U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

John J. Wilson, Acting Administrator

From the Administrator

A growing number of children are

experiencing conduct problems—

aggression, noncompliance, and

defiance—and at earlier ages.

Because these problems may be

predictive of delinquency, violence,

and other antisocial behavior, escalating aggression in preschool and

elementary school children is a

particular cause for concern.

The Incredible Years Parents, Teachers, and Children Training Series,

described in this Bulletin, is designed

to prevent, reduce, and treat conduct

problems among children ages 2 to

10 and to increase their social

competence.

OJJDP’s Family Strengthening Project

has designated the Incredible Years

Training Series as an exemplary best

practices program. As such, the series

has been subject to a quality evaluation, evidenced excellent effectiveness,

and attained high overall ratings.

The Bulletin provides an overview of

the Incredible Years Training Series,

describes its methodologies, and

summarizes program effectiveness,

noting pertinent evaluations.

The programs in the Incredible Years

Training Series have been adopted by

hundreds of youth-serving agencies

in 43 States. The information that this

Bulletin provides will assist you in

assessing their potential for your

community.

John J. Wilson

Acting Administrator

June 2000

form of high rates of oppositional defiant

aggression and noncompliance, is predictive of substance abuse, depression, juvenile delinquency, antisocial behavior, and

violence in adolescence and adulthood

(Loeber, 1985). People with histories of

chronic aggression beginning in childhood

are more likely than others to commit murder, rape, robbery, arson, and driving under the influence (DUI) offenses and to engage in substance abuse (Kazdin, 1995).

The problem of escalating aggression in

young children is thus a universal concern.

The Incredible Years Parents, Teachers, and

Children Training Series, developed by Dr.

Carolyn Webster-Stratton, uses group discussion, videotape modeling, and rehearsal

intervention techniques to assist adults

living and working with children ages 2 to

10. The series is designed to prevent, reduce, and treat conduct problems among

these children and to increase their social

competence. This Bulletin presents an overview of the series’ program designs, goals,

and target populations; an extended discussion of each program’s rationale, content,

process, and methods; the findings of several research evaluations of the programs;

and a summary of the series’ effectiveness.

The Incredible Years Training Series was

selected as the 1997 winner of the United

States Leila Rowland National Mental

Health Award for outstanding prevention

programs and has been identified as an

The Incredible

Years Training

Series

Carolyn Webster-Stratton

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is dedicated to

preventing and reversing trends of increased

delinquency and violence among adolescents. These trends have alarmed the public during the past decade and challenged

the juvenile justice system. It is widely accepted that increases in delinquency and

violence over the past decade are rooted in

a number of interrelated social problems—

child abuse and neglect, alcohol and drug

abuse, youth conflict and aggression, and

early sexual involvement—that may originate within the family structure. The focus

of OJJDP’s Family Strengthening Series is to

provide assistance to ongoing efforts across

the country to strengthen the family unit by

discussing the effectiveness of family intervention programs and providing resources

to families and communities.

Research points out that aggression in

children is escalating—and at younger

ages (Campbell, 1990; Webster-Stratton,

1991). These studies also indicate that anywhere from 7 to 25 percent of preschool

and early school-age children meet the

diagnostic criteria for oppositional defiant

disorder (ODD) and/or conduct disorder

(CD), referred to generically in this paper

as “conduct problems” (defined as high

rates of aggression, noncompliance, and

defiance). These trends have disturbing

implications because the early onset of

these problems in young children, in the

Family Strengthening Series
2

childhood and school-age components.

The Incredible Years Early Childhood BASIC Parent Training Program (ages 2–7),

the original 12-week program for parents,

involves group discussion of a series of

250 video vignettes. The program, whose

development was guided by cognitive social learning literature, teaches parents

interactive play and reinforcement skills

(Hanf, 1970; Eyberg and Matarazzo, 1980);

nonviolent discipline techniques, including “timeout” and “ignore” (Patterson,

1982; Forehand and McMahon, 1981);

logical and natural consequences; and

problem-solving strategies (D’Zurilla and

Goldfried, 1971; D’Zurilla and Nezu, 1982).

The Incredible Years School-Age BASIC

Parent Training Program (ages 5–12) is a

multicultural program similar to the early

childhood program in content but aimed

at a somewhat older age group. It gives

greater emphasis to strategies for older

exemplary “best practices” program by

OJJDP’s Family Strengthening Project.

Overview

For the past 20 years, Dr. Webster-Stratton

and her colleagues at the University of

Washington’s Parenting Clinic have worked

to develop and evaluate training programs

for parents, teachers, children, and families

with children ages 3 to 8 with conduct problems. These programs, which have been

adapted for use with children ages 2 to 10,

are briefly described in this overview and

expanded upon throughout this Bulletin.

Table 1 provides an overview of the Incredible Years Parent, Teacher, and Child Training Programs.

Program Designs

Parent Training. The Incredible Years

BASIC Parent Training Program has early

children, including logical consequences,

monitoring, problem solving with children,

and family problem solving. Approximately

40 percent of the people featured on the

videotapes for this version of the BASIC

program are people of color.

The Incredible Years ADVANCE Parent

Training Program (ages 4–10) is a 10- to

12-week supplement to the BASIC program

that addresses other family risk factors

such as depression, marital discord, poor

coping skills, poor anger management, and

lack of support.

Finally, the Incredible Years EDUCATION

Parent Training Program (Supporting

Your Child’s Education) supplements either the early childhood or school-age

BASIC program by focusing on ways to

foster children’s academic competence. It

was designed to teach parents to strengthen their children’s reading and academic

OJJDP’s Family Strengthening Project’s Evaluation Criteria

The Incredible Years Parents, Teachers,

and Children Training Series was identified as an exemplary “best practices”

program by OJJDP’s Family Strengthening Project. A panel of national experts selected the OJJDP-identified

“best practices” programs based primarily on the programs’ focus on family,

strength of theoretical foundation, program content, capacity for dissemination (e.g., availability of curriculum

manuals, etc.), and the training capacity of the program developer. Critical

to selection was the quality of the program evaluation, research design, and

outcome results in relation to family

and youth change. There were three

categories of programs: exemplary,

model, and promising approaches. The

exemplary category indicates the program has an evaluation of the highest

quality (experimental with random assignment, quasi-experimental design

with matched controls, etc.), excellent

effectiveness results, and overall high

ratings by the national review committee for its category. Reviewers independently rated the 14 dimensions listed

and then were required to come to consensus regarding the quality of the program in question. Programs rated as

“exemplary” were those that were well

implemented, were rigorously evaluated, and had consistently positive findings (integrity ratings of “A4” or “A5” on

the assessment scale):

◆ Theory. The degree to which the

project findings are based in clear

and well-articulated theory, clearly

stated hypotheses, and clear operational relevance.

◆ Fidelity of interventions. The degree

to which there is clear evidence of high

fidelity implementation, which may

include dosage data.

◆ Sampling strategy and implementation. The quality of sampling design

and implementation.

◆ Attrition. Evidence of sample quality

based on information about attrition.

◆ Measures. The operational relevance

and psychometric quality of measures

used in the evaluation and the quality

of supporting evidence.

◆ Missing data. The quality of implementation of data collection (e.g.,

amount of missing data).

◆ Data collection. The method(s) by

which data were collected (in terms

of bias or demand characteristics and

haphazard manner).

◆ Analysis. The appropriateness and

technical adequacy of techniques of

analysis, primarily statistical.

◆ Other plausible threats to validity

(excluding attrition). The degree to

which the evaluation design and implementation address and eliminate

plausible alternative hypotheses concerning program effects. The degree

to which the study design and implementation warrant strong causal attributions concerning program effects.

◆ Replications. The exact or conceptual reproduction of both the

intervention implementation and

evaluation.

◆ Dissemination capability. Program

materials developed including training

in program implementation, technical

assistance, standardized curriculum

and evaluation materials, manuals,

fidelity instrumentation, videos, recruitment forms, etc.

◆ Cultural and age appropriateness.

The degree to which the project is culturally and age appropriate.

◆ Integrity. The overall level of confidence that the reviewer can place in

project findings based on research

design and implementation.

◆ Utility. The overall usefulness of

project findings for informing prevention theory and practice.
3

Teacher Training. The Incredible Years

Teacher Training Program was designed

to train teachers in classroom management skills such as how to encourage

and motivate students, strengthen social

competence, decrease inappropriate

behavior, and teach social skills, anger

management, and problem solving in the

classroom. Teacher training is offered to

groups of teachers and may be delivered

in six day-long workshops offered monthly

or in 2-hour sessions offered once a week

for 24 weeks. Videotaped vignettes of teachers managing common and difficult situations in the classroom are used to stimulate

group discussion and problem solving.

readiness and promote strong connections between home and school.

All of the Incredible Years parent training

programs include videotapes, extensive

group leader manuals, books for parents,

home activities, and refrigerator notes and

are offered in parent group discussions

facilitated by trained leaders.

Table 1: Overview of the Incredible Years Parent, Teacher, and Child Training Programs

Interventions Skills Targeted Person Trained Settings Targeted

Incredible Years Parenting skills Parent Home

BASIC Parent ● Play/Involvement.

Training Program ● Praise/Rewards.

● Limit setting.

● Discipline.

Incredible Years Interpersonal skills Parent Home, work, and

ADVANCE Parent ● Problem solving. community

Training Program ● Anger management.

● Communication.

● Depression control.

● Giving and getting support.

Incredible Years Academic skills Parent Home-school

EDUCATION Parent ● Academic stimulation. connection

Training Program ● Learning routine after school.

(also known as ● Homework support.

Supporting Your ● Reading.

Child’s Education) ● Limit setting.

● Involvement at school.

● Teacher conferences.

Incredible Years Teacher Classroom management skills Teacher School

Training Program ● Encouragement/Praise.

● Incentives.

● Proactive teaching.

● Discipline.

● Positive relationships.

● Social skills training.

● Problem-solving training.

Promoting parent involvement

Incredible Years Child Social skills Child Home and school

Training Program ● Friendship.

(also known as Dina ● Teamwork.

Dinosaur Social Skills ● Cooperation/Helping.

and Problem-Solving ● Communication.

Curriculum) ● Understanding feelings/Feeling language.

● Rules.

Problem solving

● Anger management.

● Steps of problem solving.

Classroom behavior

● Quiet hand up.

● Compliance.

● Listening.

● Stop-look-think-check.

● Concentrating.
4

Incredible Years Training Materials

Parent Training

The Incredible Years parent training materials include:

◆ Twelve videotapes for the early childhood BASIC program.

◆ Three videotapes for the school-age BASIC program.

◆ Six videotapes for the ADVANCE program.

◆ Two videotapes for the EDUCATION program.

◆ A self-administered manual for the BASIC programs.

◆ Comprehensive leader manuals for each program (consisting of more than 500

pages of “how to” information, including leader questions for discussion, home

activities, and interpretation of videotapes).

◆ Weekly “refrigerator notes” (brief points to remember) for parents.

◆ Assignments for parents’ home activities.

◆ Copies of a book for parents titled The Incredible Years: A Trouble-Shooting

Guide for Parents of Children Ages 3–8 (also available on audiotape).

◆ Refrigerator magnets that remind parents to do their weekly homework activities

and deliver special messages, such as “Build up your bank account with children.” (The illustration on the magnet shows “coins” labeled love, play, caring, and

support going into a piggybank.)

◆ Pyramid posters (see figure on page 5). The pyramids show how the programs

first build a positive foundation emphasizing relationship skills before beginning to

discuss discipline strategies.

Teacher Training

The Incredible Years teacher training materials include:

◆ Twelve videotapes.

◆ Comprehensive leader manuals (including leader questions for discussions,

classroom activities, suggested readings, and handouts).

◆ Self-administered manuals.

◆ Teacher blackboard notes (key points to remember for each program).

◆ Teacher classroom practice assignments.

◆ Copies of the book for teachers entitled How to Promote Social and Emotional

Competence in the Classroom.

Child Training

The Incredible Years child training materials include:

◆ Thirteen videotapes.

◆ A comprehensive leader manual (including leader questions for discussion,

home activities, teacher notes, suggested practice activities, and suggested

readings).

◆ Weekly cue pictures of key concepts for children.

◆ Homework detective activities.

