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Programs that Work

Incredible Years

Program Info Program Overview Program Participants Evaluation Methods Key Evaluation Findings

Probable Implementers Funding Implementation Detail Issues to Consider Example Sites

Contact Information Available Resources Bibliography Last Reviewed

Program Info

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Program Overview

The Incredible Years series is a set of comprehensive curricula targeting children age 2 to 10 years old and their parents and teachers. The curricula are designed to work jointly to promote emotional and social competence and to prevent, reduce, and treat children’s behavioral and emotional problems.

Parent-Training Programs

The Incredible Years Parent-Training program includes four separate components targeting parents of high-risk children or children displaying behavior problems. In all four training components, facilitators use videotaped scenes to encourage group discussion, problem-solving, and sharing of ideas. The "BASIC Parent-Training Program—Early Childhood" (BASIC—Early Childhood) is a core component of the Incredible Years series and includes 12 to 14 two-hour weekly sessions targeting children age 2 to 7 years old. The BASIC—Early Childhood curriculum emphasizes parenting skills to promote children’s social competence and to reduce behavior problems, and it teaches parents how to play with children, help children to learn, give effective praise and incentives, use limit-setting, and handle misbehavior.

The four add-on parent-training components, "Advance Parent Training Program—School Age (ADVANCE)," "BASIC Parent Training Program—School-Age (BASIC-School Age)," "Supporting Your Child’s Education—School Age", and the school readiness supplements "Child-directed Play" and "Interactive Reading" may be offered as supplements to the early childhood BASIC component. ADVANCE targets school-age children 4 to 10 years old and includes eight to ten two-hour sessions that emphasize parents’ interpersonal skills, such as effective communication, anger management, problem-solving between adults, and ways to give and receive support. The BASIC—School Age program is similar to the early childhood program but emphasizes strategies for older children, including logical consequences, monitoring, helping children learn to problem solve with children, and family problem-solving. The Supporting Your Child’s Education—School Age component for children age 5 to 10 involves four two-hour sessions and highlights approaches to parenting to promote children’s academic skills, including nurturing reading skills, setting up homework routines, and building collaborative relationships with teachers. The school readiness supplements may be used with parents of 3- to 5-year-olds, and includes an emphasis on building children’s social, emotional and academic skills, as well as fostering pre-reading and reading skills using the interactive reading approach.

Child Training Programs

There are two separate child-training components in the Incredible Years series. The first is the classroom program for children age 4 to 8 years. The Classroom Child-Training program uses the "Dina Dinosaur" curriculum which has more than 60 lesson plans (with preschool, kindergarten and grade one and two curricula), and may be offered over multiple years from preschool to grade two. The program seeks to improve peer relationships and reduce aggression both at home and at school. The curriculum is delivered to the entire classroom by regular teachers, two to three times a week through 20 - 30 minute group discussions followed by small-group practice activities. Home activity manuals encourage parents’ involvement in teaching their children school rules, social skills, and problem-solving.

The second child-focused program is the "Dinosaur Child-Training" curriculum, a treatment program for small groups of children age 4 to 8 years who are exhibiting "conduct" problems (defined as high rates of aggression, defiance, and oppositional and impulsive behaviors). The curriculum emphasizes communicating feelings, empathy for others, friendship development, anger management, interpersonal problem-solving, and obeying school rules. The Dinosaur Child-Training program is offered to groups of five to six children in two-hour sessions held weekly for 20 to 22 weeks. The program can be delivered by counselors or therapists to treat conduct-disordered children in small groups, or can be used by schools as a "pullout" program for children with special behavioral and emotional needs.

Teacher Training Program

The training program for teachers emphasizes classroom management skills, such as the effective use of praise and encouragement, proactive teaching strategies, and ways to manage inappropriate classroom behavior and build positive relationships with students. Training can be provided through either four to six full-day workshops or 14 to 20 two-hour sessions.

The BASIC Parent-Training Program—Early Childhood component and the small-group Dinosaur Child-Training program have been rigorously evaluated, and the remainder of this description of the Incredible Years series focuses on these two components. The ADVANCE, BASIC—School Age, Supporting Your Child’s Education, and school readiness parent-training components, the Teacher-Training program, and the Dina Dinosaur classroom curriculum currently do not have sufficiently rigorous research evidence that clearly assesses impacts on child outcomes.

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Program Participants

The Incredible Years series targets children age 2 to 10 years who are at risk for, or who are exhibiting, conduct problems and their parents and teachers. Parents may be self-referred to the program or referred by a professional.

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Evaluation Methods

BASIC Parent-Training Program—Early Childhood Component

Numerous evaluations of the Incredible Years BASIC—Early Childhood component have been conducted since 1982, with most of the studies involving random assignment of parents and children to treatment and waiting-list control groups. Short-term effects of the component have been assessed, with outcomes measured immediately following completion of the treatment or up to two months post-completion. Few studies were identified that employed a control group to assess longer-term effects of BASIC training on children’s behavior and performance. The longest time period for follow-up used by a study reviewed here was one year. Only those studies that used a control group are described here.

