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Guide
to Effective Programs
for Children and Youth |
The Incredible Years Series
OVERVIEW
The Incredible Years Series (IYS) is a prevention and intervention program intended to enhance children’s social and emotional competencies and ultimately reduce behavior problems. The series consists of three curricula that can be used independently or in conjunction with each other. The curricula are intended for use by parents, teachers and children. The training series incorporate a range of activities that promote positive parenting and teaching practices, interpersonal skills, academic competence, and general social skills. Overall, the Incredible Years Series has been found to decrease harsh discipline practices, improve pro-active parenting skills and the parent-child relationship, and enhance children’s academic and social competence.
The Incredible Years Series originated with BASIC, a core curriculum for parents. Following the success of the BASIC program, curricula have subsequently been developed to address other aspects of parenting skills, teacher and classroom management skills, as well as children’s social and academic development. Each of the training programs is run by a trained facilitator. The sessions can take place in schools, mental health centers, or other settings.
The core parenting program, BASIC, runs for twelve to fourteen weeks. The BASIC curriculum emphasizes parenting skills which involve ways to play with your child, help your child learn, monitoring and supervision techniques, and discipline strategies. The BASIC parenting program can be supplemented with two other parenting curricula, ADVANCE and SCHOOL. The ADVANCE curriculum runs for ten to twelve weeks and emphasizes family interpersonal skills such as communication, anger management, problem-solving, social support, mental health, and coping. The third parenting curriculum, SCHOOL, provides parents with the necessary skills to encourage children’s academic competence. SCHOOL can be implemented in three or four sessions following completion of the BASIC curriculum or it can be integrated into the core program. SCHOOL involves strategies for parents to help enhance their children’s school readiness and improve academic skills, as well as ways to help children with homework and relate with teachers. All of the parent trainings revolve around video vignettes which guide group discussions. Sessions also incorporate problem-solving drills, role-playing and homework activities which include reading, child observations, and opportunities for parents to practice new skills with their children.
The Incredible Years Teacher Training Program, the second component of the series, can be implemented in six full-day sessions or over the course of 18 to 20 weeks. The teacher training sessions are organized around the same activities as the parent sessions described above. The teacher curriculum emphasizes various classroom management skills that emphasize pro-active teaching skills and discipline strategies. Teachers learn how to manage behavior problems effectively, build teacher-student relationships, foster student social skills and encourage communication and involvement with parents. Teachers can also receive training in individualized plans and strategies for working with children with diagnosed conduct disorders.
The Dina Dinosaur Social Skills and Problem-Solving Curriculum is the final component of the Incredible Years Series and represents the child training program. The curriculum is intended for small groups of children who are exhibiting conduct problems. Sessions run for 18 to 20 weeks and meet for approximately two hours a week. The child training program employs a wide-range of activities depending on the particular needs and ages of the children involved. Sessions make use of group discussions, videotape vignettes, fantasy play, and instruction, as well as role-playing, puppets and arts projects. Teachers give children homework assignments to practice skills at home and constantly provide children with feedback, reinforcement and praise. The Dina Dinosaur curriculum emphasizes the social and emotional competencies of children and includes training in communication skills, peer relationships, problem-solving techniques, social skills, conflict resolution and understanding parent and school supervision and discipline. The ultimate goal of the child training program is to provide children with alternatives to negative behavior by strengthening social competence skills.
Webster-Stratton, C., Mihalic, S., Fagan, A., Arnold, D., Taylor, T., & Tingley, C. (2001). The Incredible Years: Parent, Teacher and Child Training Series. In D. S. Elliott (Ed.), Blueprints for Violence Prevention (Vol. 11). Boulder, CO: Venture Publishing.
Evaluated population: Families with children ages 3 to 8 who are exhibiting or at risk for problem behaviors. Sample sizes range from 35 to 426 families.
Approach: Evaluations of the IYS series have assessed varying combinations of the curricula. Studies have evaluated the BASIC program alone, the BASIC and ADVANCE programs combined, the BASIC, ADVANCE, SCHOOL, and TEACHER combination, as well as the CHILD program alone, and in combination with, the other 4 curricula. The number of conditions in a given study range from two to six and may include the IYS combinations outlined above, as well as no treatment, individual therapy, a self-administered BASIC curriculum, Head Start services or a group discussion component of the BASIC program.
