A proposed parent management training app to improve family adherence and behavioral monitoring

What is it about?

The current article briefly details the research-informed rationale for the integration of a smartphone app with PMT treatments in order to both prompt skill use, and allow for a more convenient way of monitoring both behaviors and progress within the home.

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Why is it important?

Parent management training (PMT) is an effective evidence-based behavioral intervention for improving compliance and on-task performance for children diagnosed with disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Although efficacious, treatment outcomes are often hindered by poor adherence to both inter-session practice assignments of learned skills, and behavioral monitoring (i.e., antecedent, behavior, and consequence behavioral log data). As such, clinicians must establish better ways to engage families in the interventions. While tailored paper-and-pencil monitoring procedures, and phone call- or mail-based prompting methods have historically proven helpful for improving adherence for a range of medical and behavioral health concerns, novel research has demonstrated preliminary positive outcomes when replacing older methods with the convenience of a smartphone application (i.e., app). Nevertheless, no known smartphone app has been developed to address the adherence challenges for PMT treatments.