Why Do Parents Seek Help When Their Children’s Behavior Is Within Normative Levels?

The purpose of this study was to address the following question: Why do parents first seek help with parenting when they report their child’s disruptive behaviors are within normative levels? Two groups were selected for study from a sample of 91 parents of 3to 6-year-olds who sought help with parenting: Parents reporting disruptive behavior problems in the normative range (n=22) or above a clinical cutoff (n=19). Logistic regression was used to examine two competing hypotheses about family variables which may account for why parents seek help when reporting normative levels of disruptive behaviors: Alternative family stress (i.e., high levels of family stress other than child disruptive behavior) and parent enhancement and validation (i.e., enhance and validate parenting although child behavior is in normal range). No support emerged for the alternative family stress hypothesis whereas multiple indicators (better use of disciplinary strategies, seeking services for a first born child, and being more highly educated) provided support for the parent enhancement and validation hypothesis.