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Parent Management Training - Oregon Model (Prevention population)

Public Health & Prevention: Home- or Family-based
Benefit-cost methods last updated December 2024.  Literature review updated May 2015.
Parent Management Training—Oregon Model (PMTO) is a family-based program that teaches parents to apply five parenting practices: skill encouragement, appropriate discipline, monitoring, problem solving, and positive involvement. This program can be delivered in a group format or an individual family therapy format; our analysis included both types. This analysis focuses on the use of PMTO to prevent behavior problems. In the evaluations we reviewed, the program was tested in two populations: 1) elementary school aged boys being raised by single mothers and 2) Latino boys and girls in middle school.
 
ALL
BENEFIT-COST
META-ANALYSIS
CITATIONS
For an overview of WSIPP's Benefit-Cost Model, please see this guide. The estimates shown are present value, life cycle benefits and costs. All dollars are expressed in the base year chosen for this analysis (2023).  The chance the benefits exceed the costs are derived from a Monte Carlo risk analysis. The details on this, as well as the economic discount rates and other relevant parameters are described in our Technical Documentation.
Benefit-Cost Summary Statistics Per Participant
Benefits to:
Taxpayers $2,322 Benefits minus costs $7,197
Participants $2,911 Benefit to cost ratio $9.97
Others $2,614 Chance the program will produce
Indirect $153 benefits greater than the costs 59%
Total benefits $8,000
Net program cost ($803)
Benefits minus cost $7,197

Meta-analysis is a statistical method to combine the results from separate studies on a program, policy, or topic to estimate its effect on an outcome. WSIPP systematically evaluates all credible evaluations we can locate on each topic. The outcomes measured are the program impacts measured in the research literature (for example, impacts on crime or educational attainment). Treatment N represents the total number of individuals or units in the treatment group across the included studies.

An effect size (ES) is a standard metric that summarizes the degree to which a program or policy affects a measured outcome. If the effect size is positive, the outcome increases. If the effect size is negative, the outcome decreases. See Estimating Program Effects Using Effect Sizes for additional information on how we estimate effect sizes.

The effect size may be adjusted from the unadjusted effect size estimated in the meta-analysis. Historically, WSIPP adjusted effect sizes to some programs based on the methodological characteristics of the study. For programs reviewed in 2024 or later, we do not make additional adjustments, and we use the unadjusted effect size whenever we run a benefit-cost analysis.

Research shows the magnitude of effects may change over time. For those effect sizes, we estimate outcome-based adjustments, which we apply between the first time ES is estimated and the second time ES is estimated. More details about these adjustments can be found in our Technical Documentation.

Meta-Analysis of Program Effects
Outcomes measured Treatment age Primary or secondary participant No. of effect sizes Treatment N Effect sizes (ES) and standard errors (SE) used in the benefit-cost analysis Unadjusted effect size (random effects model)
First time ES is estimated Second time ES is estimated
ES SE Age ES SE Age ES p-value
Externalizing behavior symptoms
Symptoms of externalizing behavior (e.g., aggressive, hostile, or disruptive behavior) measured on a validated scale.
 8 Primary 2 140 -0.062 0.156 9 -0.034 0.095 12 -0.123 0.521
Internalizing symptoms
Symptoms of internalizing behavior (e.g., sadness, anxiety, or withdrawal) measured on a validated scale.
 8 Primary 2 134 0.029 0.162 9 0.029 0.162 11 0.056 0.712
Crime
Any criminal conviction according to court records, sometimes measured through charges, arrests, incarceration, or self-report.
 8 Primary 1 147 -0.099 0.146 18 -0.099 0.146 26 -0.177 0.225
Major depressive disorder
Clinical diagnosis of major depression or symptoms measured on a validated scale.
 35 Secondary 1 133 -0.132 0.151 35 -0.069 0.476 37 -0.236 0.118
1In addition to the outcomes measured in the meta-analysis table, WSIPP measures benefits and costs estimated from other outcomes associated with those reported in the evaluation literature. For example, empirical research demonstrates that high school graduation leads to reduced crime. These associated measures provide a more complete picture of the detailed costs and benefits of the program.

2“Others” includes benefits to people other than taxpayers and participants. Depending on the program, it could include reductions in crime victimization, the economic benefits from a more educated workforce, and the benefits from employer-paid health insurance.

