Abstract
The purpose of this project was to determine if treatment outcomes in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) differed by maternal level of Emotional Availability at pre-treatment in mother-child dyads with a maltreatment history. Secondary data including scores from various standardized measures and information from behavioral observations was obtained from a local agency that specializes in the mental health treatment of children who have experienced abuse and neglect. Results indicated that there was no difference between those children whose mothers exhibited optimal levels of EA and those whose mothers exhibited non-optimal levels. However, both groups demonstrated significant improvement on treatment measures at post-treatment. Results provide support for continued use of PCIT with maltreating dyads.