◆ Refrigerator magnets for children (reminding them to do their homework).

◆ A feeling-wheel game.

◆ Thirty-nine laminated cue cards.

◆ Six sets of different stickers (reviewing main concepts).

◆ Children’s books.

Child Training. The Incredible Years

Child Training Program, Dina Dinosaur’s

Social Skills and Problem-Solving Curriculum, was designed to teach groups of children friendship skills, appropriate conflict

management strategies, successful classroom behaviors, and empathy skills. In addition, it teaches children cognitive strategies to cope with negative attributions

(i.e., hostile thoughts about others’ intentions) and situations that incite anger.

There are two versions of this curriculum.

It can be used as a “pull out” treatment

program for small groups of children with

conduct problems or as a classroom-based

preventive program designed to be delivered to all students two to three times a

week in 20- to 30-minute circle time discussions followed by 20-minute practice activities during the day. Videotaped vignettes

are used to stimulate children’s discussions,

demonstrate problem solving, and prompt

role-playing and practice activities.

Series Goals

The Incredible Years Parents, Teachers,

and Children Training Series has two longrange goals. The first goal is to develop

comprehensive treatment programs for

young children with early onset conduct

problems. The second goal is the development of cost-effective, community-based,

universal prevention programs that all

families and teachers of young children

can use to promote social competence

and to prevent children from developing

conduct problems in the first place.

The purpose of the series is to prevent

delinquency, drug abuse, and violence.

The short-term goals of the series are to:

◆ Reduce conduct problems in children:

❖ Decrease negative behaviors and

noncompliance with parents at home.

❖ Decrease peer aggression and disruptive behaviors in the classroom.

◆ Promote social, emotional, and academic

competence in children:

❖ Increase children’s social skills.

❖ Increase children’s understanding

of feelings.

❖ Increase children’s conflict management skills and decrease negative

attributions.

❖ Increase academic engagement,

school readiness, and cooperation

with teachers.
5

◆ Promote parental competence and

strengthen families:

❖ Increase parents’ positive communication skills, such as the use of praise

and positive feedback to children,

and reduce the use of criticism and

unnecessary commands.

❖ Improve parents’ limit-setting skills

by replacing spanking and other negative physical behaviors with nonviolent discipline techniques and by promoting positive strategies such as

ignoring the child’s behavior, allowing

for logical consequences, providing

redirection, and developing problemsolving and empathy skills.

❖ Improve parents’ problem-solving

skills and anger management.

❖ Increase family support networks

and school involvement.

◆ Promote teacher competence and

strengthen school-home connections:

❖ Strengthen teachers’ classroom

management strategies by using

proactive and positive teaching approaches (e.g., clearly delineated

classroom rules and use of strategies such as redirection, nonverbal

warning signs, proximity praise, etc.).

❖ Increase teachers’ collaborative

efforts in promoting parents’ school

involvement and developing plans

for behavior modification that connect home and school environments.

❖ Increase teachers’ ability to offer

social skills and problem-solving

training in the classroom.

Target Populations

The Incredible Years Parents, Teachers, and

Children Training Series is a practical and

versatile set of programs used to teach effective child management skills to different

types of participants.

Parents of Children Ages 2 to 10 Without

Conduct Problems. The parenting series

can be used to teach parents of children

without conduct problems to foster positive social behaviors in their children and

to give parents effective discipline techniques for dealing with common behavior

problems. Used as a prevention program,

this series can help prevent child abuse

and help parents avoid the development

of serious child behavior problems through

early intervention.

The series is effective with parents of all

educational and socioeconomic levels

(Webster-Stratton, 1998, 1990a). The videotaped vignettes show mothers and fathers

of African American, Asian, Caucasian, and

Hispanic backgrounds. The series is available in English and Spanish, and some

parts are available in Vietnamese.

Parents of Children Ages 3 to 10 Who

Have Conduct Problems. The research for

the series involved more than 800 families

with children having conduct problems,

which are not usually evident until the

age of 3. After completing the BASIC and

ADVANCE programs, the parents in these

families helped their children improve

their behavior significantly. The children in

the studies displayed conduct problems

that included aggressive behaviors such as

hitting and kicking; destructive acts; negative and defiant attitudes; whining, yelling,

talking back, and interrupting; and noncompliance with parental requests. Although the research did not include developmentally delayed, psychotic, or autistic

children, the series could be adapted for

parents of such children.

Pyramid Posters

Parenting Pyramid

Pyramid for Building

Relationships

Benefits for Other Person

Respect

Enjoyment

A

Love

cceptance

Empathy

Family

Meetings

• Understanding

• Generating

 solutions

• Evaluating

 consequences

• Finding new solutions

Listening/

Taking Other’s 

Perspective

Speaking Up

and 

Being Polite

Being Involved

and Spending Time

With Another

Playing

and

Having Fun

Learning

Self-Control

Using 

Positive

Self-Talk

Caring for 

Yourself

Getting

Support

Self

Communicating

 Effectively

Supporting

and Giving

to Others

Caring

About

Oneself

Problem

Solving and

Coping

Cooperation

Partnership

and

Benefits for Child

Problem Solving

Cooperation

Self-Esteem

Attachment

Social Skills

Thinking Skills

Motivation

Responsibility

Predictability

Obedience

Setting Clear Limits

Establishing Household Rules

Using Consistent Followthrough

Giving Praise

and

Encouragement

Offering Rewards

and

Celebrations

Feeling

Empathy

Paying 

Attention

and Being

Involved

Problem

Solving

Parent Skills and Strategies

Annoying

Behaviors

Ignoring

Distracting

Redirecting

Listening

Talking

Use

Liberally

Use

Liberally

Use Selectively

• Timeout

• Loss of Privileges

• Natural and Logical

 Consequences

Aggression Consequences

Playing
6

Incredible Years Parent

and Teacher Training

Programs

Gerald R. Patterson’s theoretical work on

childhood aggression strongly influenced

Table 2: Content and Objectives of the Incredible Years Early Childhood

BASIC Parent Training Programs (Ages 2–7)

Content Objectives

Program 1: Play

Part 1: How To ● Recognizing children’s capabilities and needs.

Play With a Child ● Providing positive support for children’s play.

● Helping children develop imaginative and creative play.

● Building children’s self-esteem and self-concept.

● Handling children’s boredom.

● Avoiding power struggles with children.

● Understanding the importance of adult attention.

Part 2: Helping ● Talking with children.

Children Learn ● Understanding ways to create faster language

development.

● Building children’s confidence in their learning ability.

● Helping children learn to solve problems.

● Helping children deal with frustration.

● Avoiding the criticism trap.

● Making learning enjoyable through play.

Program 2: Praise and Rewards

Part 1: The Art of ● Understanding ways to praise more effectively.

Effective Praising ● Avoiding praise of perfection only.

● Recognizing common traps.

● Handling children who reject praise.

● Providing physical warmth.

● Recognizing child behaviors that need praise.

● Understanding the effects of social rewards on children.

● Doubling the impact of praise.

● Building children’s self-esteem.

Part 2: Tangible ● Providing unexpected rewards.

Rewards ● Understanding the difference between rewards and bribes.

● Recognizing when to use the “first-then” rule.

● Providing ways to set up star and chart systems with children.

● Recognizing ways to carry out point programs.

● Understanding how to develop programs that are age

appropriate.

● Understanding ways to use tangible rewards for reducing

or eliminating problems such as dawdling, not dressing,

noncompliance, not sharing, fighting with siblings, picky

eating, messy rooms, not going to bed, and messy diapers.

Program 3: Effective Limit Setting

Part 1: How To Set ● Identifying important household rules.

Limits ● Understanding ways to give more effective commands.

● Avoiding unnecessary commands.

● Avoiding unclear, vague, and negative commands.

● Providing children with positive alternatives.

● Understanding when to use the “when-then” command.

● Recognizing the importance of warnings and helpful

reminders.

● Understanding ways to use problem-solving approaches.

the development of the Incredible Years

parent and teacher training programs

(Patterson, 1982). Patterson’s social learning model emphasizes the importance of

the family and teacher socialization processes, especially those affecting young

Parents at Risk for Abusing or Neglecting

Their Children. Additional research for the

parenting series was based on two studies

with more than 600 families enrolled in 14

Head Start centers. These families were randomly assigned to the BASIC parent training program or to the usual Head Start center services. The BASIC program was well

received, with more than 85 percent of parents attending more than two-thirds of the

sessions. Some of these parents were at risk

for abusing or neglecting their children because of their own childhood experiences

of abuse or because of a lack of social and

economic support. The BASIC program is

also appropriate for parents who have been

reported for child abuse. Parents of highly

aggressive and noncompliant children have

an increased risk of abusive behavior or

feeling “out of control” when they discipline

their children and thus have a higher risk of

becoming involved with child protective

services. Head Start parents who participated in the BASIC program were significantly less likely to verbally attack or criticize their children or to use physical

punishment such as spanking and hitting,

compared with Head Start parents from

centers that did not offer the parenting

program (Webster-Stratton, 1998).

Teenagers Taking Babysitting Classes

or Family Life Courses. Sections of the

parenting series could be used to teach

adolescents how to play with and read to

children and how to discipline them appropriately. The series could also serve as an

educational resource for teenagers studying the normal growth and development

of preschool and early school-age children.

Child Service and Childcare Providers

and Teachers. The teacher training series

has been used to teach classroom management strategies to childcare workers,

teachers, therapists, and other professionals working with children (e.g., nurses,

social workers). The parenting series has

also been used to illustrate play therapy

skills, behavior management principles,

and cognitive problem-solving strategies

in early childhood programs for teachers,

nurses, and psychology students.

Children Ages 4 to 8 With Diagnosed

Conduct Problems. The treatment version

of the child training series can be used by

therapists to work with small groups of children (six children per group) exhibiting high

rates of aggression and noncompliance. It

has been proven effective in decreasing

peer aggression and promoting appropriate conflict management skills, inducing

more cooperative behavior, and increasing children’s self-confidence.
7

Table 2 (cont.): Content and Objectives of the Incredible Years Early

Childhood BASIC Parent Training Programs (Ages 2–7)

Content Objectives

Program 3: Effective Limit Setting (cont.)

Part 2: Helping ● Dealing with children who test the limits.

Children Learn To ● Understanding when to divert and distract children.

Accept Limits ● Avoiding arguments and “why games.”

● Recognizing traps children set for parents.

● Ignoring inappropriate responses.

● Following through with commands effectively.

● Helping children to be more compliant.

Part 3: Dealing With ● Understanding how to implement timeouts for

Noncompliance noncompliance. ● Understanding ways to explain timeouts to children.

● Avoiding power struggles.

● Dealing with children who refuse to go to timeout or refuse

to stay in timeout.

● Ignoring children’s inappropriate responses.

● Following through effectively and consistently.

● Avoiding common mistakes concerning timeouts.

Program 4: Handling Misbehavior

Part 1: Avoiding ● Anticipating and avoiding frustration.

and Ignoring ● Showing disapproval.

Misbehavior ● Ignoring and distracting.

● Handling noncompliance, screaming, arguing, pleading,

and tantrums.

● Handling crying, grabbing, not eating, and refusing to

go to bed.

Part 2: Timeout and ● Explaining timeout to a school-age child.

Other Penalties ● Using timeout for hitting behaviors.

● Using the timeout chair with a toddler.

● Explaining timeout to a toddler.

● Using a timeout room with a toddler.

● Using timeout to help stop sibling fights.

● Following through when a child refuses to go to timeout.

● Dealing with spitting.

● Dealing with threats.

● Understanding and establishing logical consequences.

● Coping when discipline does not work.

● Dealing with the telephone syndrome.

● Dealing with the TV syndrome.

Part 3: Preventive ● Encouraging sharing and cooperation between children.

Strategies ● Using puppets and story books to teach children social skills.

● Talking and listening effectively.

● Problem solving with children.

● Reviewing points to remember when using timeouts.

appropriate problem-solving and discipline

strategies, children can develop social competence and reduce aggressive behavior

at home and at school.

