modify mothers’ negative attributions, decrease parenting stress and depression, as well as reduce children’s behavior problems. The intervention was designed to be used with parents who have children between the ages of 3- and 10-years-old.

The intervention begins with a clinician reviewing an initial PCIA-II pre-treatment video recording of the dyad for the purpose of identifying competencies as well as areas of parenting difficulties such as negative attributions, and strengths. Over the intervention period, the clinician and parent collaborate to build on strengths while recognizing and modifying the parent’s negative attributions.

Treatment outcome is assessed using observational measures of parent-child interaction (PCIA-II), a series of parent report (e.g., Parent Attributions Test; Bugental, 2004; Parenting Stress Inventory, Abidin, 1995; Beck Depression Inventory-II, Steer & Brown, 1996; Child Behavior Checklist, Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) and teacher report (CBCL-TRF; Achenbach and Rescorla, 2001) measures of parent and child behavior, and free response measures of defenses (e.g., Defense Mechanisms Manual, Cramer, 1991).

The PCIA-II/MAP is currently being used in treatment and treatment research in Toronto, Canada. A randomized controlled trial is in progress with women victims of domestic violence in the USA.

Resources

Bohr, Y. & Holigrocki, R. (2007, July). Modifying risky parental attributions: a brief cognitive approach to the prevention of relationship ruptures and child maltreatment. Workshop to be presented at the World Congress of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (WCBCT), Barcelona, Spain.

Bohr, Y. (2005). Infant Mental Health Programs: Experimenting with innovative models. Infant Mental Health Journal, 26(5), 407-422. PDF

Bohr, Y. (2004, July). Play, attachment, and negative parental attributions: An innovative intervention. Workshop at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Honolulu, HI.

Bohr, Y. (2004, June). Visits to the zoo and infant mental health: Experimenting with innovative models for treatment for the very young. Workshop at the Canadian Psychological Association Annual Convention, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.

Bohr, Y. & Holigrocki, R. (2006, June). Modifying negative parental attributions through play: First step in preventing maltreatment? Poster presented at From Research to Practice: Society for Psychotherapy Research Annual Meeting, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Bohr, Y. & Holigrocki, R. J. (2005). PCIA-II/MAP Treatment Manual: Modifying Attributions of Parents intervention. Unpublished manuscript, York University and the University of Indianapolis. PDF

Holigrocki, R. & Bohr, Y. (2007, July). Modifying attributions of high-risk mothers using videos of their play with their children: Preliminary findings. Paper to be presented at the World Congress of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (WCBCT), Barcelona, Spain.

Holigrocki, R. J., Hudson Crain, R., Bohr, Y. & Young, K. (2006, March). When direct observation assessment becomes treatment: Modifying the negative attributions of women victims of domestic violence. In Constance T. Fischer (Chair), Collaborative Feedback. Paper presented at the Society for Personality Assessment Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA.