A Brief Online Intervention to Increase Use of Nonphysical Discipline Approaches: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Moderate levels of child disruptive behavior are common and developmentally appropriate during toddlerhood. Caregiver discipline methods influence the development of regulatory strategies in children and the trajectory of behavior problems as children develop. Spanking is a commonly used discipline method in the United States that has been found to result in negative outcomes in childhood and adulthood. Given the high prevalence of child disruptive behaviors and frequency of caregivers’ reliance on spanking to manage child behavior, it is important to disseminate information about safe and effective alternatives, including timeout. Previous research has shown that Play Nicely, a brief online program, may be an efficacious approach to reduce caregivers’ positive attitudes toward spanking. However, investigators have yet to investigate whether Play Nicely may also influence caregivers’ use of alternative nonphysical discipline methods. This study is a follow-up of a randomized controlled trial that examined Play Nicely’s impact on attitudes toward and use of spanking. This study investigated whether Play Nicely increased reported use of nonphysical discipline methods among caregivers following intervention. Participants were 107 caregivers of 1- to 5-year-old children recruited from a pediatric primary care clinic and randomly assigned to participate in the Play Nicely program ( n = 49) or a control condition ( n = 58). Data on caregivers’ use of effective nonphysical discipline methods were collected using a self-report measure administered in a primary care clinic at baseline and at one month following intervention. Participants in the treatment group were significantly more likely than those in the control group to report using timeout following the intervention ( p < .05). Findings indicate that participation in Play Nicely may increase caregivers’ self-reported use of timeout, suggesting that further dissemination of this program may be an effective means of increasing caregivers’ use of alternatives to spanking.