Evidence-Based Research

Many childhood intervention or treatment programs claim to be “evidence-based” or “empirically-supported.”  However, numerous childhood treatment programs rely on testimonials (or anecdotes) to describe their success without scientifically testing the program.

PCIT has been scientifically tested since 1980 and PCIT has received the highest scientific rating of “1” (Well-Supported by Research Evidence) by the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare.

TCIT Research

The Teacher Child Interaction Training – Comprehensive Program (TCIT-C) was carefully created to meet the specialized needs of the classroom environment, but still retain the core principles and goals of PCIT.  These principles ensure that TCIT is assessment-driven and empirically-tested.

Dr. Campbell has been scientifically evaluating his TCIT-C program since it was created in 2008.  Since 2008, results from TCIT-C studies have consistently demonstrated improvements in social, emotional, and behavioral competence for preschool children.  Equally important, the research findings have also found significant benefits for teachers.

Research Support

The Teacher Child Interaction Training – Comprehensive Program has been evaluated by 2 federally-funded research grants:

  1. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Administration for Children & Families
  2. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Child Results

Socially competent children at the preschool level tend to:

  • Demonstrate good communication skills, particularly sharing information about oneself and one’s feelings
  • Share toys in a reciprocal manner
  • Listen to social partners
  • Make topic-relevant comments
  • Ask questions to elicit information from others
  • Recognize the turn-taking sequences involved in conversation
  • Engage in pretend play

Children demonstrating emotional competence at the preschool level tend to:

  • Be cheerful and friendly towards others (e.g., teachers, peers) 
  • Regulate affect and behavior when excited or upset
  • Control emotional impulses (e.g., refrain from aggression when another child takes their toy)
  • Begin to understand the feelings of others (e.g., comfort an upset peer)

Children demonstrating behavioral competence at the preschool level tend to:

  • Exhibit prosocial behaviors with peers (e.g., share toys, play nicely with peers)
  • Refrain from aggressive, disruptive, or destructive behaviors
  • Exhibit flexibility to changing situational demands
  • Refrain from disrupting peer/classroom activities
  • Comply with commands and directions from authority figures

Teacher Results

Teacher Child Interaction Training results have also demonstrated improvements for early childhood educators

  • Enhanced teacher-efficacy
  • Increased job satisfaction
  • Reduced stress