A Cohort Study on the Effect of Parental Mind-Mindedness in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy.

Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) is a short-term, evidence-based intervention for caregivers with children aged between 2 and 7 who exhibit behavioral problems. PCIT is effective, but has a high attrition rate ranging from 27% to 69%. We hypothesize that a low level of parental mind-mindedness-the parent's propensity to treat the child as an intentional agent with its own thoughts and emotions-might contribute to premature attrition or cause families to profit less from treatment.