Seven studies assessed the effects of the BASIC Parent-Training component on participants compared to outcomes for a comparison group.

• Webster-Stratton (1982):
  
  
  • 35 mothers and their 3- to 5-year-old children were randomly assigned to either the BASIC Parent-Training component group (16 mothers) or a waiting-list control group (19 mothers).
• Webster-Stratton (1992):
  
  
  • 100 families, including 167 parents and their children (age 3 to 8 years) were randomly assigned to either the BASIC Parent-Training component group (59 mothers and 37 fathers) or to a waiting-list control group (41 mothers and 30 fathers).
• Webster-Stratton and Hammond (1997):
  
  
  • Families of 97 children age 4 to 8 years with early-onset conduct problems were randomly assigned to:
    
    
    • A BASIC Parent-Training group (43 parents of 26 children)
    • A Dinosaur Child-Training group (27 children)
    • A combined BASIC Parent-Training plus Dinosaur Child-Training group (36 parents and 22 children)
    • A waiting-list control group (40 parents and 22 children)
• Scott et al. (2001):
  
  
  • 141 parents and their 3- to 8-year-old children were randomly assigned to either the BASIC Parent-Training component group (90 parents) or to a waiting-list control group (51 parents).
• Patterson et al. (2002):
  
  
  • 116 parents of children age 2 to 8 years old in Oxford, England, were assigned to one of two groups with similar background characteristics. Then the groups were randomly assigned to BASIC Parent-Training (60 parents) or to a control group (56 parents).
• Gross et al. (2003):
  
  
  • 264 low-income parents of 2- to 3-year-old children were randomly assigned to one of four conditions:
    
    
    • Parent training only (75 parents)
    • Teacher training using the BASIC Parent Training program (52 parents)
    • Parent training delivered to both parents and teachers in separate groups (78 parents)
    • No intervention waiting-list control group (59 parents).
• Gardner, Burton and Klimes (2006):
  
  
  • Parents of 76 British children aged 2 to 9 years referred for conduct problems were randomly assigned to BASIC Parent Training (44 parents) or a no-treatment comparison group (32 parents).

• Webster-Stratton (1984):
  
  
  • 35 mothers of conduct-problem children (age 3 to 8 years) were randomly assigned to one of three groups:
    
    
    • The BASIC Parent-Training component (13 mothers)
    • Higher-cost individual therapy (11 mothers)
    • A waiting-list control group (11 mothers).
• Webster-Stratton, Kolpacoff, and Hollinsworth (1988):
  
  
  • 194 parents of 114 conduct-problem children age 3 to 8 years were randomly assigned to one of four groups:
    
    
    • Individually self-administered BASIC videotape-based modeling treatment (29 mothers and 20 fathers)
    • A group-discussion treatment (28 mothers and 19 fathers)
    • A therapist-led group discussion and BASIC videotape-based modeling treatment (28 mothers and 20 fathers)
    • A waiting-list control group (29 mothers and 21 fathers).
• Webster-Stratton (1990a):
  
  
  • 43 families with conduct-problem children age 3 to 8 years were randomly assigned to one of three groups:
    
    
    • Individually administered BASIC videotape-based modeling treatment without therapist consultation (17 mothers and nine fathers)
    • Individually administered BASIC videotape-based modeling treatment with therapist consultation (14 mothers and seven fathers)
    • A waiting-list control group (12 mothers and seven fathers).
• Spaccarelli, Cotler, and Penman (1992):
  
  
  • 53 parents (47 mothers and six fathers) were randomly assigned to one of three groups:
    
    
    • BASIC videotape-instruction parenting-skills group with training in problem-solving (21 parents)
    • BASIC videotape-instruction parenting-skills group with therapist-facilitated discussion (16 parents)
    • A waiting-list control group (16 parents).
• Taylor et al. (1998):
  
  
  • 110 parents with children age 3 to 8 years who contacted a family center for assistance related to child conduct problems were randomly assigned to:
    
    
    • The BASIC Parent-Training component (46 families)
    • The typical "eclectic" treatment approach offered at the center that was not limited in the duration or number of sessions and did not follow a therapy manual (46 families)
    • A waiting-list control group (18 families).
• Webster-Stratton, Reid and Hammond (2004):
  
  
  • Families of 159 children age 4 to 8 years with oppositional defiant disorder were randomly assigned to:
    
    
    • A BASIC Parent-Training group (31 children)
    • A combined BASIC Parent-Training plus Incredible Years Teacher-Training group (24 children)
    • A Dinosaur Child-Training group (30 children)
    • A combined Dinosaur Child-Training plus Incredible Years Teacher-Training group (23 children)
    • A combined BASIC Parent-Training plus Dinosaur Child-Training plus Incredible Years Teacher-Training group (25 children)
    • A waiting-list control group (26 children)

• Webster-Stratton and Hammond (1997) — See details for this study above.
• Webster-Stratton, Reid, and Hammond (2001b):
  
  
  • 99 children (age 4 to 8 years) with early-onset conduct problems were randomly assigned to the Dinosaur Child-Training program group (51 children) or a waiting-list control group (48 children).
• Webster-Stratton, Reid and Hammond (2004) — See details for this study above.

• Parents’ reports of children’s behavior: Various parent-report scales were used and were administered via both questionnaire and telephone report format. Outcomes focused on the occurrence of problem behaviors, the frequency of problem behaviors, the frequency of positive and negative social behaviors, and parents’ use of spanking as a disciplinary tool.


• Teachers’ reports of children’s behavior: Teachers rated students on total behavior problems exhibited, rates of appropriate and inappropriate social behaviors, social competence and adaptation, and aggression with peers.


• Independent observations of children’s behavior: Researchers observed children in the home and in the laboratory and rated children on noncompliance and deviance, antisocial behavior, positive affect (displays of emotion) and prosocial behaviors, and positive or negative behavior exhibited during parent-child interactions.


• Children’s social problem-solving: Various tests of children’s problem-solving were used, including measures of prosocial versus antagonistic dimensions of problem-solving and children’s interactions with peers while engaged in a problem-solving task.

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Key Evaluation Findings

BASIC Parent-Training—Early Childhood component

Webster-Stratton’s (1982) study found the following:

• BASIC Parent-Training group mothers reported significantly less-frequent problem behaviors than did control group mothers. There were no significant differences between the groups in the total number of behavior problems reported.


• Independent observations of children’s behavior found that treatment group children showed significantly fewer submissive behaviors (e.g., approval-seeking or help-seeking) and negative behaviors (e.g., pouting, ridicule) and higher rates of positive-affect behaviors (e.g., smiling, expressions of affection) than control group children. There were no significant differences between the groups in the frequency of non-acceptance behaviors (e.g., frustration, ignoring) and dominance behaviors (e.g., criticizing, refusing to comply).

• Mothers in the BASIC Parent-Training group reported significantly better scores than did control group mothers for reductions in the occurrence and frequency of child problem behaviors, total behavior problems, negative versus prosocial behaviors, and use of spanking.


• Similarly, fathers in the BASIC Parent-Training group reported significantly better scores than did control group fathers for reductions in the frequency of problem behaviors (but not total occurrence), total behavior problems, and use of spanking. Home observations of children with their fathers showed lower rates of child deviance (i.e., whining, crying, smart talk, and noncompliance) for treatment group children than for control group children.


• No significant differences were found between the groups for teachers’ reports of total behavior problems or for home observations of child deviance with mothers.

• children’s antisocial behavior, hyperactivity, deviance, total behavior problems, the three most-serious behavior problems for each child (determined by parents), and daily reports of total problems.

• BASIC Parent-Training mothers reported that their children exhibited significantly fewer occurrences and lower frequency of problem behaviors and negative behaviors and exhibited more positive behaviors than did the children of control group mothers. BASIC Parent-Training mothers also reported less use of spanking.


• There were no significant differences in any measures between the BASIC Parent-Training mothers and the individual-therapy treatment mothers.


• Children in the BASIC Parent-Training group were observed to have lower rates of noncompliance (failure to respond to directions) than control group children had.


• There were no significant differences among any of the groups in total parent-reported child behavior problems or total independent observations of child deviancy.

• Parents’ reports: Compared with the control group, parents in all three treatment groups reported significantly superior results than parents in the control group. This included both mothers’ and fathers’ reports of total problem behaviors, mothers’ reports of occurrence and frequency of problem behaviors, mothers’ reports of negative behaviors, and both mothers’ and fathers’ use of spanking.


• Teachers’ reports: Teachers rated the GDVM and GD children as showing larger decreases in behavior problems than control group children experienced. No significant differences were found between the IVM and control group.


• Independent observations: Children’s total deviance with mothers and fathers was significantly less for the GDVM and GD groups than for the control group. When compared with controls, total deviance for children of IVM fathers was also significantly less, but this was not the case for children of IVM mothers.

• Both mothers and fathers in the IVM group and GDVM group reported significantly less-frequent problem behaviors and less spanking than the parents in the control group reported.


• Observations of parents found a significantly larger decrease in the measure of total child deviance with GDVM mothers (but not with GDVM fathers) compared with the control group.


• When the two treatment groups were compared with each other, the GDVM children showed a significantly larger decrease in home observations of total child deviance with mothers (but not with fathers).

• Parents in the videotape-based parenting-skills group with additional parent-training in problem-solving showed greater reductions than the control group showed in the occurrence and frequency of problem behaviors and in the intensity of the three most-troubling behaviors (as identified by parents).