The studies incorporate parent and teacher report on a variety of surveys such as the Parent Attitude Survey, the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory and the Child Behavior Checklist. Some studies also include laboratory observations and mother observations of parent and child behaviors. Measures include aspects of parental attitudes, discipline strategies, parent stress, parent-child interactions, child problem-solving skills, peer interactions, child behavior problems, attitudes and social behaviors, as well as social competence, teacher classroom management practices and the parent-teacher relationship. Most evaluations include assessments at pre-test and upon program completion and some include a follow-up between one and three years after the program.
Results: Taken together, results of the IYS evaluations have been very positive. Assessments of the parenting programs, BASIC, ADVANCE, and SCHOOL have shown improvements in parents’ constructive discipline strategies, monitoring, communication skills, school bonding and parent-child interactions. The parenting programs have also been associated with a decrease in the use of harsh discipline, parental depression and child conduct problems. Finally, the programs have reported increases in children’s compliance and cooperation skills.
The IYS teacher program has been found to decrease harsh discipline techniques and increase pro-active classroom management skills. The teacher program has also been found to increase children’s cooperation with teachers, and improve school engagement and relations among students. Finally, the IYS teacher program has been shown to encourage bonding with parents and families and reduce children’s aggressive behaviors toward peers.
The IYS child program has shown increases in children’s cognitive and academic abilities as well as a significant improvement in social competence skills. The IYS child program has also been associated with a decrease in child problem behaviors both at home and at school.
The evaluations outlined above are based on implementation of the IYS programs as they were originally designed (i.e., entirety and sequence). Due to scheduling conflicts, costs, and other logistical considerations, attempts to compress and/or restructure the program components may not produce similar effects.
Webster-Stratton, C. (1990). Enhancing the effectiveness of self-administered videotape parent training for families with conduct-problem children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 18(5), 479-492.
Evaluated population: Parents of 43 conduct-problem children aged 3 to 8 years were examined to find out the impact of videotape modeling treatment and therapist consultation on child behavior.
Approach: Parents were randomly placed into one of three groups. The individually administered videotape modeling treatment (IVM) group watched one parenting technique video per week. The IVM plus therapist consultation (IVMC) group watched the same videos as the IVM group and were told that they could call the therapist at any time over the 10 week video period to discuss any questions or concerns. These parents were also scheduled for two individual 1-hour meetings with the therapist. Parents could discuss any family or video issues they chose. The control group received no intervention. After 12 weeks on the control group, these parents were assigned to one of the treatment groups.
Results: The videotape intervention was associated with improved mother reports of children’s behavior, reduced mother stress levels, and reduced use of daily spankings as compared with the control group. The treatment groups also experienced significant reductions in child’s deviant behaviors. Results for the fathers showed no significance, but the trends parallel the mothers’. The IVMC group had significantly fewer no-opportunity commands from the mothers and less deviant behavior from the children as compared with the IVM group. There were no differences in parent reports of children’s behaviors and parent satisfaction in the program between the two treatment groups. The short period of time with the therapist may have limited the results, but it was necessary to keep the program cost-effective.
Webster-Stratton, C. (1990). Long-term follow-up of families with young conduct problem children: From preschool to grade school. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 19(2), 144-149.
Evaluated population: This study examined the long-term impact of parent training programs on 134 parents of preschoolers with conduct problems.
Approach: Parents were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The individually self-administered videotape modeling (IVM) group had 10-12 weekly meetings in which they watched a video about parenting practices. The group discussion videotape modeling (GDVM) group saw the same videos along with 10-12 weekly two-hour long therapist-led group sessions with other parents to discuss the videos. The group discussion (GD) treatment served as a comparison condition to the video program. GD parents met weekly for 10-12 weeks in two-hour long therapist-led group sessions with other parents, but were not shown any videos. Pre and post-treatment measures were taken, but this evaluation focuses on the long-term (3-year) follow-up data. Parents and children were reassessed at 1-year and 3-year follow-ups. The mean age of the children at the 3-year follow-up was 7.5 years old. Parents completed personal and child behavior surveys, along with interviews concerning drug use and mental illness in the family.
Results: All three treatment groups maintained their decreased reported child behavior problems and increased prosocial behaviors from the post-test and 1 year follow-up at the 3-year follow-up compared to baseline. Parents in the GDVM group had stable improvement, while GD and IVM groups reported a significant decrease in child’s externalization of problems from baseline to 3-year follow-up. Parent reports showed that among families with children that had continued behavior problems, it was more likely they were single-parent families. Teacher reports indicate that maladjusted children were more likely to be from single-parent families. Families still in need of help had higher rates of alcoholism, drug abuse, and depression in the family. A notable limitation of this study was its lack of control group, which was not an included condition because the children being treated were at high risk for conduct problems. The authors did not include the control group for ethical reasons because they had previous evidence to suggest that this program would be effective in helping these children.
Webster-Stratton, C. (1994). Advancing videotape parent training: A comparison study. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 583-593.
Evaluated population: This study examined the impact of a parent skills training program and videotape on 78 families with a child diagnosed as oppositional-defiant or conduct-disordered.
Approach: All parents watched a basic parent skills training video (GDVM) in weekly sessions with 10 to 15 other parents. After the video, a therapist led a discussion about the video and parenting skills. Thirty-eight families were randomly selected to watch a broader-based video (ADVANCE). Thirty-nine families were assigned to no additional treatment after the GDVM and these families served as a control group for the ADVANCE program. Families were assessed before and after treatment on measures of parent distress, child adjustment, and parent-child interactions.
Results: Compared with the GDVM group, the ADVANCE group only had moderately improved outcomes. The ADVANCE group had significant improvements in parents’ problem solving, communication, collaboration skills, and children’s problem solving as compared to the GDVM group. ADVANCE parents had higher consumer satisfaction for the program than the GDVM parents. At the short-term follow-up, there were no differences between the groups in marital satisfaction, anger, stress levels, or children’s behavior. ADVANCE mothers had significantly increased marital communication and problem-solving skills, but no improvements in parenting skills or children’s behavior. The ADVANCE fathers had similar increases as the mothers in marital communication and problem-solving skills, but also had improved parenting skills and reported increases in the child’s prosocial behavior. The ADVANCE program seemed to impact prosocial knowledge, but did not have an association with behavior. A limitation of this study is that there is no way to determine what specific aspect of ADVANCE impacted the difference between the groups. The difference may have occurred as a result of the increased amount of time spent in treatment compared to the GDVM group, not due to any of the subject matter in ADVANCE.
Webster-Stratton, C. (1998). Preventing conduct problems in Head Start children: Strengthening parenting competencies. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 66(5), 715-730.
Evaluated population: This study examined the impact of a parenting skills training program and videotape on 394 Head Start mothers.
Approach: Nine Head Start centers were randomly chosen to participate in either a program teaching parenting skills through videotapes (PARTNERS) or regular Head Start programming. Participants in the PARTNERS group were able to discuss the video with group leaders and other parents. The families were assessed on measures of parenting and child behaviors based on parent, teacher, and independent observer reports.
Results: All forms of assessment pointed towards significant improvements in parenting competence for PARTNERS mothers compared with control mothers. PARTNERS mothers showed significant increases in positive discipline and decreases in critical parenting style, while the control group showed no differences. Teachers reported an increased involvement with the school from the treatment group as compared with the control group, but the mothers themselves did not report an increase. At the 1-year follow-up, there was a decrease in parental involvement in kindergarten for both groups compared with their previous involvement with Head Start. At post assessment and 1-year follow-up, PARTNERS children had significant decreases in observed negative behavior and significant increases in observed positive affect in parent interactions compared with control children. However, mother reports of child behavior showed no significant differences between the groups.
Reid, M. J., Webster-Stratton, C., & Hammond, M. (2003). Follow-up of children who received the Incredible Years intervention for oppositional defiant disorder: Maintenance and prediction of 2-year outcome. Behavior Therapy, 34(4), 471-491.
Evaluated Population: 159 children ages 4-7 years who were diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) based on DSM-IV criteria. To be included in the study, children had to have no debilitating physical impairment or intellectual deficit. Children also had to have no history of psychosis and be receiving no psychological treatment. Parents of the children had all reported clinically significant problems with the children on the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) and the primary referral problem in all cases was child conduct related. 90% of participants were male and 79% were Caucasian.
Approach: Each family was randomly assigned to one of 5 different treatment conditions or a control condition. Children in the Child Training only (CT) condition attended weekly 2-hour group sessions with a therapist for 22 weeks. In the Parent Training only (PT) condition, parents attended 2-hour sessions with a therapist in groups of 10-12 for a period of 22-24 weeks. In the PT + Teacher Training (TT) condition, teachers attended 4 full days of training sessions throughout the school year with professional trainers in addition to the parent treatment manipulation. The CT + TT treatment was a combination of Child Treatment and Teacher Training manipulations and the CT + TT + PT was a combination of all possible treatments. Last, there was a wait list control condition. Measures were taken directly before and after treatment and at follow-up intervals of 1 and 2 years.
