ABSTRACT

Parent Management Training-Oregon Model (PMTO), an evidence-based treatment (EBT) designed to prevent and reduce children's behavior problems, was developed by Gerald Patterson and his colleagues at the Oregon Social Learning Center (OSLC). PMTO meets EBT standards, including manual-based specification of program details. It trains professionals who work in community agencies that are part of a wide-scale implementation. PMTO is based on the social interaction learning model (SIL), which presumes that children learn behavior through reinforcing principles in their interactions with others. PMTO is theory-based, and it carefully specifies client samples and provides manuals that describe practices and procedures and data demonstrating efficacy and effectiveness in several between-group-design experiments with replications by independent investigators. High rates of coercive parenting increase the likelihood that children will develop behavioral problems. PMTO therapists help parents replace coercive interactions with positive parenting practices that promote healthy child adjustment.