• The videotape-based parenting-skills group with therapist-facilitated discussion showed greater reductions than the control group showed in the frequency of problem behaviors and in the intensity of the three most-troubling behaviors.


• There were no significant differences between the two treatment groups for any of the outcome measures.

• Both mother- and father-rated improvements in child behavior problems were significantly greater for children in the BASIC Parent-Training group than for children in the control group.


• Mothers in the parent-training group observed significantly fewer negative behaviors and significantly more prosocial behaviors from their children than did control group mothers.


• Independent observations found that children in the parent-training group exhibited significantly greater improvement in negative conflict management skills with peers than did control group children.


• Home observations of child behaviors revealed that parent-training group children scored higher than control group children for positive affect (mood) with parents; results indicated a statistically significant difference for positive affect with fathers, and a marginally significant difference for positive affect with mothers.


• There were no significant group differences for child social problem-solving scores, teacher-rated problem behavior scores, or home observations of child deviance with mothers or with fathers.

• Significantly lower rates of occurrence and frequency of problem behaviors and total problem behaviors for the BASIC Parent-Training group when compared with the control group.


• No significant differences between the BASIC Parent-Training group and the control group in parents’ daily reports of negative behaviors or in teachers’ reports of total problems and inappropriate social behaviors.


• When compared with the "eclectic" treatment group, the BASIC Parent-Training mothers reported significantly greater reductions in the occurrence of behavior problems and negative behaviors. No significant differences were found between the groups in the frequency of problem behaviors and total problem behaviors or in teachers’ reports of inappropriate social behaviors.

• At initial post-test, the conduct-problem intensity scores of the intervention and control groups whose baseline scores fell within the clinical range did not differ significantly. By the six-month follow-up, scores in the treatment group had dropped significantly more than the scores in the control group (26.1 points compared with 9.3 points).


• Intervention-group children with baseline conduct-problem intensity scores in the normal range had significantly lower scores from pretest to six-month follow-up (9.2 points lower), while children in the control group with baseline scores in the same range did not exhibit a statistically significant change (5.9 points lower).


• Negative outcomes on the conduct-problem frequency score were also significantly reduced in both control and intervention groups at six-month follow-up. Differences between groups were significant, with the intervention group exhibiting greater improvement than the control group.


• Differences between groups on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were statistically significant for conduct problems at both initial post-test and six-month follow-up, with outcomes favoring the intervention group.
  
  
  • No significant differences were found between groups for emotional problems, hyperactivity, peer problems, or prosocial behaviors.

• For teacher-reported behavior problems, results showed that both parent training and teacher training led to a significant decrease from pretest to initial post-test in classroom behavior problems when compared with the no-treatment control group. Children in the combined parent-training and teacher-training group did not fare any better than children in either the parent training or teacher training group alone.


• From initial post-test to the one-year follow-up, significantly lower teacher-reported conduct-problem scores were found for the parent training and teacher training groups, but not for the control group. Furthermore, when the parent-training and teacher-training groups were compared with the combined parent-plus-teacher-training group, children in the latter group fared significantly worse than children in both the single parent-training and teacher-training groups.


• No significant differences were found among groups for parent-reported conduct-problem scores or for observer-rated negative child behavior.

• The BASIC Parent-Training group (PT), the Parent-Training plus Teacher-Training group (PT+TT), and the Parent-Training plus Child-Training plus Teacher-Training group (PT+CT+TT) showed significant and positive treatment effects on child conduct problems at home with parents when compared with the control group.


• Similarly, all three groups showed significant, positive treatment effects for child conduct problems at school.


• For child social competence with peers, only the PT+CT+TT group demonstrated significant treatment effects when compared with the control group.

• Six months after program completion, child problem behaviors as reported both by parents and through direct observations were significantly more apparent in the control group than in the treatment group.

• For the PT+CT group, mother and father ratings on both measures of improvement in child behavior problems were significantly greater than for control children. For the CT group, significantly better scores were found for both father ratings, and for one out of two mother ratings.


• Mothers in both the PT+CT and CT groups observed significantly fewer negative behaviors and significantly more prosocial behaviors than did control mothers.


• For child social problem-solving scores, both the PT+CT and CT children showed a significantly greater improvement in the number of different positive solutions than did control children.


• Independent observations revealed that PT+CT and CT children exhibited significantly greater improvement in negative conflict management skills with peers than did control children.


• Home observations of child behaviors found that PT+CT children significantly outscored controls in terms of positive affect with mothers (but not fathers). CT children and controls did not differ in ratings of positive affect.


• No significant differences were found among groups for teacher ratings of behavior problems, or for home observations of child deviance.

• had larger reductions than did control-group children in parent-reported total problem behaviors, teachers’ reports of aggression toward peers, and independent observations of child deviance and noncompliance


• outscored control-group children on measures of social problem-solving, including positive responses to hypothetical conflict situations, and the variety of positive strategies (versus negative strategies) identified on a children’s problem-solving test.