Children with behavior problems often have

low academic achievement and low intellectual functioning during the elementary

grades and throughout high school. Reading disabilities are also associated with conduct disorders. Despite the documented

links between underachievement, language

delays, reading disabilities, and conduct

disorders, few attempts have been made to

increase the effectiveness of parent training

programs by providing parents with academic skills training. Parents, however, need

to know how to give their children academic

help, especially in reading and writing. Parents must also learn how to work with

teachers and schools to foster supportive

relationships between home and school.1

Contents and Program

Mechanics

Early Childhood BASIC Parent Training

Programs (Ages 2–7). The four early childhood BASIC parent training programs—

Play, Praise and Rewards, Effective Limit

Setting, and Handling Misbehavior—

employ a leader’s manual, participants’

books, and 10 videotapes. It is ideal to have

two leaders for each group (preferably a

male leader and a female leader). The

leader’s manual contains the video narration, an edited recap of each parent-child

interaction, a concise statement of important points, discussion topics and questions, homework assignments, handouts,

and a list of recommended readings. Brief

videotaped vignettes of parents interacting

with children in family life situations illustrate childrearing concepts. Group leaders

use these scenes to facilitate group discussion and problem solving. Participants discuss the principles of childrearing and

practice new skills through role-playing and

home practice activities. The BASIC programs, which can be self-administered or

offered for groups of 10 to 14 participants,

can be covered in twelve to fourteen 2-hour

sessions. See table 2 for the content and

objectives of the early childhood BASIC

parent training programs.

ADVANCE Parent Training Programs

(Ages 4–10). ADVANCE, a broader-based

family intervention, has the same theoretical

children. His “coercion hypothesis” states

that negative reinforcement develops and

maintains children’s deviant behaviors

and the parents’ and teachers’ critical or

coercive behaviors. The parents’ or teachers’ behaviors must therefore be changed

so that the children’s social interactions

can be altered. If parents and teachers

can learn to deal effectively with children’s

misbehavior and to model positive and

1

 A family’s ability to benefit from parent training is influenced by factors such as parental depression, marital

discord, negative life stressors, and poverty (WebsterStratton, 1985, 1990b; Webster-Stratton and Hammond,

1990). For some parents, ongoing expanded therapy

focusing on the parents’ needs, including life-crisis

management, depression management, problemsolving strategies, and marital therapy may be needed.

Trainers should be prepared to refer parents to these

services in conjunction with parent training. Training in

social skills, problem solving, and stress management

should also be provided for some children. Although

therapy cannot change the stressful situations a family

must face, it can help teach parents and children to cope

with them more effectively.
8

Table 3: Content and Objectives of the Incredible Years ADVANCE Parent

Training Programs (Ages 4–10)

Content Objectives

Program 5: How To Communicate Effectively With Adults and Children

Part 1: Active ● Understanding the importance of active listening skills.

Listening and ● Learning how to speak up effectively about problems.

Speaking Up ● Recognizing how to validate another’s feelings.

● Knowing how and when to express one’s own feelings.

● Avoiding communication blocks such as not listening,

storing up grievances, and angry explosions.

Part 2: Communicating ● Understanding the importance of recognizing self-talk.

More Positively to ● Understanding how angry and depressive emotions and

Oneself and to thoughts can affect behaviors with others.

Others ● Learning coping strategies to stop negative self-talk.

● Learning coping strategies to increase positive self-talk.

● Increasing positive and polite communication with others.

● Avoiding communication blocks such as put-downs,

blaming, and denials.

● Understanding the importance of seeing a problem from

the other person’s point of view.

Part 3: Giving and ● Understanding the importance of support for a family

Getting Support or an individual. ● Recognizing communication styles or beliefs that block

support.

● Fostering self-care and positive self-reinforcement

strategies in adults and children.

● Avoiding communication blocks such as defensiveness,

denials, cross complaints, and inconsistent or mixed

messages.

● Knowing how to get feedback from others.

● Understanding how to turn a complaint into a positive

recommendation.

● Promoting consistent verbal and nonverbal messages.

● Knowing how to make positive requests of adults and

children.

● Understanding why compliance with another’s request is

essential in any relationship.

● Learning how to be more supportive of others.

Program 6: Problem Solving for Parents

Part 1: Adult Problem- ● Recognizing when to use spontaneous problem-solving skills.

Solving Meetings ● Understanding the important steps to problem solving.

● Learning how and when to collaborate effectively.

● Avoiding blocks to effective problem solving such as

blaming, attacking, anger, sidetracking, lengthy problem

definition, missed steps, and criticizing solutions.

● Recognizing how to use problem-solving strategies to get

more support.

● Learning how to express feelings about a problem without

blaming.

Part 2: Family Problem- ● Understanding how to use the problem-solving steps with

Solving Meetings school-age children. ● Recognizing the importance of evaluating plans during

each problem-solving session.

● Understanding the importance of rotating the leader for

each family meeting.

● Learning how to help children express their feelings about

an issue.

● Reinforcing the problem-solving process.

foundation as the BASIC programs. Based

on cognitive social learning theory, the

ADVANCE programs—How To Communicate Effectively With Adults and Children,

Problem Solving for Parents, and Problem

Solving With Young Children—consist of a

leader’s manual and six videotapes. Offered

to groups of parents who have completed

the BASIC programs, the ADVANCE programs take ten to twelve 2-hour sessions

to complete. They review the material covered in the BASIC programs and help parents understand how to apply the principles

of communication and problem solving to

other relationships. See table 3 for the

content and objectives presented in the

ADVANCE programs.

Supporting Your Child’s Education Parent

Training Program (Ages 5–10). The EDUCATION Parent Training Program supplements the BASIC parenting programs by

focusing on ways to foster children’s academic competence, such as offering parents

strategies for reading and doing homework

with their children, fostering supportive

relationships with teachers, and setting

up coordinated plans between home and

school when necessary. It consists of two

videotapes and a manual. This program is

implemented after the completion of the

BASIC programs because it builds on the

behavioral principles regarding social skills

that were introduced in BASIC and applies

them to academic skills. See table 4 for

the content and objectives of the Supporting Your Child’s Education parent

training program.

School-Age BASIC Parent Training Programs (Ages 5–12). This multicultural series gives greater emphasis to strategies

for older children, including logical consequences, monitoring, problem solving,

and specific reference to problems such

as lying and stealing. There are two

programs—Promoting Positive Behaviors

in School-Age Children and Reducing

Inappropriate Behaviors in School-Age

Children—consisting of a leader’s manual

and three videotapes. See table 5 for the

content and objectives of the school-age

BASIC parent training programs.

Teacher Training Programs. The Incredible Years teacher training programs, developed in 1995, are six comprehensive

group discussion and intervention programs

for teachers, school counselors, and psychologists who work with children ages

4 to 10. The six programs are The Importance of Teacher Attention, Encouragement, and Praise; Motivating Children

Through Incentives; Preventing Problems—

The Proactive Teacher; Decreasing Students’
9

Inappropriate Behavior; Building Positive

Relationships With Students; and How To

Teach Social Skills, Problem Solving, and

Anger Management in the Classroom.

The teaching concepts are illustrated

with brief videotaped vignettes of teachers interacting with children in classrooms. The settings include large classrooms with 28 children and 1 teacher and

smaller special education classrooms

with multiple teachers. Group leaders

use the videotaped scenes (of teachers

handling problem situations effectively

and ineffectively) to facilitate discussion,

solve problems, and share ideas among

teachers. Group leaders help teachers

discuss important principles and practice new skills through role-playing and

homework assignments. The teacher

training programs consist of 12 videotapes. The leader’s manual contains the

complete text of the video narration, an

edited recap of the teacher-child interaction for each vignette, a concise statement of important points, discussion

topics and questions, readings and handouts, suggested classroom activities, and

a list of recommended readings. See table

6 for the content and objectives presented

during the teacher training programs.

Training Methods

The parent programs are designed as group

discussions with 12 to 14 parents per group

and 1 group leader (2 leaders if resources

permit). The group format fosters a sense

of community support, reduces isolation,

and normalizes parents’ experiences and

situations. This cost-effective approach

also allows for diverse problem-solving

experiences in a variety of family situations. Each parent is encouraged to have

a partner or close friend participate in

the program.

In this collaborative, nonblaming, and nonhierarchical training model, the leader is

not an “expert” who dispenses advice to

parents. Rather, the leader is a collaborator. Collaboration, meaning “to labor together,” implies a reciprocal relationship

that uses the leader’s and parents’ knowledge, strengths, and perspectives equally.

The leader promotes collaboration through

reflection, summary of points made by

parents, reframing, reinforcement, support and acceptance, humor and optimism, encouragement of each member’s

participation, teaching of important concepts, and role-playing exercises. The

collaborative process is described extensively in Troubled Families—Problem

Children (Webster-Stratton and Herbert,

1994), which is a required text for the

group leader training.

Approximately 60 percent of each session

is group discussion, problem solving, and

support; 25 percent is videotape modeling

(25 to 30 minutes of videotape); and 15

percent is teaching (Webster-Stratton and

Herbert, 1994). The Incredible Years parent training programs make use of the

following instructional approaches:

◆ Videotape modeling. Because the extent of conduct problems has created

a need for services that exceeds available personnel and resources, this

intervention had to be cost-effective,

widely applicable, and sustaining. Videotape modeling promised to be effective and cost efficient. Modeling theories of learning suggest that parents

can improve parenting skills by watching videotaped examples of parents

interacting with their children in ways

that promote prosocial behaviors and

decrease inappropriate behaviors

(Bandura, 1977). This method of training is more accessible, especially to

less verbally oriented parents, than

other methods such as didactic instruction, written handouts, or a sole

reliance on group or individual discussion. It promotes generalization and

long-term maintenance of positive behaviors by portraying a variety of models in many situations. Furthermore,

Table 3 (cont.): Content and Objectives of the Incredible Years ADVANCE

Parent Training Programs (Ages 4–10)

Content Objectives

Program 7: Problem Solving With Young Children

Part 1: Teaching ● Understanding that games and stories can be used to help

Children To Problem children begin to learn problem-solving skills.

Solve Through ● Appreciating the developmental nature and process of

Stories and Games problem solving and learning how to enhance these skills

in children.

● Strengthening a child’s beginning empathy skills or ability

to understand a problem from another person’s viewpoint.

● Recognizing why aggressive and shy children need to learn

these skills.

● Learning how to help children think about the emotional

and behavioral consequences of proposed solutions.

● Knowing how to help older children evaluate their

proposed solutions.

● Understanding the importance of validating children’s

feelings.

● Learning how to help children make more positive

attributions about another person’s intentions.

● Recognizing the value of adults’ modeling their ability to

solve problems for children to observe.

Part 2: Teaching ● Understanding the importance of not imposing solutions

Children To Problem upon children but of fostering a thinking process about

Solve in the Midst conflict.

of Conflict ● Recognizing how and when to use guided solutions for

very young children or for children who have no positive

solutions in their repertoire.

● Discovering the value of obtaining the child’s feelings and

view of the problem before attempting to solve the problem.

● Learning how to foster children’s skills to empathize and

perceive another’s point of view.

● Recognizing when children may be ready to solve the

problem on their own.

● Avoiding “blocks” to effective problem solving with

children, such as lectures, negative or quick judgments

about solutions, exclusive focus on the “right” answer, and

the failure to validate a child’s feelings.
10

try out a parenting strategy. At the start

of each session, the leader asks parents

to share their experiences with their

home activities and reading. The leader

can then assess whether parents are integrating the material into their daily lives.

◆ Weekly evaluations. Parents evaluate

each group session by completing a brief

weekly evaluation form, which gives the

leader immediate feedback about participants’ responses to the leader’s style,

the group discussions, and the content

presented in the session. If a parent is

dissatisfied or is having trouble with a

concept, the leader may want to call that

parent to resolve the issue. If the difficulty is shared by others, the leader can

bring it up at the next session.

Table 4: Content and Objectives of the Incredible Years Supporting Your

Child’s Education Parent Training Program (Ages 5–12)

Content Objectives

Program 8: How To Support Your Child’s Education

Part 1: Promoting ● Recognizing the capabilities of young children.

Your Child’s ● Providing positive support for children’s play.

Self-Confidence ● Helping children develop imaginative and creative play.

● Building children’s self-esteem and self-confidence in their

learning ability.

● Making learning enjoyable through play.

● Teaching children to solve problems.

● Understanding the importance of adult attention and

listening skills for children.

● Fostering children’s reading skills and story telling through

“interactive dialogue,” praise, and open-ended questions.

