Incredible Years – Parenting Programme
At a glance
Country of origin
- USA
Age group
0-5 years
6-10 years
Target group
Parents of children aged two to eight
Programme setting(s)
Family
Level(s) of intervention
- Indicated prevention,
- Selective prevention
The Incredible Years Series is a comprehensive programme for parents, teachers, and children to prevent, reduce, and treat behavioural and emotional problems in children aged two to eight. The programme has specific versions tailored for parents, teachers, and children, each of which is featured separately in Xchange. The parenting programme aims to teach strategies such as effective praise, limit setting, and managing misbehaviour. The programme is delivered in 12 to 16 weekly sessions, each lasting 2 hours. The Home Visiting Coach Model may be combined with the group-based model curriculum, providing structured home visits lasting one to one-and-a-half hours where parents review recorded videos of their interactions with their children. The Small Group Dinosaur programme is a special edition of the programme aimed at children with conduct problems, ADHD, and internalizing problems.
No data
Links to this programme in other registries
Implementation Experiences
Read the experiences of people who have implemented this programme.
Contact details
Dr. Carolyn Webster-Stratton, Ph.D
Incredible Years, University of Washington
1411 8th Avenue West
Seattle, WA 98119
USA
Phone: 1 (206) 285-7565 / 1(888) 506-3562
Email: cwebsterstratton[a]comcast.net
Website: www.incredibleyears.com
Incredible Years, University of Washington
1411 8th Avenue West
Seattle, WA 98119
USA
Phone: 1 (206) 285-7565 / 1(888) 506-3562
Email: cwebsterstratton[a]comcast.net
Website: www.incredibleyears.com
Overview of results from the European studies
Studies overview
Arruabarrena et al. (2021) conducted an RCT in Spain to evaluate the effectiveness of the Incredible Years parenting programme in reducing the risk of parents physically abusing their children. Parents in the intervention group received the Preschool Basic Parenting program and the Small Group Dinosaur program (n=85), whereas parents from the control group received standard services from Child Welfare and Child Protection Services (n=61). No significant differences were observed between the intervention group and the control group in measures of parental distress and potential child abuse at the 12-month follow-up. The results are primarily parent-reported, with a high dropout rate after randomisation. In some analyses, the same child was included twice due to reports from both parents for the same child, and it remains unclear whether evaluators were blind to group allocation.
Countries where evaluated
- Spain
Characteristics
Protective factor(s) addressed
- Family: Verbal reasoning / non-violent parent-child discipline
- Family: attachment to and support from parents
- Family: opportunities/rewards for prosocial involvement with parents
- Family: Parental monitoring (supervision)
Risk factor(s) addressed
- Family: aggressive or violent parenting
- Family: neglectful parenting
Outcomes targeted
- Other behaviour outcomes
Description of programme
The Basic Parenting Programme is conducted over 12 to 16 weekly 2-hour sessions. Some of the skills emphasised during the training are: How to engage in child-directed play, effectively praise and use incentives, establish predictable routines and set limits, and manage misbehaviour with effective strategies. During the sessions, facilitators show videotape vignettes of modelling parenting skills to guide focused discussions. The parenting pyramid serves as a visual aid to outline key parenting techniques and depict the recommended frequency of their use.
Implementation Experiences
Implementation Experiences
No implementations available.