• The CT group, the CT+TT group, and the CT+PT+TT group all showed significant and positive treatment effects on child conduct problems at home with mothers when compared with the control group. For child conduct problems at home with fathers, the CT+PT+TT group had a significant positive effect compared with the control group, while the CT+TT group had a marginally significant effect.


• For child social competence with peers, both the CT and CT+PT+TT groups had significant effects compared with the control group, while the CT+TT group had a marginally significant effect.


• For child conduct problems at school, all three child-training groups demonstrated significant, positive treatment effects when compared with the control group.

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Probable Implementers

Public and private preschool programs and elementary schools; Head Start and other similar child-care centers.

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Funding

The costs for implementation of Incredible Years depend on the amount of training and number of series to be implemented. The components of the program, their suggested budget, and examples of items that contribute to the budget for each component are as follows:

1. One-time start-up cost of leader training: Suggested budget is $400 - $500 per leader trained in Seattle (depending on location; travel costs will vary); or $1,500 per day for on-site training , plus travel expenses (cost does not include program materials).


2. One-time start-up cost of program materials: Suggested budget is $1,500 per series (includes costs of videotapes and manuals). Cost for the child program will be slightly higher to accommodate price of puppets.


3. Ongoing consultation: Suggested budget is $500 per leader, per year (costs include consultation rates for a suggested minimum amount of consultation per year and videotape review and certification services).


4. Ongoing costs for parent groups (based on one group of 12 parents): Suggested budget is $5,712 or $476 per parent (costs include child care, food, compensation for leader’s time, and materials).


5. Ongoing costs for small child-treatment groups (based on an average of 20 children, with an average of about six children per group): Suggested budget is $4,650 or $775 per child (costs include snacks, compensation for leader’s time, and materials).


6. Ongoing costs for the Dinosaur Curriculum in the schools (based on 24 children per class): Suggested budget is $135 per child (costs include materials and compensation for teacher’s time). Note: Because the teacher is already paid for teaching during school hours, the hourly fee for teaching time may be deducted, reducing the ongoing costs of the curriculum to $15 per child.


7. Ongoing costs for teacher-training classroom-management curriculum (based on 15 teachers per workshop and classrooms with 24 children): Suggested budget is $510 per teacher or $21 per child (costs include materials and substitute teachers’ time while teachers are in workshop training). If training is scheduled on regularly scheduled professional development days, the teacher costs will be reduced to $30 per teacher.

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Implementation Detail

Program Design

Each training program targets different precursors of conduct problems in the home, classroom, and school setting and with the child individually in his or her peer group. Implementers of the Incredible Years can select the program and components that most closely meet their needs.

Curriculum: Parent-Training Program

All four of the components within the program (BASIC Parent Training Program—Early Childhood, Advance Parent Training Program—School Age, BASIC Parent Training Program—School-Age, and Supporting Your Child’s Education—School Age), involve a collaborative training process utilizing group discussion guided by trained facilitators. Program materials include videotapes, detailed group-facilitator manuals (including questions for group discussion), parents’ books and audiotapes, instructions for home activities, and notes for posting on the refrigerator and blackboard that reinforce and remind parents of key points from the videotape curricula.

Curriculum: Child-Training Program

• The small-group Dinosaur Curriculum emphasizes understanding and communicating feelings; friendship development; anger management; interpersonal problem-solving (e.g., waiting, taking turns); and following school rules (e.g., raising one’s hand to speak, following teachers’ instructions). The training program for children is targeted to small groups of children age 4 to 8 who are exhibiting conduct problems.


• The classroom Dina Dinosaur Preschool and School-Age programs use 30 to 60 lessons per year for use over three years’ time targeting problem-solving, anger management, and social skills. Teachers use four steps to implement the program: planning, presenting (discussions with the whole class), practicing (in small groups), and promoting (done continuously throughout the day).

• The Teacher-Training program encourages teachers to be sensitive to individual developmental differences in children, such as variations in attention span, activity levels, and interest in novel situations, and teaches them how to respond to these differences in positive, accepting, and consistent ways. Additionally, teachers learn how to prevent peer rejection by teaching aggressive children appropriate problem-solving strategies and helping the children’s peers to respond appropriately to aggression.


• For children with conduct problems, teachers, parents, and group facilitators jointly develop "transition plans" for children moving to a new grade or classroom that detail classroom strategies that are successful with each individual child; the goals achieved thus far and the goals that are remaining; and the child’s characteristics, interests, and motivators.

• Training is not required but is highly recommended by Incredible Years staff for effective program delivery. Workshops in the parent and child programs are offered regularly in Seattle and on request elsewhere in North America and the United Kingdom.


