Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA.
Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Dev Psychopathol. 2019 Dec;31(5):1757-1775. doi: 10.1017/S0954579419000968.
This study originated in collaboration with Thomas Dishion because of concerns that a group format for aggressive children might dampen the effects of cognitive-behavioral intervention. Three hundred sixty aggressive preadolescent children were screened through teacher and parent ratings. Schools were randomized to receive either an individual or a group format of the child component of the same evidence-based program. The results indicate that there is variability in how group-based cognitive-behavioral intervention can affect aggressive children through a long 4-year follow-up after the end of the intervention. Aggressive children who have higher skin conductance reactivity (potentially an indicator of poorer emotion regulation) and who have a variant of the oxytocin receptor gene that may be associated with being hyperinvolved in social bonding have better outcomes in their teacher-rated externalizing behavior outcomes over time if they were seen individually rather than in groups. Analyses also indicated that higher levels of the group leaders' clinical skills predicted reduced externalizing behavior problems. Implications for group versus individual format of cognitive-behavioral interventions for aggressive children, and for intensive training for group therapists, informed by these results, are discussed.
这项研究源于与托马斯·迪申（Thomas Dishion）的合作，因为人们担心针对攻击性儿童的小组形式可能会削弱认知行为干预的效果。通过教师和家长的评价，对 360 名有攻击性的青春期前儿童进行了筛选。学校被随机分配接受基于儿童的同一循证项目的个体或小组形式。结果表明，在干预结束后的长达 4 年的随访中，基于小组的认知行为干预对攻击性儿童的影响存在差异。具有更高皮肤电反应性（可能是情绪调节较差的指标）的攻击性儿童，以及具有可能与过度参与社会联系相关的催产素受体基因变异的儿童，如果他们单独接受治疗，而不是在小组中接受治疗，那么他们在教师评定的外化行为结果方面的表现会更好。分析还表明，组长的临床技能水平越高，外化行为问题就越少。这些结果为针对攻击性儿童的认知行为干预的小组与个体形式以及基于这些结果的小组治疗师的强化培训提供了启示。
