The Incredible Years Parent Training Program: Prevention and Early Intervention

1. The Incredible Years Parent Training Program: Prevention and Early Intervention Becky Beckner, PhD Columbia Public Schools Early Childhood Special Education rbeckner@columbia.k12.mo.us

2. Incredible Years Series Teacher, Child, and Parent Training Programs Developed (1984) by Dr. Webster-Stratton, professor and director of the Parenting Clinic at the U of Washington Designed to promote emotional and social competence and to prevent, reduce, and treat aggression and emotional problems in children 0 to 12 years old

3. Incredible Years Series May be implemented by school districts, Head Start, and day cares as early prevention programs The child and parent programs may be used in mental health centers as a treatment for high risk families or for families with children who are diagnosed with ODD/CD and ADHD

4. Incredible Years Series: Research Evaluations have included numerous randomized control group research studies (2-12 year olds) with diverse groups of parents and teachers.

5. Incredible Years Series: Research Evidence shows: IY programs have turned around the behaviors of up to 80 percent of the children of participating parents and teachers IY has also been evaluated as a prevention program with children 2 to 7 years old, who are at high risk by virtue of living in poverty The IY baby program (6 weeks to 18 months) is currently undergoing evaluation

6. Incredible Years Series: Teachers Teacher Classroom Management Training Programs: The Importance of Teacher Attention, Encouragement, Praise Motivating Children Through Incentives Preventing Behavior Problems-the Proactive Teacher Decreasing Students' Inappropriate Behaviors Building Positive Relationships With Students, Problem Solving

7. Incredible Years Series: Children The Dinosaur Social Skills & Problem Solving Curriculum (whole classroom prevention and targeted group) Making New Friends & Learning School Rules Understanding & Detecting Feelings Detective Wally Teaches Problem Solving Steps Tiny Turtle Teaches Anger Management Molly Manners Teaches How to be Friendly Molly Explains How to Talk with Friends Dina Dinosaur Teaches How to Do Your Best in School

8. Incredible Years Series: Parents The BASIC parent series has three versions: Baby/toddler (1 month to 2 years) Preschool (3-5 years) School age (6-12 years) BASIC is “core” and a necessary component of the prevention program delivery.

9. Incredible Years Series: Parents BASIC series emphasizes parenting skills known to promote children's social competence and reduce behavior problems: how to play with children social, emotional , academic and persistence skills coaching effective praise and use of incentives establishing predictable routines and rules and promoting responsibility effective limit-setting strategies to manage misbehavior teaching children to problem solve

10. Incredible Years Series: Parents ADVANCE series emphasizes parent interpersonal skills: effective communication skills anger and depression management problem-solving between adults ways to give and get support family meetings

11. Incredible Years Series: Parents SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD’S EDUCATION series (known as SCHOOL) emphasizes parenting approaches designed to promote children’s academic skills: reading skills parental involvement in setting up predictable homework routines building collaborative relationships with teachers.

12. How it Works: Methods Group format Video-based modeling Role plays and experiential exercises Group discussion and feedback Pyramid approach to skill development

13. How it Works: Methods Social learning principles: Cognitive social learning theory and particularly Patterson’s coercion hypothesis of negative reinforcement developing and maintaining deviant behavior Bandura’s notions of modeling and self-efficacy Piaget’s developmental interactive learning methods.

14. How it Works: Methods Cognitive strategies for challenging, angry, negative and depressive self-talk and increasing parenting self-esteem and confidence. Positive interactions are foundation for behavior management Collaborative problem solving Target known risk factors across settings

15. How it Works: Methods Other programs with similar theoretical foundation Helping the Noncompliant Child (Forehand & McMahon) Parent Child Interaction Therapy (Eyberg) Living with Families (Patterson) Defiant Children (Barkley)

16. How it Works: Methods The BASIC parent training has 5 curriculae: Baby Program (8-9 sessions) Toddler Program (12 sessions) Preschool or Early Childhood Program (18-20 sessions) Early School-Age Program or Preadolescent Program (12-16 sessions).

17. How it Works: Methods The ADVANCE parent program (9-12 sessions) focuses on: interpersonal skills, anger and depression management, and problem solving can follow the BASIC program for high risk populations and families with diagnosed children.

18. How it Works: Methods Each parent group session is 2 to 2.5 hours long and conducted at weekly intervals. Involves 2 group leaders and 10-14 participants. Typically food, child care and transportation are provided for each session. For the baby program parents bring their babies to the groups. Training set in a problem solving format with parents identified goals, assessments of barriers, and potential solutions.

19. How it Works: Methods The training is based on: video modeling observational and experiential learning rehearsal and practice individual goal setting self management self-reflection cognitive self-control.

20. How it Works: Methods Assumes a self-learning model involving self-monitoring and weekly goal setting. Also explicitly assumes a collaborative relationship between group leaders and parents. Reduction of risk factors and increased protective factors through increasing parent, teacher and child competencies.

21. Costs: The cost to train a group leader averages $290 The initial costs of materials: $1595 for the Basic program $1995 for the School Age Basic plus Advance programs. However, the DVDs once purchased can be used repeatedly on any number of further courses.

22. Parent and Family Risk Factors Risks Permissive, neglectful, rigid, and/or inconsistent parenting Harsh or abusive discipline Low monitoring or involvement Coercive interactions Parent psychopathology Interparental conflict and divorce Maternal insularity Poverty

23. IY Parent Programs Parent Programs (IY-Parent) BASIC 4 programs: Infant, Toddler, Pre-K, and School-Age Ages: 0-12 Supplemental: Advanced, School Readiness

24. Incredible Years Parenting Program Parents of children age 3-12 years Group Format 10-12 sessions 1 ½ hour weekly 10-12 families include all caregivers from each family (i.e., boyfriend, grandparent) Evaluation 7 Randomized Treatment Trials BASIC reduced harsh parenting, increases positive parenting, and reduces child behavior problems Across toddler and school-age groups 5 Independent Replications 7 Prevention Trials Reduced behavior problems and improved emotional regulation More supportive and less coercive parenting

25. IY Parenting Group Overview Domains Attending and Play Praise & Rewards Effective Limit Setting Handling Misbehavior & Time Out

26. IY Parenting Program Materials DVD Vignettes of parents and children Facilitator Manual Lessons Checklists Reproducible Materials Book for Parents

27. IY Child Programs Dinosaur Curricula Classroom Program (IY-Classroom) Pre-K – Grade 2 30-60 social-emotional lessons per year, delivered twice per week Treatment Program (IY-Child) Small group (4-6 children) Focused on social skill training 1-2 hour meetings over 22 weeks

28. IY Child Programs Evaluation Two randomized intervention trials IY-Child has unique benefits beyond IY-Parent Increased problem-solving and conflict management Reduced aggression and increased prosocial behaviors at school Prevention trial

29. IY Teacher Programs IY Teacher Training 6-day training for teachers and other school professionals Content Effective classroom management Promoting successful relationships & preventing poor reputations Promoting home-school communication

30. IY Teacher Programs Evaluation 4 randomized trials 1 with clinical population 3 in school settings (Head Start and elementary schools) Part of packaged program with child and/or parent components Raver et al. (2008) reported d = .52-.89 on climate and teacher behaviors in 36 Head Start classrooms

32. IY Series Well-established, rigorously studied intervention across many settings and groups Flexible & principle-driven Engaging & fun Excellent training method Enthusiastic developer Expensive materials Requires specific training by approved mentors Time consuming Not easily disseminated Pros Cons

33. More Info Webpage: www.incredibleyears.com MO SW-PBS Materials available to borrow