• Training for Incredible Years programs includes the content of the programs as well as the processes and methods of delivery. Trainers model group-leader skills and use videotape examples of actual interventions. Four types of program training are offered:



• Parents’ program (three days)


• Children’s small-group Dinosaur treatment program (two days)


• Teachers’ effective classroom management (three days)


• Teachers’ Effective classroom management and Dina Dinosaur school (three days)
• Incredible Years program staff also offer supervision and guidance via biweekly phone and e-mail consultations, critical review of videotaped sessions that are submitted by clients for feedback, and one- or two-day consultancy workshops (in Seattle or on site).

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Issues to Consider

The Incredible Years series received a "proven" rating for the BASIC Parent-Training—Early Childhood component and the Dinosaur Child-Training program. The majority of the evaluations of these components used rigorous standards, including randomized experimental design and control groups, and the participants experienced significant and sizeable gains across many of the behavioral and social outcomes.

Few studies have assessed the effects of the Incredible Years programs versus the outcomes for a comparison group beyond two months after program completion (only three studies that went beyond a two-month follow-up were identified). Because of the waiting-list control group design that was employed by the studies’ authors (due to ethical concerns about not offering treatment to children assigned to control groups), longitudinal follow-up often was not possible because the untreated control group participated in the program(s) shortly after completion by the original participants. The findings from the evaluations of the Incredible Years programs are thus limited to mostly short-term results, and it is unknown whether the differences noted between treatment and control groups would be maintained in the longer run. However, the handful of longer-term studies reviewed did show some significant extended program effects.

A handful of studies have examined combinations of Incredible Years components, but the results were inconclusive or mixed. One study of the ADVANCE Parent-Training add-on component showed little impact on participants (Webster-Stratton, 1994), while other studies of the ADVANCE component do not allow the effects of the program to be isolated without the influence of the BASIC component and/or the Dinosaur Child-Training or Dina Dinosaur programs (Webster-Stratton, 1998; Webster-Stratton, Reid, & Hammond, 2001a; and Reid, Webster-Stratton and Hammond, 2003). A study of the Supporting Your Child’s Education Parent-Training program faced similar challenges, using a design that compared a combination of Incredible Years’ components (BASIC, plus ADVANCE, plus Supporting Your Child’s Education, plus the Teacher-Training program) with the Head Start program (Webster-Stratton, Reid, & Hammond, 2001a). Because the effects of the ADVANCE component, Supporting Your Child’s Education component, and Teacher-Training program were combined with the BASIC component, no conclusions can be drawn with regard to their respective impact (if any) on participants’ outcomes. Similarly, three studies of the Teacher-Training program and one study of the Classroom Dinosaur program implemented the programs only in combination with other intervention programs (Webster-Stratton, Reid, & Hammond, 2001a and 2004; Webster-Stratton, Reid, & Stoolmiller, 2006), reporting significant intervention effects but confounding any independent Teacher-Training and Classroom Dinosaur effects with the impact of the other programs.

Despite the lack of strong conclusions regarding some components of the Incredible Years series, a study by Beauchaine, Webster-Stratton, and Reid (2005) indicates the effectiveness of the Parent-Training program across numerous studies. The authors examined factors that might influence the effects of the treatment on child outcomes (i.e., "moderating" variables) using a sample of 514 families who had participated in studies of the Incredible Years Series over the past 20 years. Among the seven significant moderating variables found across mother-report and observational models, Incredible Years’ interventions with parent training were never less effective than interventions without parent training. Beauchaine, Webster-Stratton, and Reid conclude that these findings suggest that parent training should remain a standard component of care for children with early-onset conduct problems. Additionally, they found that children’s age and gender did not predict or moderate the program’s outcomes.

Research suggests that the BASIC Parent-Training program may be as effective for boys with both conduct problems and attentional problems (inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity) as it is for boys with conduct problems but no attentional problems (Hartman, Stage, and Webster-Stratton, 2003). The authors examined the effects of children’s attentional risk factors on the efficacy of parent training in decreasing conduct problems in boys, and they found that boys in both groups showed similar benefits in the reduction of conduct problems and negative parenting. Similarly, parent training has been shown to produce similar benefits in parents from more-disadvantaged backgrounds and parents from less-disadvantaged backgrounds (Reid, Webster-Stratton, and Baydar, 2004).

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Example Sites

Multiple states (e.g., California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Oregon, Maine, Massachusetts, and Minnesota) and numerous international sites (e.g., Australia, Canada, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands).

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Contact Information

Lisa St. George
Administrative Director
The Incredible Years
1411 8th Avenue West
Seattle, WA 98119
Phone and fax: (206) 285-7565
Toll-free phone and fax: (888) 506-3562
Email: LisaStGeorge@comcast.net

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Available Resources

The Incredible Years Web site, www.incredibleyears.com, is a comprehensive resource that provides information on Incredible Years programs, training, workshops, evaluation, implementation, and materials.

The June 2000 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Bulletin Review provides a comprehensive program overview: http://www.incredibleyears.com/research/article-Incredible-Years-ojjdp-6-00.pdf (PDF file).