3“Indirect benefits” includes estimates of the net changes in the value of a statistical life and net changes in the deadweight costs of taxation.
Detailed Monetary Benefit Estimates Per Participant
Affected outcome: Resulting benefits:1 Benefits accrue to:
Taxpayers Participants Others2 Indirect3 Total
Crime Criminal justice system $760 $0 $1,718 $380 $2,858
Externalizing behavior symptoms K-12 special education $77 $0 $0 $39 $116
Health care associated with externalizing behavior symptoms $134 $38 $139 $67 $378
Internalizing symptoms Labor market earnings associated with high school graduation ($7) ($16) ($9) $0 ($31)
K-12 grade repetition ($1) $0 $0 $0 ($1)
Health care associated with internalizing symptoms ($19) ($5) ($20) ($9) ($53)
Costs of higher education $1 $2 $0 $1 $4
Subtotals $946 $18 $1,829 $476 $3,269
From secondary participant
Major depressive disorder Labor market earnings associated with major depression $769 $1,812 $0 $0 $2,581
Health care associated with major depression $197 $56 $203 $98 $554
Mortality associated with depression $1 $1 $0 $14 $16
Subtotals $967 $1,869 $203 $113 $3,152
Program cost Adjustment for deadweight cost of program $0 $0 $0 ($436) $1,579
Totals $2,322 $2,911 $2,614 $153 $8,000
Click here to see populations selected
Detailed Annual Cost Estimates Per Participant
Annual cost Year dollars Summary
Program costs $619 2011 Present value of net program costs (in 2023 dollars) ($803)
Comparison costs $0 2011 Cost range (+ or -) 10%
This program was delivered in a group format and an individual family therapy format. An average of 5.7 staff hours were required to deliver the program to the families in the evaluations that we reviewed. The families in the comparison groups received no services. The type of provider varied widely depending on the delivery format and specific setting. We estimated the hourly staff costs from the reimbursement rates of therapeutic psychoeducation in the community for a non-disabled population, based on actuarial tables reported for disabled adults in Mercer (2013) Behavioral Health Data Book for the State of Washington For Rates Effective January 1, 2014.
The figures shown are estimates of the costs to implement programs in Washington. The comparison group costs reflect either no treatment or treatment as usual, depending on how effect sizes were calculated in the meta-analysis. The cost range reported above reflects potential variation or uncertainty in the cost estimate; more detail can be found in our Technical Documentation.
Benefits Minus Costs
Benefits by Perspective
Taxpayer Benefits by Source of Value
Benefits Minus Costs Over Time (Cumulative Discounted Dollars)
The graph above illustrates the estimated cumulative net benefits per-participant for the first fifty years beyond the initial investment in the program. We present these cash flows in discounted dollars. If the dollars are negative (bars below $0 line), the cumulative benefits do not outweigh the cost of the program up to that point in time. The program breaks even when the dollars reach $0. At this point, the total benefits to participants, taxpayers, and others, are equal to the cost of the program. If the dollars are above $0, the benefits of the program exceed the initial investment.

Citations Used in the Meta-Analysis

Bjørknes, R., & Manger, T. (2013). Can parent training alter parent practice and reduce conduct problems in ethnic minority children? A randomized controlled trial. Prevention, 14(1), 52-63.

Kjøbli, J., Hukkelberg, S., & Ogden, T. (2013). A randomized trial of group parent training: Reducing child conduct problems in real-world settings. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 51(3), 113-121.

Kjøbli, J., & Ogden, T. (2012). A randomized effectiveness trial of brief parent training in primary care settings. Prevention Science, 13(6), 616-626.

Ogden, T. & Hagen, K.A. (2008). Treatment effectiveness of Parent Management Training in Norway: A randomized controlled trial of children with conduct problems. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74(4), 607-621.

Sigmarsdottir, M., Thorlacius, O., Guomundsdottir, E.V., & DeGarmo, D.S. (2014). Treatment effectiveness of PMTO for children's behavior problems in Iceland: Child outcomes in a randomized controlled trial. Family Process, 54, 498-517.

Thijssen, J., Vink, G., Muris, P., & de Ruiter, C. (2017). The effectiveness of Parent Management Training - Oregon Model in clinically referred children with externalizing behavior problems in the Netherlands Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 48, 136-150.