Part 2: Fostering Good ● Setting up a predictable routine.

Learning Habits ● Understanding how television interferes with learning.

● Incorporating effective limit setting regarding homework.

● Understanding how to follow through with limits.

● Understanding the importance of parental monitoring.

● Avoiding the criticism trap.

Part 3: Dealing With ● Helping children avoid a sense of failure when they cannot

Children’s do something.

Discouragement ● Recognizing the importance of children learning according

to their developmental ability and learning style.

● Understanding how to build on children’s strengths.

● Knowing how to set up tangible reward programs to help

motivate children in difficult areas.

● Understanding how to motivate children through praise

and encouragement.

Part 4: Participating ● Understanding the importance of parental attention, praise,

in Children’s and encouragement for children’s homework activities.

Homework ● Recognizing that every child learns different skills at

different rates according to her or his developmental ability.

● Understanding how to build on children’s strengths.

● Understanding how to show “active interest” in children’s

learning at home and at school.

Part 5: Using Parent- ● Understanding the importance of parental advocacy for

Teacher Conferences children in school.

To Advocate for ● Understanding how to focus on finding solutions to

Your Child children’s school difficulties (rather than blame). ● Recognizing effective communication and problem-solving

strategies in talking with teachers.

● Knowing ways to support teachers in their teaching efforts.

● Recognizing strategies to motivate children at school.

● Understanding the importance of continuity from home to

school.

videotape modeling is cost effective

because it can be widely disseminated.

The programs show parents and children of different sexes, ages, cultures,

socioeconomic backgrounds, and temperaments interacting with each other in

common family situations, such as eating dinner, getting dressed in the morning, and playing. The leader uses these

vignettes to trigger group discussion.

Participants identify key principles for

managing children’s behavior by watching examples of interaction that are positive, negative, or neither. By showing

negative examples, the notion of “perfect

parenting” is disproved and parents are

given the chance to think about and

practice alternative strategies that are

more effective. The videotapes stimulate

group discussion and problem solving,

and the leader ensures that the discussion addresses the topic and is understood by all parents. After each vignette,

the leader stops the videotape and asks

open-ended questions about the scenes.

Parents react to and discuss the episodes

and develop alternative responses to the

incidents portrayed.

◆ Role-playing and rehearsal. Roleplaying and rehearsal of unfamiliar or

newly acquired behaviors are commonly

used in parent training programs and are

effective in changing behavior (Eisler,

Hersen, and Agras, 1973; Twentyman

and McFall, 1975). Role-playing helps

parents anticipate situations more

clearly and dramatizes possible consequences of interactions. There are at

least four or five brief role-plays during

each session. The leader manual and

leader training provide helpful strategies

for making the role-playing comfortable

and useful for parents and leaders.

◆ Weekly homework activities. Every

session also involves a home assignment

or activity, which is presented as an integral part of the learning process. The

home activities help transfer the learning that takes place in group sessions to

real life at home and stimulate discussion at later sessions. Home activities

also convey the message that passive

involvement in the group will not work

magic; parents must work at home to

make changes. Parents are provided

with The Incredible Years (WebsterStratton, 1992) and asked to read a chapter each week to prepare for the next

session. Audiotapes are provided for

those who cannot read. Parents are also

asked to observe behaviors at home,

record their thoughts and feelings, or
11

ers by calling them regularly and meeting

with them individually at the school.

Training and Qualifications

of Group Leaders

Group leaders for the parent training programs may come from many disciplines,

including nursing, psychology, counseling,

social work, education, and psychiatry.

Group leaders should have taken university courses in child development and behavior management principles and have

experience working with families and young

children. Leader effectiveness, however, is

determined not so much by educational or

professional background as by the individual’s degree of comfort with the collaborative process and the ability to promote

intimacy and assume a role of friendship

with the families. A leader must be like a

friend who listens, asks for clarification, is

reflective and nonjudgmental, understands

the parent through empathy, and helps

solve problems but does not command,

instruct, or tell participants how to parent.

At the same time, the leader must also be

able to take charge, teach, and confront—

to explain behavioral principles and provide a clear rationale for them, challenge

families to see new perspectives, elicit

the strengths of the parent group, and

provide clear limits within the group when

necessary. This requires effective group

leadership skills.

Group leader certification by the developer

of the Incredible Years Training Series is

highly recommended and is required if

the program is to be evaluated as part of a

research program. This certification as a

group leader requires successful completion of the following components:

◆ Application form.

◆ Three-day training from a certified

trainer.

◆ Successful completion of a minimum of

two parent groups (each group lasting

12 sessions).

◆ Peer review of groups by coleader.

◆ Satisfactory completion of group

leader self-evaluations for each group.

◆ Satisfactory completion of two coleader

peer evaluations for each group.

◆ Submission of parent weekly evaluations from two groups and final cumulative parent evaluations. (Evaluation

materials are provided with program

materials.)

◆ Trainer review of groups by a certified

leader who observes onsite or by a

certification committee that reviews a

videotape of the group.

Parents can also receive training as coleaders to help certified leaders facilitate

groups. Parent coleaders first participate

as members of a parent group and then

apply to become coleaders. Selection is

based on natural group leadership skills,

interest in working with fellow parents,

and interpersonal skills. Once selected,

these parents receive leader training followed by an apprenticeship with two certified group leaders. Finally, they colead

with a certified leader.

Once a person has become certified as a

group leader, he or she is then eligible to

become certified as a mentor of group

leaders. Certification as a mentor requires

completion of the following components:

◆ Application form.

◆ Successful completion of a minimum of

three groups. (It is expected that certified mentors will have ongoing groups.)

◆ Completion of mentor training

workshops.

◆ Completion of leader training groups

under the supervision of a certified

trainer (or submission of 2-hour videotape of training and evaluations).

◆ Submission of evaluations from group

leaders who are mentored.

◆ Submission of leader training

evaluations.

Certified parent group leaders or teachers

who have completed the teacher training

are qualified to offer the teacher training

program. Trainers should have a background in school psychology, experience

teaching young children, and practice

working with parents.

Incredible Years Child

Training Program—

Dina Dinosaur Social

Skills and ProblemSolving Curriculum

The preschool and early grades are a strategic time to intervene directly with children and an optimal time to facilitate social competence. Research has shown that

a significant relationship exists between

poor peer relationships in early childhood

and long-term social and emotional maladjustment (Loeber, 1985). In the absence of

◆ Phone calls and makeup sessions. The

leader calls the parents every 2 weeks

to ask how things are going and whether

they are having any difficulty with the

home assignments. These calls allow

the leader and parents to get to know

one another outside the group, which

is particularly useful in the case of quiet

or reluctant parents. These calls also

reveal how well parents are assimilating

the material presented.

◆ Buddy calls. The leader creates a group

support system by assigning everyone

a parent “buddy” in the second session.

Buddies are asked to call each other during the week to share progress in home

assignments. This assignment is carried

out every few weeks throughout the program with different buddies each time.

Parents are often initially hesitant about

making these calls, but as they experience the support they receive from these

phone conversations, they usually express a desire to continue the calls. Many

fathers say that this is the first time they

have ever talked to another father about

parenting. If parents miss a session, buddies call them right away to let them

know they were missed and to fill them

in on the week’s material.

The collaborative training methods and processes used with teacher training groups

are similar to those used with parent groups.

Teachers come together in groups of 15 to

25 to discuss a series of vignettes. The facilitator encourages teachers to share their

ideas. It takes six full-day workshops to

complete all six components of the training.

This training may be offered 1 day a month

or in weekly 2-hour sessions (lasting 18 to

20 weeks). Whether these programs are

offered weekly or monthly will depend on

the school’s ability to release teachers

from class to do the training.

Teachers use videotape modeling, roleplaying, and practicing of key points just

as parent groups do. For example, teachers are given classroom assignments to

practice, such as praising a difficult student, using “proximity praise” during

circle time, or setting up a home/school

incentive program for an aggressive student. Assignments also include readings

from How to Promote Children’s Social and

Emotional Competence (Webster-Stratton,

1999). During the training, teachers develop behavior plans for targeted students

and, by the end of the school year, develop

a “transition plan” for students to take to

the next grade. The leader supports teach-
12

Table 5: Content and Objectives of the Incredible Years School-Age BASIC

Parent Training Programs (Ages 5–12)

Content Objectives

Program 9: Promoting Positive Behaviors in School-Age Children

Part 1: The ● Providing positive support for children’s play.

Importance of ● Helping children develop imaginative and creative play.

Parental Attention ● Building children’s self-esteem and self-confidence through

supportive parental attention.

● Understanding the importance of adult attention for

promoting positive child behaviors.

● Understanding how lack of attention and interest can lead

to child misbehaviors.

Part 2: Effective ● Knowing how to use praise effectively.

Praise ● Avoiding praise of perfection only.

● Recognizing common traps.

● Handling children who reject praise.

● Providing physical warmth.

● Recognizing child behaviors that need praise.

● Understanding the effects of social rewards on children.

● Doubling the impact of praise.

● Building children’s self-esteem.

Part 3: Tangible ● Understanding the difference between rewards and bribes.

Rewards ● Recognizing when to use the “first-then” rule.

● Providing ways to set up star and point systems with

children.

● Understanding how to develop programs that are ageappropriate.

● Understanding ways to use tangible rewards for reducing or

eliminating problems such as dawdling, not dressing,

noncompliance, not sharing, fighting with siblings, picky

eating, messy rooms, and not going to bed and for promoting

toilet training.

Program 10: Reducing Inappropriate Behaviors in School-Age Children

Part 1: Clear Limit ● Understanding the importance of household rules.

Setting ● Learning guidelines for giving effective commands.

● Avoiding the use of unnecessary commands.

● Identifying unclear, vague, and negative commands.

● Providing children with positive alternatives.

● Using “when-then” commands effectively.

● Understanding the importance of warnings and helpful

reminders.

Part 2: Ignoring ● Dealing effectively with children who test the limits.

Misbehavior ● Knowing when to divert and distract children.

● Avoiding arguments and “why games.”

● Understanding why it is important to ignore children’s

inappropriate responses.

● Following through with commands effectively.

● Recognizing how to help children be more compliant.

Part 3: Timeout ● Implementing timeout guidelines for noncompliance,

Consequences hitting, and destructive behaviors. ● Learning how to explain timeout to children.

● Avoiding power struggles.

● Implementing techniques for dealing with children who

refuse to go to timeout or will not stay in timeout.

● Recognizing common mistakes in using timeout.

● Understanding the importance of strengthening positive

behaviors.

treatment, child conduct problems intensify

after the child begins school, putting the

child at increased risk for peer rejection

and poor social skill development (Loeber

and Dishion, 1983). Before the middle

grades, most children already have had at

least 5 to 6 years of experience with peer

groups because they have participated

in daycare centers and preschools since

they were toddlers. Young aggressive children may have already established a pattern of social difficulty in the preschool

years that continues and becomes fairly

stable by the middle school years. Many

children with conduct problems have already been asked to leave four or five

schools by the time they are 6 years old,

and by the middle school grades, the aggressive child’s negative reputation and

peer group and parental rejection may be

well established (Coie, 1990). Even if the

child learns appropriate and effective social skills during the middle grades, this

pattern of rejection may make it difficult

for the child to use these skills to change

his or her image (Bierman and Furman,

1984). Thus, intervening at a young age

can help children develop effective social

skills early and reduce their aggressive

behaviors before these behaviors and

reputations develop into permanent patterns. Moreover, even though parent

training is likely to affect parent-child relationships at home, it is less likely to impact peer relationships. To address peer

problems, children must receive smallgroup training in problem-solving and

social skills, and trained teachers must

monitor and reinforce the use of such

skills at school (Webster-Stratton and

Hammond, 1997).

Content and Program

Mechanics

The Incredible Years Child Training

Program—Dina Dinosaur Social Skills and

Problem-Solving Curriculum—was developed in 1990 to teach positive interaction

skills to 4- to 8-year-olds who have conduct

problems. This intervention is designed to

enhance children’s school behaviors, promote social competence and positive peer

interactions, develop appropriate conflict

management strategies, enhance emotional

literacy, and reduce conduct problems. In

addition, the programs in the child training

series teach children ways to integrate into

the classroom and develop positive friendships. Finally, the programs are organized to

dovetail with the parent training programs.

