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Helping the Noncompliant Child for children with disruptive behavior

Children's Mental Health: Disruptive Behavior
Benefit-cost methods last updated December 2024.  Literature review updated June 2018.
Helping the Noncompliant Child is a behavioral parent training program for families of children diagnosed with disruptive behavior problems. In this program, a therapist directly observes a parent and child through a one-way mirror and provides in vivo coaching to the parent through a radio earphone. The program is delivered in two phases. The first phase focuses on “differential attention,” when parents are taught to describe the child’s appropriate behavior to the child rather than giving commands and to give rewards through positive physical attention and verbal praise. In the second phase, parents learn the importance of clear, simple instructions and to provide positive rewards for compliance and negative consequences for noncompliance.
 
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 $402 Benefits minus costs $225
Participants $190 Benefit to cost ratio $1.40
Others $309 Chance the program will produce
Indirect ($112) benefits greater than the costs 51%
Total benefits $789
Net program cost ($564)
Benefits minus cost $225

^WSIPP’s benefit-cost model does not monetize this outcome.

^^WSIPP does not include this outcome when conducting benefit-cost analysis for this program.

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
Disruptive behavior disorder symptoms
Clinical diagnosis of a disruptive behavior disorder (e.g., conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder) or symptoms measured on a validated scale.
 4 Primary 1 63 -0.068 0.268 4 -0.037 0.161 7 -0.298 0.269
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms
Clinical diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or symptoms measured on a validated scale.
4 Primary 1 63 -0.176 0.268 4 0.000 0.141 5 -0.771 0.005
Parental stress^
Stress reported by a parent, typically measured on a validated scale such as the Parental Stress Index. 
 34 Secondary 1 63 -0.153 0.268 34 n/a n/a n/a -0.669 0.014
Major depressive disorder^^
Clinical diagnosis of major depression or symptoms measured on a validated scale.
 34 Secondary 1 9 -0.762 0.475 34 n/a n/a n/a -0.762 0.109
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
Disruptive behavior disorder symptoms Criminal justice system $10 $0 $21 $5 $36
Labor market earnings associated with high school graduation $62 $145 $79 $0 $285
K-12 grade repetition $2 $0 $0 $1 $3
K-12 special education $131 $0 $0 $65 $196
Health care associated with disruptive behavior disorder $207 $58 $213 $103 $582
Costs of higher education ($9) ($13) ($4) ($4) ($31)
Program cost Adjustment for deadweight cost of program $0 $0 $0 ($282) ($282)
Totals $402 $190 $309 ($112) $789
Click here to see populations selected
Detailed Annual Cost Estimates Per Participant
Annual cost Year dollars Summary
Program costs $1,389 2015 Present value of net program costs (in 2023 dollars) ($564)
Comparison costs $868 2010 Cost range (+ or -) 40%
On average, participants received ten therapeutic hours over ten weeks. Per-participant costs are based on weighted average therapist time, as reported in the included studies. Hourly therapist cost is based on the actuarial estimates of reimbursement for family treatment (Mercer. (2016). Mental health and substance use disorder services data book for the state of Washington). For comparison group costs we use 2010 Washington State DSHS data to estimate the average reimbursement rate for treatment of child/adolescent disruptive behavior disorders.
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

Abikoff, H.B., Thompson, M., Laver-Bradbury, C., Long, N., Forehand, R.L., Miller, B.L., . . . Sonuga-Barke, E. (2014). Parent training for preschool ADHD: a randomized controlled trial of specialized and generic programs. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 56(6), 618-631.

Wells, K.C, & Egan, J. (1988). Social learning and systems family therapy for childhood oppositional disorder: Comparative treatment outcome. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 29(2), 138-146.