Efecto de una intervención conductual en la interacción familiar

a behavioral intervention was performed to a four member family (father and three children), with the aim of achieving a higher rate of attendance to family dinners. the study lasted 98 days during which a register of the attendance of family members to dinners was recorded. the study was divided in three phases: baseline (28 days), intervention (56 days) and monitoring (14 days) four months after finishing the intervention. the strategies used in the latter were, the use of weekly goals which were modified throughout the intervention; giving an enhancer (different for each participant) if they attended to dinners at the agreed time and the application of punishment (cleaning the kitchen) when a family member did not attend. the results showed, compared to the base line value, an increase in daily attendance to dinners, as the intervention phase passed. this increase in the rate of attendance resulted in greater interaction between family members, resulting in increased family satisfaction. data from monitoring four moths after the intervention indicated that the effects of the treatment were maintained. these findings suggest the usefulness of behavioral management strategies to increase and improve interaction between family members.