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Bibliography

August, Gerald J., George M. Realmuto, Joel M. Hektner, and Michael L. Bloomquist, "An Integrated Components Preventive Intervention for Aggressive Elementary School Children: The Early Risers Program,"   Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,   Vol. 69, No. 4, 2001, pp. 614-626.  

Baydar, Nazli, M. Jamila Reid, and Carolyn Webster-Stratton, "The Role of Mental Health Factors and Program Engagement in the Effectiveness of a Preventive Parenting Program for Head Start Mothers,"   Child Development,   Vol. 74, No. 5, 2003, pp. 1433-1453.  

Beauchaine, Theodore P., Carolyn Webster-Stratton, and M. Jamila Reid, "Mediators, Moderators, and Predictors of 1-Year Outcomes Among Children Treated for Early-Onset Conduct Problems: A Latent Growth Curve Analysis,"   Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,   Vol. 73, No. 3, 2005, pp. 371-388.  

Brotman, Laurie Miller, Rachel G. Klein, Dimitra Kamboukos, Elissa J. Brown, Stephanie Irby Coard, and Laura Stout Sosinksy, "Preventive Intervention for Urban, Low-Income Preschoolers at Familial Risk for Conduct Problems: A Randomized Pilot Study,"   Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology,   Vol. 32, No. 2, 2003, pp. 246-257.  

Gardner, Frances, Jennifer Burton, and Ivana Klimes, "Randomised Controlled Trial of a Parenting Intervention in the Voluntary Sector for Reducing Child Conduct Problems: Outcomes and Mechanisms of Change," unpublished, 2006.      Online at http://www.incredibleyears.com (as of August 9, 2006).  

Gross, Deborah, Louis Fogg, and Sharon Tucker, "The Efficacy of Parent Training for Promoting Positive Parent-Toddler Relationships,"   Research in Nursing and Health,   Vol. 18, No. 6, 1995, pp. 489-499.  

Gross, Deborah, Louis Fogg, Carolyn Webster-Stratton, Christine Garvey, Wrenetha Julion, and Jane Grady, "Parent Training of Toddlers in Day Care in Low-Income Urban Communities,"   Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,   Vol. 71, No. 2, 2003, pp. 261-278.  

Hartman, Renée R., Scott A. Stage, and Carolyn Webster-Stratton, "A Growth Curve Analysis of Parent Training Outcomes: Examining the Influence of Child Risk Factors (Inattention, Impulsivity, and Hyperactivity Problems), Parental and Family Risk Factors,"   Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,   Vol. 44, No. 3, 2003, pp. 388-398.  

Hutchings, Judy, Dave Daley, Karen Jones, Pam Martin, and Rhiain Gwyn, "Early Results from Developing and Researching the Webster-Stratton Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Training Programme in North West Wales," unpublished.      Online at http://www.incredibleyears.com (as of August 8, 2006).  

Hutchings, Judy, Eleanor Lane, Richard Ellis Owen, and Rhiain Gwyn, "The Introduction of the Webster-Stratton Classroom Dinosaur School Programme in Gwynedd, North Wales: A Pilot Study,"   Educational and Child Psychology,   Vol. 21, No. 4, 2004, pp. 4-15.  

Lees, Dianne G., and Kevin R. Ronan, "Parent Management Training for Solo Mothers of Children Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: An Effectiveness and Multiple Baseline Evaluation," unpublished, 2005.      Online at http://www.incredibleyears.com (as of August 16, 2006).  

Linares, L. Oriana, Daniela Montalto, MinMin Li, and Vikash S. Oza, "A Promising Parenting Intervention in Foster Care,"   Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,   Vol. 74, No. 1, 2006, pp. 32-41.  

Mørch, Willy-Tore, Graham Clifford, Bo Larsson, Per Rypdal, Torill Tjeflaat, Jim Lurie, May Britt Drugli, Sturla Fossum, and Charlotte Reedtz, "The Incredible Years—The Norwegian Webster-Stratton Programme 1998-2004," unpublished, 2004.       Online at http://www.incredibleyears.com (as of August 16, 2006).  

Olchowski, Allison, E. Michael Foster, and Carolyn Webster-Stratton, "Implementing Behavioral Intervention Components in a Cost-Effective Manner: An Assessment of the Incredible Years Program," unpublished, 2005.      Online at http://www.unc.edu/~emfoster/papers/IYP_icer.pdf (PDF file; as of August 16, 2006).  

Patterson, Jacoby, Jane Barlow, Carole Mockford, Ivana Klimes, Cecilia Pyper, and Sarah Stewart-Brown, "Improving Mental Health Through Parenting Programmes: Block Randomised Controlled Trial,"   Archives of Diseases in Children,   Vol. 87, 2002, pp. 472-477.  

Reid, M. Jamila, Carolyn Webster-Stratton, and Mary Hammond, "Follow-Up of Children Who Received the Incredible Years Intervention for Oppositional-Defiant Disorder: Maintenance and Prediction of 2-Year Outcome,"   Behavior Therapy,   Vol. 34, No. 4, 2003, pp. 471-491.  

