ABSTRACT
Antisocial behaviors such as aggression and delinquency have received considerable attention in the public debate about safety and crime prevention. These behaviors cause extensive damage to society, both material (e.g., vandalism, shoplifting) and personal (e.g., victims of violence). There is substantial evidence that early negative parent-child interaction patterns predict child externalizing problems (e.g., Belsky, Woodworth, & Crnic, 1996; Olson, Bates, Sandy, & Lanthier, 2000; Shaw, Owens, Giovannelli, & Winslow, 2001) and that early externalizing problems increase the risk for antisocial behavior in later childhood and adolescence (Campbell, 1995, 2002). Prevention efforts may therefore be most effective if they are targeted at parent-child interactions during early childhood. In this chapter, an intervention study is described that employs the Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting (VIPP) method to enhance parental sensitivity and effective discipline, with the ultimate aims to decrease child externalizing problems and to prevent the development of later antisocial behavior. First, developmental issues regarding the prevalence and prediction of antisocial behavior are discussed. Second, different theoretical models with respect to the role of parenting in relation to child externalizing problems are presented. Finally, the overall design of the study is described as well as the global content of the program and the outcomes of the intervention.
