The training teaches the following content: child-directed play, academic, persistence, social and emotional coaching, praise and encouragement, predictable routines, effective limit setting, nonphysical discipline alternatives, teaching children to problem solve, and supporting children’s education. The training will also teach how to use this program as a prevention program in elementary schools and preschools. Pidano, A. E., & Allen, A. R. (2015). The Incredible Years series: A review of the independent research base. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24, 1898–1916. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-014-9991-7. Comprehensive leader manuals are available at http://incredibleyears.com/programs/implementation/. Research on How to Implement the Program

Using a collaborative and flexible approach, the intervention can be shaped by each parent to meet the needs of their own family. Webster-Stratton, C. (2015). The Incredible Years® parent programs: Methods and principles that support program fidelity. In J. J. Ponzetti & J. J. Ponzetti (Eds.), Evidence-based parenting education: A global perspective (pp. 143–160). New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis. Conduct problems have been shown to be the single most important predicting factor of later chronic antisocial behaviour problems. These can include poor mental health, academic underachievement, early school leaving, teenage parenthood, delinquency, unemployment and substance abuse. Many young people displaying these behaviour problems go on to engage in youth offending, family violence, and ultimately serious adult crime. Who benefits and how does It work? Moderators and mediators of outcome in an effectiveness Trial of a Parenting Intervention. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. 39(4), 568-580.

Cost

Incredible Years is an evidence based parenting programme in which parents learn to break negative parent-child interaction cycles. It has been rolled out in England and Wales. Improved teacher-student relationships, proactive classroom management skills, and strengthened teacher-parent partnerships Families who displayed greater levels of distress and higher levels of problems, particularly higher child disruptive behaviour or parental depression found greater positive effect, with more improvement from this intervention. The purpose of this study was to pilot-test the effect of the Incredible Years (IY) parenting program among Korean American mothers. First-generation Korean American mothers of young children were randomly assigned to the IY intervention or to a control group. Mothers reported on discipline styles (positive, appropriate, and harsh), level of acculturation, and their child's outcomes (behavioral problems and social competence) at pre-, post-, and 1-year follow-up intervals. Measures included the Parent Practices Interview, Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory, Social Competence Scale, and a modified version of the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II). After completing the program, intervention group mothers significantly increased use of positive discipline as compared to control group mothers. Among intervention group mothers, high acculturated mothers significantly increased appropriate discipline whereas low-acculturated mothers significantly decreased harsh discipline. In the 1-year follow-up, intervention group mothers maintained the significant effect for positive discipline. Limitations include the small sample size and the larger number of drop-outs in the control group.

The Ministry of Education currently funds the following Incredible Years® programmes in New Zealand; the Incredible Years Parent Programme, the Incredible Years® Parent Autism Programme (for parents and caregivers of children diagnosed with or showing traits of ASD), the Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Training Management programme, and the Incredible Years® Teacher Autism Training Programme (for teachers/kaiako of children diagnosed with or showing traits of ASD). Read more about the content and objectives of these programmes here. Menting, A. T. A., Orobio de Castro, B., & Matthys, W. (2013). Effectiveness of the Incredible Years parent training to modify disruptive and prosocial child behavior: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 33, 901–913. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.07.006. Incredible Years tended to show no effect for child emotional problems.This is based on high strength evidence. No differences were found in child emotional symptoms between children whose parents took part in Incredible Years and those who did not. The sessions include using Video Interaction Guidance, where families reflect on video clips of interactions with their children. There seems to be equal effect across age and ethnicity. However it is suggested that the intervention is more effective for boys.Status — Participants were children aged 4–8 referred for treatment because of oppositional or conduct problems reported by their parents. The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for The Incredible Years (IY).

Children also benefited from the intervention in Manchester with the proportion of children with clinical behavioural problems falling from 69 to 32 per cent. This training workshop will present in depth the Dina Dinosaur Child Social Skills, Emotional Regulation & Problem-Solving Training for Children designed by Dr. Webster-Stratton to help young children who have behavior problems. The program focuses on ways to promote children’s emotional literacy, anger management, appropriate conflict management strategies, expected classroom behaviors, and positive social skills or friendship behaviors with other children and adults. The 3rd edition has many new features. It is formatted for easier reading, with pull-out sections highlighting key principles and parenting tools. It includes pictures from the video program chosen to remind parents of the vignette discussions they had in their groups. There are also detailed scripts that include social, emotion, academic and persistence coaching dialogues for parents to model, prompt, describe, expand and praise. Scripts are also included to support parents use of puppets and pretend play designed to enhance their children’s learning, modeling and practice of appropriate social and emotion behaviors, thoughts and feelings. All of these approaches will enhance parent-child positive relationships and attachment, build language development and promote positive peer interactions.

Additional References

Scott, S., Briskman, J., & O’Connor, T. G. (2014). Early prevention of antisocial personality: Long-term follow-up of two randomized controlled trials comparing indicated and selective approaches. American Journal of Psychiatry, 171, 649–657. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2014.13050697. This training will prepare group leaders to lead three different basic parenting programs: (1) Toddler Parenting Program (ages 1-3 years) which is 13 weekly sessions; (2) Preschool Parenting Program (ages 3-6 years) which is 18-20 sessions; and (3) School-Age Parenting Program (ages 6-8 years) which is 16 sessions (four additional sessions for the Supporting your Child’s Education component). The study uses the same sample as the Baydar, Reid, & Webster-Stratton (2003) study. Participant families were randomly assigned to an intervention group where parents received The Incredible Years parenting program or to a group where the parent received the standard Head Start curriculum. Teachers in the intervention groups also received training on the program content. Data on children's behavior was obtained through both parent and teacher reports and through independent home observation. Pre and post intervention, children were measured on the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI), an inventory of conduct problems. Data was also obtained from the Dyadic Parent-Child Interactive Coding System which allows recording of behaviors of children with conduct problems and their parents, and the Coder Impression Inventory, which describes parenting style, child affect, and behavior. Mothers and children who had parenting or behavior problems at baseline were also identified. Analyses showed that families with problems at baseline benefited most from the program. Changes in conduct problems were also related to maternal engagement in the program and to mothers' success in implementing the positive parenting strategies taught in the program. The review considered whether characteristics of delivery, such as staff training or number of sessions, affected intervention outcomes. However, given the small number of included studies the authors were hesitant to draw any conclusions from this. What are the costs and benefits? CAPS deliver the Incredible Years programme for 14 weeks to parents of children aged two to four, or for 10 weeks for parents of children aged up to two.