title: Effectiveness of the Incredible Years parent training to modify disruptive and prosocial child behavior: a meta-analytic review.
abstract: The present meta-analytic review examined effectiveness of the Incredible Years parent training (IYPT) regarding disruptive and prosocial child behavior, and aimed to explain variability in intervention outcomes. Fifty studies, in which an intervention group receiving the IYPT was compared to a comparison group immediately after intervention, were included in the analyses. Results showed that the IYPT is an effective intervention. Positive effects for distinct outcomes and distinct informants were found, including a mean effect size of d=.27 concerning disruptive child behavior across informants. For parental report, treatment studies were associated with larger effects (d=.50) than indicated (d=.20) and selective (d=.13) prevention studies. Furthermore, initial severity of child behavior revealed to be the strongest predictor of intervention effects, with larger effects for studies including more severe cases. Findings indicate that the IYPT is successful in improving child behavior in a diverse range of families, and that the parent program may be considered well-established.
authors.affiliation: Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: A.T.A.Menting@uu.nl.
authors.forename: Ankie T A
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Menting
authors.forename: Bram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Orobio de Castro
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Matthys
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000193:education*; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Disruptive behavior; Incredible Years; Meta-analysis; Parent training; Prosocial