Evaluation of a community intervention programme for preschool behaviour problems.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate an early intervention project focused on improving child prereading skills and parent behaviour-management skills, for 4-year-old children in the western suburbs of Melbourne (Victoria, Australia).


METHODS
Following screening of a large sample of preschoolers, four groups were constructed: (i) children receiving a phonological skills-based prereading package in their normal preschool programme; (ii) children whose parents attended six sessions of child behaviour management skill training; (iii) children who received both interventions; and (iv) a control group. Pre-, post-, 1 and 2 year follow-up measures were taken to assess effects on child behavioural and learning adjustment.


CONCLUSIONS
This community based intervention resulted in positive effects, despite being of low intensity, in achieving significantly less hyperactive/distractable behaviour in children from the combined intervention group at 2 years postintervention. Anxiety problems were also reduced at the post-treatment phase. The prereading package did not demonstrate any effects on reading skills and was deemed to be insufficiently intensive to affect a population of disadvantaged preschoolers. This universal-type of intervention was well accepted by the community, but there is need for further effort to increase recruitment of families of at-risk children into such programmes.
Elliot
J
J
Department of Psychology, Royal Children's Hospital, Latrobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Prior
M
M
Merrigan
C
C
Ballinger
K
K
D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003710:Demography; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011932:Reading; D012574:Schools; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014739:Victoria / Q000453:epidemiology