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By allowing coding of the same behaviors for parents and children, DPICS II may be a more useful research and clinical tool. It is possible for clinicians and researchers to use the DPICS II to describe behaviors within the interaction that may elicit or maintain the children's behavior problems and assess changes in these behaviors during and after treatment. For example, parents' modeling of inappropriate behaviors may be associated with the children's use of these inappropriate behaviors. Specifically, parents' use of critical statements and smart talk may be associated with higher levels of criticisms, smart talk, whine, and yell in their children.
The DPICS II may also be useful in assessing socially appropriate behaviors.
Because children with behavior problems have been found to be less socially competent than non-referred children (La Freniere, Dumas, Capuano, & Dubeau, 1992), categories for coding child appropriate verbalizations are included to allow researchers and clinicians to use the DPICS II to examine the child behaviors related to prosocial skills.
Several new categories have been added to the original system, and others have been divided into smaller units. The DPICS categories of Descriptive Statements and Descriptive/Reflective Questions have each been divided into two categories. The subdivision of the original categories was intended to capture differences in the directiveness and/or attentiveness communicated in the verbalization. The Descriptive Statements category was divided into Behavioral Descriptions (i.e., statements that follow the other person by directly describing the on-going or immediately completed behavior of the other member of the dyad) and Information Descriptions (i.e., statements that describe aspects of the play situation (e.g., toys, feelings, behaviors of the speaker) that need not be