Results: Directly after the treatment, children in all CT conditions showed more prosocial skills compared with the control group children. Children’s negative behavior with fathers was lower in all PT conditions compared with the control group. Children’s negative behavior with mothers was lower in all treatment conditions when compared with the control group. Likewise, children in all treatment conditions displayed less negative behaviors at school compared to children in the control group. Children in the CT and PT + CT + TT conditions displayed more positive behavior with peers compared with children in the control group. Except for the school behavior of children in the PT + CT + TT condition, all of these findings were maintained at the one year follow-up period. At the two year follow-up collection period, all of the findings reported in the one year follow-up period were maintained. In addition, the researchers performed comparisons between treatment groups. Children in the PT + TT group displayed fewer behavior problems at home compared with children in the PT only group. There were no differences between treatment groups on measures of conduct problems at school.
Mothers in all of the treatment conditions displayed fewer negative parenting and more positive parenting behaviors than mothers in the control condition at post-treatment data collection. Fathers in all of the PT conditions displayed fewer negative parenting behaviors than fathers in the control condition. Fathers in the PT and PT + CT + TT condition displayed more positive parenting behaviors when compared with the control condition. These changes were all maintained at the one year follow-up period. There were only a few effects that were lost at the two-year follow-up interval. Mothers in the CT and CT +TT conditions were no longer displaying better parenting behaviors when compared with mothers in the control group. Likewise, fathers in the PT + CT +TT condition were no longer displaying better parenting behaviors when compared with fathers in the control group.
Overall, the strongest effects were found for the Parent Training component of the program, especially when examining child behavior in the home. Teacher Training enhanced the treatment effects of both the Parent Training and Child Training programs. All treatment conditions were found to have positive impacts on at least 4 of the 9 measures.
Webster-Stratton, C., Reid, M. J., & Stoolmiller, M. (2006). Preventing aggression and improving social, emotional and academic competence: Evaluation of Dina Dinosaur classroom curriculum in high risk schools. Unpublished manuscript, University of Washington. Obtained online at http://www.incredibleyears.com
Evaluated Population: 120 Head-Start, kindergarten, and first-grade classrooms from 14 elementary schools in Seattle. The schools served a low-income population and 59% of children at the schools were on free or reduced-price lunch programs. There were a total of 1746 students in the study. Student gender was split at 50% male, 50% female. Students ranged in age from 35 to 101 months (2 years 11 months to 8 years 5 months) (M = 63.7 months, SD = 12.7). 26% of the students were Caucasian, 20% were Asian, 18% were African-American, and 18% were Hispanic.
Approach: Schools were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control condition. Children in the intervention condition participated in the Incredible Years Dinosaur program while teachers in the intervention condition participated in 28 hours of classroom management training. Control schools were not given any additional intervention and continued with their usual Head-Start, kindergarten, and first-grade curricula.
Results: Teachers in the intervention condition were rated by observers as less critical and more consistent, warm, and nurturing compared with teachers in the control group. Teachers in the intervention condition also spent more time than teachers in the control condition teaching social and emotional skills. Teachers in the intervention group reported feeling more bonded with parents than teachers in control classrooms. Lastly, teachers and parents reported high levels of satisfaction with the program and teachers also reported that the program was easy to implement in the classroom.
Students in the intervention classrooms improved on measures of school readiness, cooperation, concentration, emotional regulation, and social skills compared with students in control classrooms. The size of the program’s impact was much greater for children with high-risk for negative behavior and children with poor social health. Children in intervention classrooms displayed fewer negative behaviors and more in engagement in classroom activities when compared with children in the control condition.
Gardner, F., Burton, J., & Klimes, I. (2006). Randomised Controlled Trial of a Parenting Intervention in the Voluntary Sector for Reducing Child Conduct Problems: Outcomes and Mechanisms of Change. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(11), 1123-1132.
Evaluated population: 76 British children and their families served as the study sample for this investigation. All children were between the ages of 2 and 9, had been referred for help with conduct problems, and scored above the clinical cutoff on the Eyberg problem scale. A high proportion of subjects were boys living in poverty, with a lone parent showing signs of depression.
