Dissemination of evidence-based parenting programs in developing countries is warranted, but prior to dissemination, the cultural appropriateness of programs needs to be assessed. This study provides an evaluation of the level of acceptability among Indonesian parents and the efficacy of a brief parenting program, the Triple P-Positive Parenting seminar. Thirty Indonesian parents of children aged 2–12 years old residing in Australia participated in the study. A 90-minute Triple P seminar with minimal changes in the format was delivered to parents in Indonesian. Parents reported a high level of acceptability and satisfaction with the program content. The efficacy of the program was also explored. Parents reported less frequent use of dysfunctional parenting practices, particularly permissive parenting style, and reduction in the intensity of child emotional and behavioural problems 3 weeks after the seminar. The effect was maintained at 3-month follow up. The results suggest that the Triple P seminar is acceptable and useful for Indonesian parents. Substantial changes in the content of the parenting program may not be necessary. Translated materials, culturally relevant examples and opportunity for questions appeared sufficient for parents. Future studies are required, including randomised controlled trials and larger sample sizes.

Studies on the efficacy of parent training programs have mostly been conducted with preadolescents, with only a few studies investigating family treatment models in adolescents. In this article, a study is described that evaluates Standard Teen Triple P (Positive Parenting Program), a behavioural family intervention for parents of 11- to 16-year-old teenagers. Participants were 46 families with a teenager who was experiencing detectable behavioural and emotional problems. Compared to parents in the waitlist control condition, parents participating in the intervention condition reported decreased levels of teen disruptive behaviours and parent adolescent conflict, as well as a reduction in the use of ineffective parenting strategies and conflict over child-rearing issues. These positive changes were maintained at the 3-month follow-up. Results suggest that Standard Teen Triple P is a promising parenting intervention for tackling adolescent externalising problems.

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CBT guided self-help (CBTgsh) can produce treatment outcomes comparable to therapist-administered CBT (CBTta) for the treatment of anxiety and depression. The efficacy of CBTgsh compared to gold standard CBTta, however, remains to be examined. The current article addresses this issue, as well as how CBTgsh may have unique benefits over CBTta. It further highlights ways in which CBTgsh may be used for disorders of increasing severity, using eating disorders and personality pathology for illustrative purposes. A literature review of PsycINFO, PsyARTICLES, and PubMED was conducted to identify relevant studies published since 1990. Studies directly comparing CBTgsh to gold standard CBTta for anxiety and depression, as well as bulimia nervosa, revealed no significant differences between the two interventions. Furthermore, CBTgsh may have unique benefits by encouraging continued improvement over time. Innovative eating disorder studies also show that CBTgsh can be used for more severe disorders as a supplementary treatment, and produces treatment outcomes superior to CBTta or treatment as usual alone. Based on these findings, CBTgsh applications to personality pathology are suggested. Traditional stepped care models, as they pertain to CBTgsh, may gain to be broadened both in their focus and methods of delivery.

Aims:Problem or pathological gambling is associated with significant disruption to the individual, family and community with a range of adverse outcomes, including legal, financial and mental health impairment. It occurs more frequently in younger populations, and comorbid conditions are common. Cognitive–behaviour therapy (CBT) is the most empirically established class of treatments for problematic gambling. This article reports on a systematic review and evaluation of randomised clinical trials (RCTs) concerning two core techniques of CBT: cognitive and behavioural (exposure-based) therapies.Methods:PsycINFO, MEDLINE and the Cochrane library were searched from database inception to December 2012. The CONsolidated Standards Of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) for non-pharmacological treatments was used to evaluate each study.Results:The initial search identified 104 references. After two screening phases, seven RCTs evaluating either cognitive (n= 3), exposure (n= 3) or both (n= 1) interventions remained. The studies were published between 1983 and 2003 and conducted across Australia, Canada, and Spain. On average, approximately 31% of CONSORT items were rated as ‘absent’ for each study and more than 52% rated as ‘present with some limitations’. For all studies, 70.83% of items rated as ‘absent’ were in the methods section.Conclusions:The findings from this review of randomised clinical trials involving cognitive and exposure-based treatments for gambling disorders show that the current evidence base is limited. Trials with low risk of bias are needed to be reported before recommendations are given on their effectiveness and clinicians can appraise their potential utility with confidence.

Grazing, or the uncontrolled, repetitive eating of small amounts of food is being increasingly recognised as an important eating behaviour associated with obesity. In spite of the need for a better understanding of this eating behaviour for improved obesity treatment, currently there is no empirically validated self-report measure to assess grazing. Therefore, to contribute to a better understanding of this relatively understudied eating pattern, a new self-report questionnaire of grazing was developed in this study. Questionnaire items were designed to reflect previous empirical descriptions of grazing. A group of 248 university students completed the Grazing Questionnaire, other measures of eating-related behaviours and cognitions, and negative emotion. Sixty-two participants completed the Grazing Questionnaire a second time to calculate its temporal stability. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a clear two-factor solution for the questionnaire, reflecting repetitive eating behaviour and a perception of loss of control. Scores on the Grazing Questionnaire were positively associated with other measures of disordered eating, especially with binge eating. Initial psychometric properties of the new questionnaire are promising. Future research is now needed to examine the prevalence of this eating behaviour in more diverse populations, including those with binge eating disorder and obesity.

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This research aimed to examine the effects of moving (videos) versus static (pictures) images on habituation and progression in a hierarchy during online symbolic exposure (OSE) for spider fear. Participants were 351 people with high spider fear who logged on to an OSE website (www.feardrop.com) for self-help purposes. The inclusion of moving images in the exposure hierarchy increased adherence rates relative to static images, particularly among those with lower relative to higher spider fear. Those who viewed moving images at Stage 2 showed higher Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS) ratings overall, but a similar pattern of habituation relative to those who viewed static images. In addition, 71% of participants completed at least one stage of the OSE program, representing an improvement from 30% adherence in previous research that used an earlier version of the program. These findings support the development of tailored exposure hierarchies to maximise adherence and treatment benefit for individual participants.

This study explores the impact of a cognitive behavioural lifestyle program, theChoose HealthProgram, on psychosocial wellbeing in overweight and obese adolescents. The sample comprised 29 male and 34 female adolescents aged 11.5 to 18.9 years (M= 14.3,SD= 1.9) and classified as overweight (n= 15) or obese (n= 48). Participants were randomly allocated to treatment or wait-list control conditions; participants allocated the wait-list condition were offered treatment after 6 months. Adolescents and parents completed self-report measures of psychopathology, psychosocial and family functioning. Treatment did not have detrimental effects on the psychosocial factors assessed. It resulted in significant improvements in weight control behaviour, impulse regulation, social support from family and parent–adolescent problem communication (p< .05). Similar results were obtained with completer and intention-to-treat analyses. Treatment acceptability was high, with all respondents indicating that they made progress. Combined, results indicate that treatment did not have detrimental effects on psychopathology, psychosocial functioning, or family functioning. Treatment resulted in significant improvements in impulse regulation, social support from family and parent–adolescent communication. Thus, parents and professionals can be assured that a comprehensive, multifaceted, parent-supported, cognitive behavioural intervention for overweight and obese adolescents does not cause psychological harm.

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