In order to help parents in rearing children, a theory of parent effectiveness was developed. Based on the idea that parents should be honest with their children about the child's behavior, the theory identified ownership of problems and conflict resolution. Children's behavior was defined as being acceptable and nonacceptable to the parent, depending on the the individual parent and child and on changes within the parent, child, or environment. Conflicts arose when the child or the parent "owned" a problem; that is, when their individual needs were not met because of the child's behavior. The conflicts could be resolved by the parent in both cases. When the child owned a problem, the parent could listen to the child express his feelings. When the parent owned a problem, he could honestly express his own feelings to the child. If conflict arose when neither party's needs were met, the parent and child could seek a mutually acceptable solution. Resolutions where either the parent or child "won all" were not considered satisfactory, because resentment built up in the losing party. By resolving conflict situations through compromise, parents could increase their children's acceptable behavior. Furthermore, compromise, as a technique for conflict resolution, was considered applicable to all human relationships. (JS)