Approach: Families were randomly assigned to an Incredible Years parenting group in their area or to a wait-list control group. Parenting groups took place at nine charity sites across England. Groups consisted of 10-12 parents and met for two hours every week for 14 weeks. Parents were encouraged to attend, as were grandparents and parents’ partners. Children were not present for parenting group sessions.
Assessment sessions took place pre-intervention, immediately following the intervention, and again one year later. At each session, parent-child interaction was recorded, using a small video camera, in six structured settings in the home. Settings involved varying amounts of task demand and parental attention. Tapes were coded both for parent behavior and child behavior. Parents also completed measures assessing their parenting skill and their children’s behavior.
Results: Immediately following the intervention, children of parents assigned to Incredible Years parenting groups had significantly improved their behavior, relative to children of parents assigned to the control group. Intervention children were observed engaging in negative behavior less frequently and scored lower on the Eyberg problem and intensity scales. Intervention children were also observed engaging in independent play more frequently. Effect sizes were medium to large.
Parents assigned to Incredible Years groups were less likely to use negative parenting strategies and more likely to use positive strategies immediately following the intervention, relative to parents assigned to the control group. Especially substantial improvement occurred on measures of reactive, harsh, coercive parenting. Intervention parents felt more competent in their role as parents, but did not derive greater satisfaction from being a parent, nor did they feel less depressed.
Comparisons were not made between treatment and control groups at 18-month follow-up because, at this point, the control group had also participated in the Incredible Years program. Non-experimental evidence suggests, however, that behavioral and parenting changes observed immediately after the intervention persisted on into the next year. On all measures, no significant changes occurred during the year following the intervention.
The parenting groups got high ratings of consumer satisfaction. 91% of intervention parents liked the group, 97% thought they learned useful skills, 75% thought their children’s behavior problems improved on account of learning those skills, 88% thought the group helped with other family problems.
Link to program curriculum: http://www.incredibleyears.com/
Gardner, F., Burton, J., & Klimes, I. (2006). Randomised Controlled Trial of a Parenting Intervention in the Voluntary Sector for Reducing Child Conduct Problems: Outcomes and Mechanisms of Change. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(11), 1123-1132.
Reid, M. J., Webster-Stratton, C., & Hammond, M. (2003). Follow-up of children who received the Incredible Years intervention for oppositional defiant disorder: Maintenance and prediction of 2-year outcome. Behavior Therapy, 34(4), 471-491.
Webster-Stratton, C. (1998). Preventing conduct problems in Head Start children: Strengthening parenting competencies. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 66(5), 715-730.
Webster-Stratton, C. (1994). Advancing videotape parent training: A comparison study. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 583-593.
Webster-Stratton, C. (1990). Enhancing the effectiveness of self-administered videotape parent training for families with conduct-problem children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 18(5), 479-492.
Webster-Stratton, C. (1990). Long-term follow-up of families with young conduct problem children: From preschool to grade school. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 19(2), 144-149.
Webster-Stratton, C. & Hammond, M. (1997). Treating children with early-onset conduct problems: A comparison of child and parent training interventions. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65(1), 93-109.
Webster-Stratton, C., Mihalic, S., Fagan, A., Arnold, D., Taylor, T., & Tingley, C. (2001). The Incredible Years: Parent, Teacher and Child Training Series. In D. S. Elliott (Ed.), Blueprints for Violence Prevention (Vol. 11). Boulder, CO: Venture Publishing.
Webster-Stratton, C., Reid, M. J., & Hammond, M. (2004). Treating children with early-onset conduct problems: Intervention outcomes for parent, child, and teacher training. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33(1), 105-124.
Webster-Stratton, C., Reid, M. J., & Stoolmiller, M. (2006). Preventing aggression and improving social, emotional and academic competence: Evaluation of Dina Dinosaur classroom curriculum in high risk schools. Unpublished manuscript, University of Washington. Obtained online at http://www.incredibleyears.com
Program categorized in this guide according to the following:
Evaluated participant ages: 2-8 years; Pre-kindergarten through 3rd grade
Program age ranges in the Guide: 0-5, 6-11
Program components: clinic-based, provider-based, or miscellaneous; counseling/therapy; parent or family component; school-based
Measured outcomes: education and cognitive development; social and emotional health and development; behavioral problems; mental health
Program information last updated 8/24/2007
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© Child Trends 2003 |