There are six child training programs (seven

units) in the series: Making Friends and
13

Learning School Rules, Understanding and

Detecting Feelings, Detective Wally Teaches

Problem-Solving Steps (which includes a

unit on anger management), Molly Manners

Teaches How To Be Friendly, Molly Explains

How To Talk With Friends, and Dina Dinosaur

Teaches How To Do Your Best in School.

The series consists of a leader’s manual,

children’s and parents’ handouts, children’s

books, detective home activities manuals,

games and activities, and nine videotapes.

Treatment model. For treatment of children with conduct problems, the first five

programs are offered to groups of five or

six children in 2-hour sessions held once

a week for 22 weeks. If the series is seTable 5 (cont.): Content and Objectives of the Incredible Years School-Age

BASIC Parent Training Programs (Ages 5–12)

Content Objectives

Program 10: Reducing Inappropriate Behaviors in School-Age Children (cont.)

Part 4: Consequences, ● Implementing guidelines for avoiding power struggles.

Extra Chores, and ● Recognizing when to use logical consequences, privilege

Startup Commands removal, or startup commands. ● Understanding what to do when discipline does not seem

to work.

● Recognizing when to ignore children’s inappropriate

responses and how to avoid power struggles.

● Understanding how natural and logical consequences

increase children’s sense of responsibility.

● Understanding when to use work chores with children.

● Understanding the importance of parental monitoring

at all ages.

Part 5: Problem ● Understanding the importance of adults not imposing

Solving With solutions on children but rather fostering a “thinking

Children process” about conflict. ● Recognizing how and when to use “guided solutions” for

young children.

● Recognizing how to foster children’s empathy skills.

● Understanding ways to encourage children’s generation of

solutions to problems.

● Learning how to help children think about and evaluate

consequences to proposed solutions.

● Recognizing when children may be ready to solve problems

on their own.

● Understanding how to use the problem-solving strategies in

a family meeting.

Part 6: Special ● Promoting open communication between adults and

Problems: Lying, children.

Stealing, and Hitting ● Understanding the problem steps: (1) problem definition,

(2) brainstorming, (3) evaluating, and (4) planning and

followup.

● Avoiding “blocks” to effective problem solving with

children, such as lectures, negative or quick judgments

about solutions, excessive focus on the “right” answer,

and the failure to validate a child’s feelings.

● Exploring the advantages and disadvantages of spanking

versus grounding, timeout, and loss of privileges.

quenced beginning with the onset of the

school year, then program number 6 (Dina

Dinosaur Teaches How To Do Your Best in

School) should be offered right after program 1 (Making Friends and Learning

School Rules) and followed by the other

four programs in the order listed above.

Prevention model. The series can also be

offered as a classroomwide curriculum to

promote social and emotional competence in all children (preschool through

grade three). It is implemented two to

three times a week in 20- to 30-minute

circle time discussions accompanied by

20-minute practice activities during the

day. The sixth program of the teacher

training series, developed in 1998, consists of five videotapes and manuals that

show teachers how to use the Dinosaur curriculum as a prevention program with large

groups of students. See table 7 for a list of

the content and objectives of these child

training programs.

Training Methods

Methods for teaching social skills to

young children must be commensurate

with the children’s learning styles, temperaments, and cognitive abilities. Approaches used with elementary school

children are not likely to work with preschoolers. Training programs for older

children often require verbal and cognitive skills that preschool children do not

have (Ladd, 1981). The child training programs make use of the following instructional approaches.

◆ Videotape modeling. Younger children

usually benefit more from a concrete

performance-based approach, such as

videotape modeling, than they do from

a purely cognitive or verbal approach.

Although no comprehensive videotape

modeling treatments have been designed

to train aggressive children in prosocial

skills, research attests to the effects of

television on children’s behaviors

(Singer, 1982; Singer and Singer, 1983).

Reviews of research show convincingly

that children learn a great deal from

television. Unfortunately, this learning

may be harmful without adult mediation,

especially in the case of aggressive cartoons and violent news programs (Singer,

1985; Singer and Singer, 1983). Few

age-specific television programs are

designed to enhance prosocial behavior in children, with the exception of

Mister Rogers, which was designed for

preschoolers. Available data suggest

that children show a significant increase

in positive behaviors after watching this

program (Singer and Singer, 1983). Young

children learn best from programs that

are paced slowly at comprehensible

levels and include adult voice-overs or

“real” adults who explain visual action

sequences (Singer, 1982).

The Dina Dinosaur curriculum uses videotape modeling in every session. The

scenes selected for each unit are based

on interactions that occur naturally between children at home, at school, or in

the University of Washington’s Parenting

Clinic’s laboratory playroom. In addition,

the leader and puppets serve as coping

models (as opposed to expert models)

who self-disclose and share mistakes
14

Themes for the role-plays are based on

the leader’s knowledge of each child’s

unique family situation and particular

needs. For example, children who have

experienced traumas such as physical

or sexual abuse will have role-plays

initiated by the puppets demonstrating

what to do when confronted with an

angry parent or a situation involving

personal safety. Children who have experienced loss such as the death of a

parent or divorce will engage in roleplays that center around the fear of

abandonment or anger at a parent for

disappearing. In addition, children’s

ongoing and current problems such as

being teased or rejected at school by

peers, being sent home with a note

Table 6: Content and Objectives of the Incredible Years Teacher Training

Programs (Ages 4–10)

Program 1: The Importance of Teacher Attention, Encouragement, and Praise

● Using praise and encouragement more effectively.

● Building children’s self-esteem and self-confidence by teaching children how to

praise themselves.

● Understanding the importance of general praise to the whole group as well as

individual praise.

● Knowing the importance of praising social and academic behaviors.

● Recognizing common traps.

● Using physical warmth as a reinforcer.

● Providing nonverbal cues of appreciation.

● Doubling the impact of praise by involving other school personnel and parents.

● Helping children learn how to praise others and enjoy others’ achievements.

Program 2: Motivating Children Through Incentives

● Understanding why incentives are valuable teaching strategies for children with

behavior problems.

● Understanding ways to use an incentive program for social problems such as

noncompliance, inattentiveness, uncooperativeness, and hyperactivity and

for academic problems.

● Setting up individual incentive programs for particular children.

● Using group or classroom incentives.

● Designing programs that have variety and build on the positive relationship

between the teacher, child, and parent.

● Using incentives in a way that fosters the child’s internal motivation and focuses

on the process of learning rather than the end product.

● Providing unexpected rewards.

● Appreciating the importance of involving parents in incentive programs.

Program 3: Preventing Behavior Problems—The Proactive Teacher

● Preparing children for transitions.

● Establishing clear, predictable classroom rules.

● Using guidelines for giving effective commands or instructions.

● Identifying unclear, vague, and negative commands.

● Understanding the value of warnings and helpful reminders, especially for

distractible and impulsive children.

● Engaging children’s attention.

● Using nonverbal signals and cues for communication.

● Recognizing the need for ongoing monitoring and positive attention.

from the teacher, being sent to timeout,

or running away from school are also

the scripts for role-plays and for practicing appropriate solutions. Programs

are tailored to help children with their

individual needs and to teach them a

common set of appropriate social skills

and conflict management strategies.

◆ Activities. Targeted play skills are practiced through cooperative art projects;

guessing games; creative activities with

blocks and clay; feeling, “let’s suppose,”

and bingo games; and plays. There are

also four children’s books specifically

written to promote effective problem

solving around common conflict situations that occur at home or at school

with the children in problem-solving

discussions.

◆ Fantasy play and instruction. Fantasy

play provides the context for this program because a high level of sociodramatic play in preschool children is

associated with sustained and reciprocal verbal interaction and high levels

of affective role-taking (Connolly and

Doyle, 1984). Fantasy play gives children

the opportunity to develop intimacy

(Gottman and Parkhurst, 1980) and

work out emotional issues (Gottman,

1987). For children of preschool age,

sociodramatic play is an important

context for the development of perspective taking, social participation,

group cooperation, and intimacy skills.

It is also a skill to be fostered.

In this curriculum, the children are instructed by using near life-sized human

puppets and a variety of animal puppets.

These puppets narrate the videotaped

scenes and give information about key

concepts. For example, when the children first come to “Dinosaur School,”

Dina the Dinosaur teaches them about

the school’s “dinosaur rules.” The children learn how to earn tangible rewards

(“dinosaur chips”) for good behaviors.

They learn which behaviors are prohibited and what the consequences are for

breaking a rule. Tiny, the turtle puppet,

teaches children how to control anger

by using their “shells” as protection

when they become angry. Wally

Problem-Solver and Molly Manners

teach them how to solve problems such

as being teased or bullied by others, feeling left out, lying and stealing, coping

with disappointment, being afraid and

anxious, and making new friends.

◆ Role-playing. Role-playing activities

provide opportunities to practice new

skills and experience different perspectives. For example, a difficult situation

may be role-played with the child as

the parent and the leader as the child.

A regular activity in the classes is to

play the “let’s suppose” game. The children role-play a situation such as “Suppose your mother was angry at you for

breaking her best vase. What would

you do?” With children ages 4 to 6, the

role-playing can be acted out by a child

and a leader while the second leader sits

with the remaining children and helps

them think of alternative responses.

Older children put on skits in pairs with

one leader acting as coach.
15

Table 6 (cont.): Content and Objectives of the Incredible Years Teacher

Training Programs (Ages 4–10)

Program 4: Decreasing Students’ Inappropriate Behavior

● Knowing how to redirect and engage children.

● Knowing how and when to ignore inappropriate responses from children.

● Using verbal and nonverbal cues to reengage off-task children.

● Understanding the importance of reminders and warnings.

● Using guidelines for setting up timeout in the classroom.

● Avoiding common mistakes in using timeout.

● Handling common misbehaviors such as impulsivity, disengagement,

noncompliance, tantrums, and disruptive behaviors.

● Using the color cards system.

● Recognizing when to use logical consequences or removal of privileges as

discipline.

Program 5: Building Positive Relationships With Students

● Building positive relationships with difficult students.

● Showing students you trust and believe in them.

● Fostering students’ sense of responsibility for the classroom and their

involvement in other students’ learning in addition to their own.

● Giving students choices when possible.

● Teaching students how to ask for what they want in appropriate ways.

● Fostering listening and speaking skills between students.

● Fostering “feeling talk” between students.

● Teaching students how to solve problems through role-plays and examples.

● Promoting positive self-talk.

● Implementing strategies to counter students’ negative attributions and

reputations within the classroom and in the community of parents.

● Promoting positive relationships with students’ parents.

Program 6: How To Teach Social Skills, Problem Solving, and Anger Management

in the Classroom

● Helping increase children’s awareness of different feelings and perspectives in

social situations.

● Building children’s emotional vocabulary.

● Understanding how to help children identify a problem and to generate possible

solutions.

● Helping children learn to anticipate different consequences and to evaluate the

most effective solutions.

● Helping children recognize their anger and learn ways to manage it successfully.

● Using puppets to present hypothetical problem situations such as being teased,

bullied, or isolated by other children.

● Providing small-group activities to practice friendship, group entry, play, and

problem-solving skills.

● Helping children learn how to use friendly talk such as giving compliments,

providing suggestions, offering apologies, asking for help, and sharing ideas and

feelings.

● Helping children learn classroom behavior such as listening, quiet hand up,

cooperating, and following the teacher’s directions.

(see list on page 23). Activities designed

for this curriculum not only address

social and emotional issues, but they

also address academic skills such as

reading, writing, school readiness, fine

and gross motor, language and communication, cognitive and creative, following direction, and listening.

◆ Feedback and reinforcement. During

the sessions, the leader rewards each

child’s appropriate behaviors and ability to follow the rules by labeling the behavior, praising it, and giving tangible

rewards. Midway through the curriculum, the behavior goals are individualized according to each child’s specific

needs. For example, one child might

work for a reward by staying seated

and not interrupting the leader, while

another works to find three positive

solutions to a problem. Toward the end

of the curriculum, leaders give out tangible rewards less frequently and maintain behaviors with praise and attention.

◆ Fostering skills maintenance and generalization. The children are encouraged to use their new skills outside the

training environment. Because preschoolers find this difficult, leaders

make great efforts to help children apply

the skills learned in training to their

homes, classrooms, and playgrounds.

