Challenging foster caregiver - Maltreated child relationships: The effectiveness of parent-child interaction therapy

This study describes the effectiveness of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT), an evidence-based treatment for abused children, for 75 non-relative foster parents and their foster children compared with 98 non-abusive biological parent-child dyads referred for treatment because of the children's behavior problems. Results showed decreases in child behavior problems and caregiver distress from pre- to post-treatment for both foster and biological parent-child dyads, revealing no differences in the effectiveness of this treatment for foster parents compared with non-abusive biological parents.