Reid, M. Jamila, Carolyn Webster-Stratton, and Nazli Baydar, "Halting the Development of Conduct Problems in Head Start Children: The Effects of Parent Training,"   Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology,   Vol. 33, No. 2, 2004, pp. 279-291.  

Reid, M. Jamila, Carolyn Webster-Stratton, and Theodore P. Beauchaine, "Parent Training in Head Start: A Comparison of Program Response Among African-American, Asian American, Caucasian, and Hispanic Mothers,"   Prevention Science,   Vol. 2, No. 4, 2001, pp. 209-227.  

Scott, Stephen, Quentin Spender, Moira Doolan, Brian Jacobs, and Helen Aspland, "Multicentre Controlled Trial of Parenting Groups for Childhood Antisocial Behaviour in Clinical Practice,"   British Medical Journal,   Vol. 323, 2001, pp. 1-7.  

Spaccarelli, Steve, Sheldon Cotler, and Doris Penman, "Problem-Solving Skills Training as a Supplement to Behavioral Parent Training,"   Cognitive Therapy and Research,   Vol. 16, No. 1, 1992, pp. 1-18.  

Taylor, Ted K., Fred Schmidt, Debra Pepler, and Christine Hodgins, "A Comparison of Eclectic Treatment with Webster-Stratton's Parents and Children Series in a Children's Mental Health Center: A Randomized Controlled Trial,"   Behavior Therapy,   Vol. 29, 1998, pp. 221-240.  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, "Advancing Videotape Parent Training: A Comparison Study,"   Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,   Vol. 62, No. 3, 1994, pp. 583-593.  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, "Early-Onset Conduct Problems: Does Gender Make a Difference?,"   Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,   Vol. 64, No. 3, 1996, pp. 540-551.  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, "Enhancing the Effectiveness of Self-Administered Videotape Parent Training for Families with Conduct-Problem Children,"   Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology,   Vol. 18, No. 5, 1990a, pp. 479-492.  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, "Individually Administered Videotape Parent Training: "Who Benefits?"   Cognitive Therapy and Research,   Vol. 16, No. 1, 1992, pp. 31-35.  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, "Long-Term Follow-Up of Families with Young Conduct Problem Children: From Preschool to Grade School,"   Journal of Clinical Child Psychology,   Vol. 19, No. 2, 1990b, pp. 144-149.  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, "Predictors of Treatment Outcome in Parent Training for Conduct-Disordered Children,"   Behavior Therapy,   Vol. 16, No. 2, 1985, pp. 223-243.  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, "Preventing Conduct Problems in Head Start Children: Strengthening Parent Competencies,"   Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,   Vol. 66, No. 5, 1998, pp. 715-730.  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, "Randomized Trial of Two Parent-Training Programs for Families with Conduct-Disordered Children,"   Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,   Vol. 52, No. 4, 1984, pp. 666-678.  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, "Systematic Comparison of Consumer Satisfaction of Three Cost-Effective Parent Training Programs for Conduct-Problem Children,"   Behavior Therapy,   Vol. 20, No. 1, 1989, pp. 103-115.  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, "Teaching Mothers Through Videotape Modeling to Change Their Children's Behavior,"   Journal of Pediatric Psychology,   Vol. 7, No. 3, 1982, pp. 279-294.  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, and Mary Hammond, "Treating Children with Early-Onset Conduct Problems: A Comparison of Child and Parent Training Interventions,"   Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,   Vol. 65, No. 1, 1997, pp. 93-109.  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, Jamila Reid, and Mary Hammond, "Social Skills and Problem-Solving Training for Children with Early-Onset Conduct Problems: Who Benefits?,"   Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines,   Vol. 42, No. 7, 2001b, pp. 943-952.  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, M. Jamila Reid, and Mary Hammond, "Preventing Conduct Problems, Promoting Social Competence: A Parent and Teacher Training Partnership in Head Start,"   Journal of Clinical Child Psychology,   Vol. 30, No. 3, 2001a, pp. 283-302.  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, M. Jamila Reid, and Michael Stoolmiller, "Preventing Aggression and Improving Social, Emotional and Academic Competence: Evaluation of Dina Dinosaur Classroom Curriculum in High Risk Schools," unpublished, 2006.      Online at http://www.incredibleyears.com (as of August 16, 2006).  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, M. Jamila Reid, M., and Mary Hammond, "Treating Children with Early-Onset Conduct Problems: Intervention Outcomes for Parent, Child, and Teacher Training,"   Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology,   Vol. 33, No. 1, 2004, pp. 105-124.  

Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, Mary Kolpacoff, and Terri Hollinsworth, "Self-Administered Videotape Therapy for Families with Conduct-Problem Children: Comparison With Two Cost-Effective Treatments and a Control Group,"   Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,   Vol. 56, No. 4, 1988, pp. 558-566.  

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August 2006

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