Parents and teachers are also asked to

reinforce the concepts taught. For each

session, letters are sent to parents and

teachers explaining the children’s behaviors that should be reinforced at home

and at school. For each unit, children

are given a detective home activities

manual that they are asked to do at home

and to have parents sign off when completed. When a certain number of activities are completed for each unit, the

children receive the dinosaur button

for that unit. Ideally, parents are also

given training in social skills so they

can reinforce the concepts at home.

Training and Qualifications

of Child Group Leaders

Group leaders for the child training programs

may come from many disciplines, including

nursing, psychology, counseling, social work,

education, and psychiatry. Group leaders

should have taken university courses in child

development and classroom management

principles and have experience working with

families and young children. Leader effectiveness, however, is determined not so much

by educational or professional background

as by the individual’s degree of comfort

with children and enjoyment in working

with them. Group leaders are playful, creative, flexible people who have good interpersonal skills and who can set clear limits.

It is highly preferable if group leaders have

participated in the teacher training workshops (or at least have completed the training exercises as a self-administered program)

before beginning to implement this series.

As for parent group leaders, child group

leader certification by the developer of

the Incredible Years Training Series is

highly recommended and is required if

the program is to be evaluated as part of

a research program. This certification

process is identical to the process required for certified parent group leaders

and mentors.
16

Table 7: Content and Objectives of the Incredible Years Child Training

Programs (a.k.a. Dina Dinosaur Social Skills and Problem-Solving

Curriculum) (Ages 4–8)

Content Objectives

Program 1: Making Friends and Learning School Rules

Introduction to ● Understanding the importance of rules.

Dinosaur School ● Participating in the process of rulemaking.

● Understanding what will happen if rules are broken.

● Learning how to earn rewards for good behaviors.

● Learning to build friendships.

Program 2: Understanding and Detecting Feelings

Parts 1 and 2: Wally ● Learning words for different feelings.

Teaches Clues to ● Learning how to tell how someone is feeling from

Detecting Feelings verbal and nonverbal expressions.

and Wally Teaches ● Increasing awareness of nonverbal facial communication

Clues to Under- used to portray feelings.

standing Feelings ● Learning different ways to relax.

● Understanding why different feelings occur.

● Understanding feelings from different perspectives.

● Practicing talking about feelings.

Program 3: Detective Wally Teaches Problem-Solving Steps

Parts 1–3: Identifying ● Learning how to identify a problem.

Problems and ● Thinking of solutions to hypothetical problems.

Solutions, Finding ● Learning verbal assertive skills.

More Solutions, ● Learning how to inhibit impulsive reactions.

and Thinking of ● Understanding what an apology means.

Consequences ● Thinking of alternative solutions to problem situations

such as being teased and hit.

● Learning to understand that solutions have different

consequences.

● Learning how to critically evaluate solutions—one’s own

and others.

Parts 4 and 5: ● Recognizing that anger can interfere with good problem

Detective Wally solving.

Teaches How To ● Understanding Tiny Turtle’s story about managing anger

Control Anger and and getting help.

Problem Solving ● Understanding when apologies are helpful.

Step 7 and Review ● Recognizing anger in selves and others.

● Understanding that anger is okay to feel “inside” but not to

act out by hitting or hurting someone else.

● Learning how to control angry reactions.

● Understanding that things that happen are not necessarily

hostile or deliberate attempts to hurt.

● Practicing alternative responses to being teased, bullied, or

yelled at by an angry adult.

● Learning skills to cope with another person’s anger.

Research Studies and

Results

Over the past 17 years, a series of studies

evaluated the Incredible Years Parents,

Teachers, and Children Training Series.2

Studies of the BASIC Parent

Training Programs

In the first study, 35 nonclinic families

were randomly assigned to BASIC parent

training or to a waiting-list control group.

Results indicated that the BASIC programs

caused highly significant attitudinal and

behavioral changes in participating

middle-class, nonclinic mothers and children (ages 3 to 6) compared with control

groups. Nearly all the changes were maintained at the 1-year followup (WebsterStratton, 1981, 1982a, 1982b).

A second study randomly assigned 35

clinic families (with children having conduct problems) to one of three groups:

◆ One-on-one personalized parent therapy.

◆ Videotape-based group therapy (BASIC).

◆ Waiting-list control group.

These clinic families were at high risk because of the large number of single parents,

low socioeconomic status, low mean education level, high prevalence of child abuse,

and the deviant nature of the children.

BASIC training was as effective as high-cost,

one-on-one therapy, and both treatments

were superior to the control group in regard

to attitudinal and behavioral changes. Moreover, at the 1-year followup, no differences

were noted between the two treatment

groups, and most of the children continued to improve. BASIC training was five

times more cost effective than one-on-one

therapy, using 48 hours of therapist time

versus 251 hours of therapist time. Approximately 70 percent of both treatment groups

maintained significant positive behavioral

changes at the 1-year followup. Families

who had little or no social support were

most likely to relapse following treatment

(Webster-Stratton, 1984, 1985).

A third study was conducted to ascertain

the most efficient and effective component

of BASIC training. Parents of 114 conductproblem children, ages 3 to 8, were randomly assigned to one of four groups:◆ Individually (or self-) administered

videotape modeling (IVM).

◆ Videotape-based group therapy (BASIC).

◆ Group therapy alone (GD).

◆ Waiting-list control group.

Compared with the control group, mothers

in all three treatment groups reported

significantly fewer child behavior problems,

more prosocial behaviors, and less use of

spanking following treatment. Fathers in

the IVM and BASIC groups and teachers of

children whose parents were in the BASIC

and GD groups also reported significant

reductions in behavior problems compared

with control subjects. Data collected from

home visits indicated that, for all treatment

2

 Sources marked by an asterisk in the lists of References and Related Readings at the end of this Bulletin

provide descriptions and evaluations of the Incredible

Years Parents, Teachers, and Children Training Series.
17

Table 7 (cont.): Content and Objectives of the Incredible Years Child

Training Programs (a.k.a. Dina Dinosaur Social Skills and

Problem-Solving Curriculum) (Ages 4–8)

Content Objectives

Program 4: Molly Manners Teaches How To Be Friendly

Parts 1–4: Helping, ● Learning what friendship means and how to be friendly.

Sharing, Teamwork ● Understanding ways to help others.

at School, and ● Learning the concept of sharing and the relationship

Teamwork at Home between sharing and helping. ● Learning what teamwork means.

● Understanding the benefits of sharing, helping, and

teamwork.

● Practicing friendship skills.

Program 5: Molly Explains How To Talk With Friends

● Learning how to ask questions and tell something to a friend.

● Learning how to listen carefully to what a friend is saying.

● Understanding why it is important to speak up about

something that is bothering one.

● Understanding how and when to give an apology or

compliment.

● Learning how to enter into a group of children who are

already playing.

● Learning how to make suggestions rather than give

commands.

● Practicing friendship skills.

Program 6: Dina Dinosaur Teaches How To Do Your Best in School

Parts 1 and 2: ● Learning how to listen, wait, avoid interruptions, and put

Listening, Waiting, up a quiet hand to ask questions in class.

Quiet, Hands Up; ● Learning how to handle other children who poke fun and

and Concentrating, interfere with one’s ability to work at school.

Checking, and ● Learning how to stop, think, and check work first.

Cooperating ● Learning the importance of cooperation with the teacher

and other children.

● Practicing concentration and good classroom skills.

groups, mothers, fathers, and children

exhibited significant behavioral changes.

Relatively few differences were noted between treatment groups on most outcome measures, but these differences

consistently favored BASIC training. Cost

effectiveness, however, was the major advantage of the IVM treatment (WebsterStratton, Kolpacoff, and Hollinsworth, 1988;

Webster-Stratton, 1990b).

At the 1-year followup, 93.1 percent of families were assessed. All significant behavioral

changes reported immediately after treatment were maintained 1 year later. Moreover, parent report data indicated that both

mothers and fathers perceived a further

reduction in child behavior problems. Few

differences were found among the three

treatment groups except for the differences

in consumer satisfaction, which indicated

that BASIC training was superior. With each

of the treatment programs, 70 percent of

the sample showed clinically significant

improvement to within normal ranges

(Webster-Stratton, Kolpacoff, and

Hollinsworth, 1988).

A fourth study was conducted to determine

how to enhance the effectiveness of the

self-administered videotape therapy while

maintaining its cost effectiveness. Parents

of 43 conduct-problem children were assigned to one of three groups:

◆ Individually administered videotape

modeling (IVM) program.

◆ IVM plus therapist consultation (IVMC).

◆ Waiting-list control group.

In comparison with the control group, both

groups of mothers receiving treatment reported significantly fewer child behavior

problems, reduced stress levels, and less

use of spanking after intervention. Data

from home visits indicated that both treatment groups exhibited significant behavioral changes. Relatively few differences on

the outcome measures were found between

the two treatment conditions, but children

in the IVMC group were significantly less

deviant than the children in the individually

administered videotape program, suggesting that combined treatment was superior

(Webster-Stratton, 1990a).

A fifth study examined the effectiveness of

BASIC training as a universal prevention

intervention with a sample of 362 Head

Start mothers and their 4-year-old children.

Eight Head Start centers were randomly

assigned to two groups:

◆ An experimental group in which parents,

teachers, and family service workers

participated in the intervention.

◆ A control group in which parents, teachers, and family service workers participated in the regular center-based Head

Start program.

The results from observations at the postintervention assessment indicated that

mothers in the intervention group made

significantly fewer critical remarks and commands, used less harsh discipline, and were

more nurturing, reinforcing, and competent

in their parenting when compared with

mothers in the control group. Intervention

mothers reported that their discipline was

more consistent and that they used fewer

physically and verbally negative discipline

techniques. They also used more appropriate limit-setting techniques. In turn, the

children of mothers in the intervention

group exhibited significantly fewer negative behaviors and conduct problems, less

noncompliance, less negative affect and

more positive affect, and more prosocial

behaviors than children in the control

group. One year later, most of the improvements noted in the intervention mothers’

parenting skills and in their children’s affect and behavior were maintained, including increased contacts with new teachers,

as compared with mothers in the control

group (Webster-Stratton, 1998). These

results were recently replicated in a seventh

study (discussed on page 18) that offered a

longer parent program spanning the Head

Start and kindergarten years.

Study of the ADVANCE

Parent Training Programs

A sixth study (Webster-Stratton, 1994)

examined the effects of adding the ADVANCE

intervention component to the BASIC
18

intervention. Parents of 78 families with

children with ODD/CD received the BASIC

parent training and then were randomly

assigned to either ADVANCE training for

12 weeks or no further contact. Families

were assessed at 1 month, 1 year, and 2

years after treatment through parent and

teacher reports of child adjustment and

parent distress (i.e., depression, anger, and

stress) and direct observations of parentchild interactions and marital interactions

such as discussing a problem. For both

treatment groups, child adjustment and

parent-child interactions significantly improved and parent distress and child behavior problems decreased. These changes

were maintained at followup. In comparison with their counterparts, ADVANCE

children showed significant increases in

the total number of solutions generated

during problem solving, most notably in

prosocial solutions as compared with aggressive solutions. Observations of parents’ marital interactions indicated significant improvements in ADVANCE parents’

communication, problem solving, and collaboration when compared with parents

who did not receive ADVANCE training.

Only one family dropped out of ADVANCE

training, which attests to its perceived

usefulness by families. All the families attended more than two-thirds of the sessions, with the majority attending more

than 90 percent of the sessions.

Study of the Teacher

Training Programs With the

BASIC Plus ADVANCE

Parent Training Programs

A seventh study examined the effectiveness of the BASIC plus ADVANCE programs

and the teacher training programs with a

sample of 272 Head Start mothers and 61

teachers. Fourteen Head Start centers

were randomly assigned to two groups:

◆ An experimental condition in which

parents, teachers, and family service

workers participated in the prevention

programs (BASIC plus ADVANCE plus

EDUCATION and teacher training).

◆ A control condition in which parents,

teachers, and family service workers

participated in the regular center-based

Head Start program (control).

The combined BASIC plus ADVANCE plus

EDUCATION program was a 16-week, 2-hour

weekly parent program offered by Family

Service Workers. The 12-week BASIC program was offered to parents in the Head

Start year and a 4-week abbreviated version

of ADVANCE plus EDUCATION program

was offered in the kindergarten year

(based on problem solving with partners

and teachers, promoting reading and academic skills, and peer coaching). All teachers and aides received 6-day workshops

sequenced over the year (monthly), which

focused on classroom management skills,

relationship building with students and

parents, and ways to promote social and

emotional competence in the classroom.

Those in the control Head Start centers

received their usual services.

Home observations indicated that mothers

in the intervention group were significantly

less harsh and critical in their discipline

approaches and significantly more positive

and nurturing and that they used more

problem-solving approaches in their interactions with their children than mothers in

the control group. Intervention mothers

reported that their discipline was more

positive and less harsh or punitive, that

they used more monitoring, and that they

were more involved in activities with their

children than control mothers. Teachers

reported that mothers in the intervention

group were more involved in their children’s

education. Children of mothers who attended six or more intervention sessions

received lower ratings on independent observations of inappropriate behavior than

children in the control group and were observed to exhibit significantly fewer negative behaviors and conduct problems, less

noncompliance, and less negative affect

than children in the control group.

Results of classroom observations indicated that teachers in the intervention

group were significantly less critical in

their discipline approaches and more positive in their interactions with their students

than teachers in the control group. Teachers from the intervention condition reported making significantly more effort to

involve parents in their classrooms than

control teachers. Students in the intervention classrooms were observed to exhibit

significantly fewer negative behaviors, less

noncompliance with teachers, and less

physical aggression with peers than students in control classrooms. Intervention

children were more engaged or on task in

the classroom and had higher school

readiness scores (e.g., friendly, self-reliant,

on task, low disruption) than control children. Overall classroom atmosphere was

significantly more positive for intervention

classrooms than control classrooms. Teachers also reported the intervention students

to be more socially competent than the

control students.

One year later, most of the improvements

noted in the intervention mothers’ parenting skills and in their children’s affect

and behavior were maintained. Two-year

followups are currently being conducted.

(Webster-Stratton and Reid, 1999a, 1999b).

Study of the Child Training

Programs (Dina Dinosaur

Curriculum)

The Dina Dinosaur curriculum for children

was evaluated in a randomized trial with

4- to 7-year-olds who had conduct disorders. Families of 97 children with earlyonset conduct problems were randomly

assigned to one of four groups:

◆ Child training only.

◆ Parent training only (BASIC plus

ADVANCE).

◆ Combined parent and child training

intervention.

◆ Waiting-list control group.

Results showed that the combined parent

and child training was more effective than

parent training alone and that both were

superior to the control group. The child

training programs resulted in significant

improvements in observed peer interactions. Children who had gone through the

Dinosaur curriculum were significantly

more positive in their social skills and conflict management strategies with peers than

either children whose parents received parent training only or children in the control

group. One year later, the combined parent

and child intervention showed the most

sustained effects (Webster-Stratton and

Hammond, 1997).

Analyses of the clinical significance (measured by reduction in total child deviant

behaviors at home) revealed that the

combined parent and child intervention

showed the most sustained effects on child

behavior, with a 95-percent decrease in

deviant behaviors since baseline (compared with reduction of 74 percent for the

child-only condition and 60 percent for

the BASIC plus ADVANCE parent condition) (Webster-Stratton and Reid, 1999c).

Study of the Teacher

Training Programs With the

BASIC Plus ADVANCE Plus

EDUCATION Parent Training

Programs and the Child

Training Programs

The Incredible Years Teacher Training

Program was evaluated in a randomized
19

trial with 133 children with early onset conduct problems. Families were randomly

assigned to one of six groups:

◆ Parent training (BASIC plus ADVANCE)

only.

◆ Child training (Dina Dinosaur Curriculum) only.

◆ Parent training (BASIC plus ADVANCE

plus EDUCATION) and teacher training.

◆ Parent training (BASIC plus ADVANCE

plus EDUCATION), teacher training,

and child training.

◆ Child training and teacher training.

◆ Waiting-list control group.

The BASIC plus ADVANCE parent training

consisted of twenty-two 2-hour weekly

sessions as described above. The parent

training condition that included teacher

training also included the EDUCATION program, a parent training component related

to helping parents promote children’s

academic skills through effective reading

skills, homework routines, and enhanced

collaboration with teachers. The 20- to 22-

week child training program is described

above. The teacher training component

consisted of four full-day workshops offered

monthly and a minimum of two school consultations in which the parent and group

leader met with the teacher at school to

plan an individual behavior plan. Regular

calls were made to teachers to support their

efforts and to inform them of the progress

of the child at home.

Results immediately posttreatment suggest

that combining EDUCATION training for

parents with training for teachers improves

children’s outcomes in terms of strengthening both academic and social skills in the

classroom, promoting more positive peer

relationships, and ensuring that behavior

problems are reduced at school and at

home (Webster-Stratton and Reid, 1999c).

Summary of Incredible

Years Training Series’

Effectiveness

As noted above, the BASIC program appears

highly effective in reducing child conduct

problems by promoting social competence,

reducing parents’ violent methods of discipline, and improving their child management skills. For clinic children with conduct problems, the cycle of aggression

appears to have been halted for approximately two-thirds of the treated families.

(This includes both clinic and prevention

studies.) For the Head Start children, many

of whom are at high risk because of extreme poverty, protective factors such as

positive parenting and children’s social

competence were enhanced.

The BASIC program was evaluated first as a

treatment program in a series of 4 randomized studies with more than 800 children

ages 3 to 8 who were referred for conduct

problems. The BASIC program significantly

improved parental attitudes and parentchild interactions, reduced parents’ use of

violent forms of discipline, and reduced

child conduct problems (Webster-Stratton,

1982a, 1984, 1989, 1990b, 1994; WebsterStratton, Hollinsworth, and Kolpacoff, 1989).

The BASIC program was then evaluated as

a selective prevention program in two randomized trials with more than 500 Head

Start families with preschool children. This

population was considered to be at high

risk for conduct disorder because of the

increased number of risk factors associated

with poverty (Webster-Stratton, 1998). Results indicated that the parenting skills of

Head Start parents who received BASIC

training and the social competence of their

children significantly improved compared

with the control group. These data supported the hypothesis that strengthening

parenting competence and increasing the

involvement of high-risk mothers in

children’s school-related activities would

help prevent children’s conduct problems

and promote social competence (WebsterStratton, 1998). In a second randomized

study with Head Start families, parent training was offered to parents of children in

the Head Start and kindergarten years. In

the kindergarten year, parents were offered

the Supporting Your Child’s Education program, which focuses on reading skills, and

the ADVANCE program, which focuses on

problem solving and peer coaching. The

results, which replicated those of the first

study, included increased parental involvement in schools and enhanced school readiness scores among the children (WebsterStratton and Reid, 1999b).

The ADVANCE program has been shown

to be a highly productive treatment for promoting parents’ use of effective problemsolving and communication skills, reducing maternal depression, and increasing

children’s social and problem-solving

skills (Webster-Stratton, 1994). Users

have been highly satisfied with both

programs, and the dropout rates have

been low regardless of the family’s socioeconomic status. Improvements in

child conduct problems and parenting

interactions have been sustained up to

4 years after intervention (WebsterStratton, 1990b).

The effectiveness of the teacher training

program has been tested by more than

200 Head Start teachers and 140 kindergarten through third grade teachers, with

excellent teacher satisfaction. A randomized study with 4- to 8-year-olds who have

been diagnosed with ODD/CD has recently

been completed comparing groups receiving BASIC parent training and teacher

training; child training and teacher training; BASIC parent training, teacher training, and child training; and the waitinglist control group. Results indicate that

teacher-trained classrooms, when compared with classrooms in the control

condition, had significantly fewer students who were misbehaving, off task,

disruptive, or aggressive with peers and

teachers. Teachers and parents from the

combined intervention conditions reported

a significantly higher level of collaboration, stronger home-school connections,

and children with fewer behavior problems. In a second randomized study, the

teacher training program was evaluated

with more than 200 Head Start teachers.

Results showed that in classrooms where

teachers received the 6-day training, children were significantly less aggressive,

more socially competent, and more on

task and had higher school readiness

scores than children in control Head

Start classrooms where teachers did not

receive the program (Webster-Stratton

and Reid, 1999a).

Finally, in a randomized study, the Dina

Dinosaur program was compared with

BASIC parent training, BASIC parent training plus child training, child training alone,

and a waiting-list control group. The results showed that the combined parent

and child training was more effective than

parent training alone and that both were

superior to the control group. The child

training program resulted in significantly

improved social skills and positive conflict management strategies with peers

(Webster-Stratton and Hammond, 1997).

Implementing the

Programs in Applied

Settings

At present, the Incredible Years parent

training has been adopted by several hundred service agencies in 43 States of the

United States and in Canada, the United

Kingdom, Norway, and Australia. These
20

agencies include children’s mental health

agencies, family support services, child

protection services, Head Start programs,

health management organizations, national

health services, and school systems. Experience suggests that agencies that have

had the greatest success in integrating the

Incredible Years Training Series as an ongoing part of their regular service have

shared certain common elements. These

include:

◆ Administrative support and championing of the program. Administrative

championing involves not merely authorizing the adoption of the new program, but showing active, continued

interest. It also includes a willingness

to authorize changes in the way services are usually offered to facilitate

the new program (e.g., allowing staff to

take leave time in exchange for leading

evening groups, paying for childcare

for the group).

◆ Training and ongoing consultation

through the initial groups so providers can become “certified” as group

leaders. Service agencies that have

arranged for staff to attend an authorized introductory workshop in the

program, along with additional consultation through the initial groups (often

including sending videotapes of group

workshops for feedback), are more likely

to offer higher quality workshops and

to have more committed leaders.

Funding to purchase the Incredible Years

programs may be obtained from local PTA

groups in schools or from charitable organizations such as the Rotary Club, Kiwanas,

and so forth. Once the initial costs of the

materials and leader training have been

assumed, these programs can be offered

at minimal cost (which can be calculated

based on the hourly rate of paying the

group leader/therapist to conduct groups

plus additional costs for books for participants and food and daycare for meetings).

Incredible Years parent training has

achieved favorable outcomes at cost savings in comparison with traditional mental

health services. Its focus on a group-based

approach and extensive use of videotapes

makes it a cost-effective method of both

training facilitators to deliver the program

with high fidelity and reaching more families than the usual one-to-one approach.

Service agencies interested in communicating with other service providers who

are already implementing the program in

similar service settings should e-mail

incredibleyears@seanet.com.

Program Diffusion

Components of the Incredible Years Parents, Teachers, and Children Training

Series have been used in a number of

prevention studies:

The United States

◆ Columbia University, Laurie Miller, Principal Investigator (PI). The BASIC programs and Dina Dinosaur curriculum

are being used with depressed and drugabusing mothers who are living in shelters with their preschool children.

◆ Delaware State Department of Services

for Children, Youth and Families—

Kindergarten to Grade 3, Early Intervention Program, Nancy Pearsall, Program

Manager, and Julien Taplin, Director,

Department of Services for Children,

Youth and Families. The early childhood and school-age BASIC programs,

Dina Dinosaur curriculum, and teacher

training programs are being evaluated

as school-based interventions with

volunteer high-risk families whose

childrenshow signs of aggression.

◆ Fast Track Prevention Program, John

Coie, PI. Approximately 40 percent of

the videotapes from BASIC were used

as part of the parent training for the

first- and second-grade curriculums.

◆ Johns Hopkins Prevention Center, Shep

Kellam, PI. The school-age BASIC program was abbreviated and used as a

brief 4-session prevention intervention

for parents in 10 schools.

◆ Oregon Research Institute, Toni Biglan,

PI. The BASIC programs were translated

into Spanish and are being used as a

12-session prevention intervention for

Spanish-speaking migrant workers in

Hood River. Ted Taylor, of the Oregon

Research Institute, is undertaking a randomized study whereby he is comparing

classrooms that deliver the parent,

teacher, and child training programs with

control classrooms. All children in the

classrooms received the Dinosaur classroom curriculum whereas children with

high-risk behaviors (high rates of aggression) will be identified and their parents

will be offered the parent program.

◆ Rush University, School of Nursing,

Debra Gross, PI. The BASIC programs

have been evaluated as a 12-session

prevention intervention for training

high-risk parents of toddlers and

daycare providers in Chicago daycare

centers (see Gross, Fogg, and Tucker,

1995; Gross et al., 1999).

◆ University of Massachusetts, David

Arnold, PI. The BASIC and teacher

training programs are being used as

part of a prevention training program

for Head Start parents and teachers.

◆ University of Minnesota, Michael

Bloomquist, PI. The school-age BASIC

program and Dina Dinosaur curriculum

are being researched as a drug abuse

prevention program for high-risk children

ages 6 to 8.

◆ University of Minnesota, Tom

Kratchowell, PI. The BASIC programs

are being used as a self-administered

prevention training program for parents

and teachers.

Canada, Norway, and

United Kingdom

◆ Lakehead Regional Family Center,

Ontario, Canada, Ted Taylor, PI. The

BASIC programs were compared with

traditional mental health services in a

randomized trial (Taylor et al., 1998).

◆ Tromso and Trondheim, Norway, Professor Willy Tore March, PI. March and

colleagues are undertaking a randomized study in which children who have

been diagnosed as having oppositional

defiant disorder or conduct disorder

will be identified and offered the “pull

out” Dina Dinosaur child treatment

program and the parent intervention.

◆ Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool,

England, Jonathan Hill, Professor. The

BASIC programs are being used as a

treatment program for low-income families with children diagnosed with conduct disorders.

◆ C’Mon Everybody, Sheffield, England,

John Rylance and Geoff Evans, Directors. The BASIC programs and Dina

Dinosaur curriculum are being offered

in schools for families with children

with conduct problems.

◆ Family Nurturing Network, Oxford, England, Ivanna Klimes, Director. The

BASIC programs and Dinosaur curriculum are being researched for use with

high-risk parents and children.

◆ Maudsley Psychiatric Hospital, London,

England, Stephen Scott, PI. The BASIC

programs have been evaluated as a

treatment program for low-income

mothers with children diagnosed with

conduct disorders and have replicated

program effects (Scott, 1999). A study

is currently under way to evaluate the

training program as part of a schoolwide

prevention intervention.
21

For Further Information

Incredible Years Parents, Teachers, and

Children Training Series

Carolyn Webster-Stratton

1411 Eighth Avenue West

Seattle, WA 98119

206–285–7565 (phone and fax)

888–506–3562 (toll-free phone and fax)

E-mail: incredibleyears@seanet.com

Internet: www.incredibleyears.com

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Webster-Stratton, C. 1982b. Teaching

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of Pediatric Psychology 7(3):279–294.*

Webster-Stratton, C. 1984. A randomized

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22

Child Psychiatry and Psychology

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Webster-Stratton, C. 1992. The Incredible

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Webster-Stratton, C. 1994. Advancing

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Webster-Stratton, C. 1999. How To Promote

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Publishing.

Webster-Stratton, C., and Hammond, M.

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Webster-Stratton, C., and Hammond, M.

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of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

65(1):93–109.*

Webster-Stratton, C., and Hammond, M.

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factors. Clinical Child Psychology and Family

Psychology Review 1:101–124.

Webster-Stratton, C., and Herbert, M. 1994.

Troubled Families—Problem Children: Working With Parents: A Collaborative Process.

Chichester, England: Wiley and Sons.*

Webster-Stratton, C., Hollinsworth, T., and

Kolpacoff, M. 1989. The long-term effectiveness and clinical significance of three

cost-effective training programs for families with conduct-problem children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

57(4):550–553.*

Webster-Stratton, C., Kolpacoff, M., and

Hollinsworth, T. 1988. Self-administered

videotape therapy for families with

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control group. Journal of Consulting and

Clinical Psychology 56(4):558–566.*

Webster-Stratton, C. and Reid, M.J. 1999a.

Effects of parent and teacher training in

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Washington, DC, December 6–8, 1999.

Webster-Stratton, C. and Reid, M.J. 1999b.

Effects of teacher training in Head Start

classrooms: Results of a randomized controlled evaluation. Paper presented at the

Society for Prevention Research, New

Orleans, LA, June 1999.

Webster-Stratton, C. and Reid, M.J. 1999c.

Treating children with early-onset conduct

problems: The importance of teacher training. Paper presented at the Association for

the Advancement of Behavior Therapy,

Toronto, Canada, November 1999.

* Indicates articles related to the description and evaluation of the Incredible

Years Parents, Teachers, and Children

Training Series.

Related Readings

Spitzer, A., Webster-Stratton, C., and

Hollinsworth, T. 1991. Coping with

conduct-problem children: Parents gaining knowledge and control. Journal of

Clinical Child Psychology 20:413–427.*

Webster-Stratton, C. 1983. Conductdisordered children: Recognition and

assessment. Maternal and Child Nursing

8:330–335.

Webster-Stratton, C. 1983. Conduct disorders: Intervention approaches. Nurse Practitioner 8(5):23–34.

Webster-Stratton, C. 1985. Comparison of

abusive and nonabusive families with

conduct-disordered children. American

Journal of Orthopsychiatry 55:59–69.

Webster-Stratton, C. 1985. Comparisons of

behavior transactions between conductdisordered children and their mothers in

the clinic and at home. Journal of Abnormal

Child Psychology 13:169–184.

Webster-Stratton, C. 1985. Mother perceptions and mother-child interactions: Comparison of a clinic-referred and a nonclinic

group. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology

14(4):334–339.

Webster-Stratton, C. 1988. Mothers’ and

fathers’ perceptions of child deviance:

Roles of parent and child behaviors and

parent adjustment. Journal of Consulting

and Clinical Psychology 56(6):909–915.

Webster-Stratton, C. 1989. The relationship

of marital support, conflict and divorce to

parent perceptions, behaviors and childhood conduct problems. Journal of Marriage and the Family 51:417–430.

Webster-Stratton, C. 1990. Predictors of

treatment outcome in parent training for

families with conduct-problem children.

Behavior Therapy 21:319–337.*

Webster-Stratton, C. 1990. Stress: A potential disruption of parent perceptions and

family interactions. Journal of Clinical Child

Psychology 19(4):302–312.

Webster-Stratton, C. 1992. Individually administered videotape parent training: “Who

benefits?” Cognitive Therapy and Research

16(1):31–35.*

Webster-Stratton, C. 1993. Strategies for

helping families with young oppositional

defiant or conduct-disordered children: The

importance of home and school collaboration. School Psychology Review 22:437–457.

Webster-Stratton, C. 1993. What really happens in parent training? Behavior Modification 17(4):407–456.

Webster-Stratton, C. 1995. Preventing conduct problems in Head Start children:

Short-term results of intervention. Paper

presented at the Society for Research and

Child Development.

Webster-Stratton, C. 1996. Early-onset conduct problems: Does gender make a difference? Journal of Consulting and Clinical

Psychology 64(3):540–551.

Webster-Stratton, C. 1996. Videotape modeling intervention programs for families of

young children with oppositional defiant

disorder or conduct disorder. In Psychosocial Treatment Research of Child and Adolescent Disorders: Empirically Based Strategies for Clinical Practice, edited by E.D.

Hibbs and P.S. Jensen. Washington, DC:

American Psychological Association.*

Webster-Stratton, C. 1997. From parent

training to community building. The Journal of Contemporary Human Services

78:156–171.*

Webster-Stratton, C. 1998. Parent training

with low-income clients: Promoting parental engagement through a collaborative

approach. In Child Abuse: A Handbook of

Theory, Research and Treatment, edited by

J.R. Lutzker. New York, NY: Plenum Press,

pp. 183–210.*
23

Webster-Stratton, C., and Dahl, R. 1995.

Conduct disorder. In Advanced Abnormal

Child Psychology, edited by M. Herson and

R.T. Ammerman. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence

Erlbaum Associates, pp. 333–335.

Webster-Stratton, C., and Eyberg, S.M.

1982. Child temperament: Relationships

with child behavior problems and parentchild interactions. Journal of Clinical Child

Psychology 11(2):123–129.

Webster-Stratton, C., and Fjone, A. 1989.

Interactions of mothers and fathers with

conduct-problem children: Comparison

with a nonclinic group. Public Health Nursing 6(4):218–223.

Webster-Stratton, C., and Hammond, M.

1988. Maternal depression and its relationship to life stress, perceptions of child behavior problems, parenting behaviors, and

child conduct problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 16(3):299–315.

Webster-Stratton, C., and Hammond, M.

1998. Conduct problems and level of social competence in Head Start children:

Prevalence, pervasiveness, and associated risk factors. Clinical Child and Family

Psychology Review 1:101–124.

Webster-Stratton, C., and Hammond, M.

1999. Marital conflict management skills,

parenting style, and early-onset conflict

problems: Processes and pathways. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,

40(6):917–927.

Webster-Stratton, C., and Hancock, L. 1998.

Parent training for young children with

conduct problems: Content, methods, and

therapeutic processes. In Handbook of Parent Training, edited by C.E. Schaefer. New

York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.*

Webster-Stratton, C., and Hooven, C. 1998.

Parent training for child conduct problems.

In Comprehensive Clinical Psychology, edited

by T. Ollendick. Oxford, England: Elsevier

Science. pp. 186–219.

Webster-Stratton, C., and Spitzer, A. 1991.

Development, reliability, and validity of

the daily telephone discipline interview.

Behavioral Assessment 13:221–239.

Webster-Stratton, C., and Taylor, E.T. 1998.

Adopting and disseminating empirically

validated intervention: A recipe for success.

In Parenting, Schooling, and Children’s Behavior, edited by A. Buchanan. Aldershot,

England: Ashgate.

Webster-Stratton, C., and Woolley, D. 1999.

Social competence and early-onset conduct

problems: Issues in assessment. Journal of

Clinical Child Psychology 28:25–93.

Whipple, E., and Webster-Stratton, C. 1991.

The role of parental stress in physically

abusive families. Child Abuse and Neglect

15:279–291.

* Indicates articles related to the description and evaluation of the Incredible

Years Parents, Teachers, and Children

Training Series.

Children’s Books in

the Incredible Years

Parents, Teachers, and

Children Training

Series

Webster-Stratton, C. 1998. Wally Learns a

Lesson from Tiny Turtle. Incredible Years

Parents, Teachers, and Children Training

Series. Seattle, WA: Seth Enterprises.

Webster-Stratton, C. 1998. Wally Meets Dina

Dinosaur. Incredible Years Parents, Teachers, and Children Training Series. Seattle,

WA: Seth Enterprises.

Webster-Stratton, C. 1998. Wally’s Detective Manual for Solving Problems at Home.

Incredible Years Parents, Teachers, and

Children Training Series. Seattle, WA: Seth

Enterprises.

Webster-Stratton, C. 1998. Wally’s Detective Manual for Solving Problems at School.

Incredible Years Parents, Teachers, and

Children Training Series. Seattle, WA: Seth

Enterprises.

Acknowledgments

This Bulletin was written by Carolyn Webster-Stratton, Ph.D., Director of the

Parenting Clinic and Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle. She is a

licensed clinical psychologist and nurse-practitioner and has published numerous

scientific articles evaluating interventions for helping families and teachers with

children who are highly aggressive, disobedient, hyperactive, and inattentive. In

1997, she was the recipient of the National Mental Health Association Award for

Excellence in Prevention.

Currently, she is conducting a study evaluating a partnership that combines

teacher training with parent and child treatment for young children who are highly

aggressive and noncompliant. In addition, she has a second study evaluating a

prevention program within Head Start which focuses on teacher-parent partnerships and training. She has written books for therapists and parents and recently

published four books for children about problem solving and a book for teachers

entitled How to Promote Children’s Social and Emotional Competence. She is a

recipient of the prestigious Research Scientist Award from the National Institute

of Mental Health.

The studies reported in this Bulletin have been supported by several grants,

including a grant from the Prevention Research Branch of the National Institute

of Mental Health (NIMH) (5R01MH/NR50516); a Research Scientist Award from

NIMH (MH00988–05); a Head Start Partnership Grant from the Administration for

Children and Families; and a grant from the National Center for Nursing Research

(R01NR01075).

Points of view or opinions expressed in this

document are those of the author and do not

necessarily represent the official position or

policies of OJJDP or the U.S. Department of

Justice.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes

the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau

of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of

Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime.
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