Reduction and prevention of aggression and behavioural problems in disadvantaged pre-school children: implementation and effectiveness of the Incredible Years Programme, Luton, UK

ISRCTN	ISRCTN14311503
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN14311503
Secondary identifying numbers	FS_IY

Submission date: 23/02/2018
Registration date: 05/03/2018
Last edited: 07/06/2018

Recruitment status: No longer recruiting
Overall study status: Completed
Condition category: Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Prospectively registered

Protocol

Statistical analysis plan

Results

Individual participant data

Record updated in last year

Plain English Summary

Background and study aims
The Incredible Years preschool course is for parents with children aged 3-5 years who have behavioural problems. It helps parents to adopt a positive approach incorporating praise, play, use of incentives, predictable routines, boundaries and strategies to manage challenging behaviour. Parents learn how to prepare their children for school, working more closely with early years professionals to develop emotional regulation and social skills. The aim of this study is to find out whether the Incredible Years Programme is effective for families.

Who can participate?
Parents/carers with children aged 0-5 years who have attended the Incredible Years Programme, Incredible Years trained practitioners/Family Support Workers, Incredible Years operational and project leads, and Local Authority commissioners

What does the study involve?
Parents/carers attend 14 weekly sessions of 2.5 hours duration with childcare provided in local children’s centres. Incredible Years facilitators work with parents to improve emotional and social functioning and address, reduce and prevent aggression and behavioural problems. The course uses video clips depicting real life scenarios to encourage group discussion, problem solving and sharing of ideas and experiences. Parents receive manuals and group materials throughout the course in addition to home assignments. Interviews are also conducted with parents after the Programme to understand the extent to which they feel they have been helped. Incredible Years group facilitators, managers and local authority commissioners are interviewed regarding the implementation of Incredible Years.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Previous research suggests that Incredible Years helps parents to make positive changes in their family relationships. The interviews allow participants to give their views on Incredible Years. There are no anticipated risks, but there is a protocol in place to signpost parents to additional support/advice if required, and the researcher is available afterwards for debriefing if necessary.

Where is the study run from?
1. University of Bedfordshire (UK)
2. Flying Start (UK)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
February 2016 to November 2018

Who is funding the study?
1. University of Bedfordshire (UK)
2. Flying Start (UK)

Who is the main contact?
Dr Rosemary Davidson
rosemary.davidson@beds.ac.uk

Contact information

Dr Rosemary Davidson
Scientific

Institute for Health Research
University of Bedfordshire
University Square
Luton
LU1 3JU
United Kingdom

ORCID ID	0000-0002-0010-4809
Phone	+44 (0)7966676974
Email	rosemary.davidson@beds.ac.uk

Prof Gurch Randhawa
Scientific

Institute for Health Research
University of Bedfordshire
Putteridge Bury Campus
Hitchin Road
Luton
LU2 8LE
United Kingdom

ORCID ID	0000-0002-2289-5859
Email	gurch.randhawa@beds.ac.uk

Study information

Study design	Process and outcome evaluation of a single-centre targeted intervention
Primary study design	Interventional
Secondary study design	Process evaluation
Study setting(s)	Community
Study type	Prevention
Participant information sheet	Not available in web format, please use the contact details to request a participant information sheet
Scientific title	Reduction and prevention of aggression and behavioural problems in disadvantaged pre-school children: a Process and Outcome Evaluation of the Incredible Years Programme, Luton, UK
Study acronym	IY
Study hypothesis	Incredible Years aims to improve parent-child relationships through positive interaction. The Programme has been shown to prevent, reduce and treat aggression and emotional problems in other countries.
Ethics approval(s)	University Research Ethics Committee, University of Bedfordshire, 07/06/2017, ref: UREC107
Condition	Prevention, reduction and treatment of aggression and emotional problems in pre-school children
Intervention	The Incredible Years pre-school course is designed for families living in disadvantaged areas with children aged 3-5 years who are showing early onset behaviour problems. The programme consists of 14 weekly sessions of 2.5 hours duration with childcare provided. Incredible Years facilitators work with parents to improve emotional and social functioning and address, reduce and prevent aggression and behavioural problems. The course uses video clips depicting everyday scenarios to encourage group discussion, problem solving and sharing of ideas and experiences. Parents receive manuals and group materials throughout the course in addition to home assignments. Programme fidelity is maintained with a standardized training process involving peer review, videotape feedback and consultation. The study design is a process and outcome evaluation using a mixed method approach. The process evaluation aims to understand how and why the intervention was adopted, drivers and barriers to implementation and the role of context. With respect to Incredible Years, this will involve semi-structured interviews with families, staff and stakeholders throughout the delivery of Incredible Years. The outcome evaluation will measure the progress of families who attend the Incredible Years Programme. Pre and post Programme measures are: Children’s behaviour (Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire); Emotional well-being (Adult well-being scale); Parenting skills (Parenting Daily Hassles scale); Parental self-efficacy (TOPSE tool).
Intervention type	Behavioural
Primary outcome measure	Measured pre and post Programme (14 weeks): 1. Children’s behaviour, assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire 2. Emotional well-being, assessed using the Adult well-being scale 3. Parenting skills, assessed using the Parenting Daily Hassles scale 4. Parental self-efficacy, assessed using the TOPSE tool 5. Parent attendance, monitored by facilitators over the 14 week duration of the course and reasons for absence noted where possible
Secondary outcome measures	1. Positive and negative aspects, ways they can improve, group dynamics, and group reactions/responses, reviewed by Group Facilitators after each session 2. Overall impressions of Incredible Years including changes observed in parents and any challenges identified, reviewed by Facilitators at the end of the Programme 3. Parental feedback, collected with an anonymous appraisal at the end of the Programme
Overall study start date	01/02/2016
Overall study end date	01/11/2018

Eligibility

Participant type(s)	Mixed
Age group	Mixed
Sex	Both
Target number of participants	100
Participant inclusion criteria	1. Parents/carers with children 0-5 years who have attended the Incredible Years Programme 2. Incredible Years trained practitioners/Family Support Workers 3. Incredible Years operational and project leads 4. Local Authority commissioners
Participant exclusion criteria	1. Persons with no experience of Incredible Years 2. Persons with no experience of working in the early years sector
Recruitment start date	01/03/2018
Recruitment end date	01/07/2018

Locations

Countries of recruitment

England
United Kingdom

Study participating centres

Institute for Health Research

University of Bedfordshire
University Square
Luton
LU1 3JU
United Kingdom

Flying Start

The TOKKO Building
7 Gordon Street
Luton
LU1 2PQ
United Kingdom

Sponsor information

Institute for Health Research
University/education

University of Bedfordshire
University Square
Luton
LU1 3JU
England
United Kingdom

Flying Start Luton
Government

The TOKKO Building
7 Gordon Street
Luton
LU1 2QP
United Kingdom

Website	https://www.flyingstartluton.com

National Institute for Health Research
Government

Website	http://www.nihr.ac.uk/
"ROR"	https://ror.org/0187kwz08

Funders

Funder type

University/education

University of Bedfordshire
Private sector organisation / Universities (academic only)

Location: United Kingdom

Flying Start Luton

No information available

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date	15/08/2018
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share	No
IPD sharing plan summary	Data sharing statement to be made available at a later date
Publication and dissemination plan	Study protocol is available on request. Planned publication of one process article in a high-impact peer reviewed journal.
IPD sharing plan	The data sharing plans for the current study are unknown and will be made available at a later date.

Editorial Notes

07/06/2018: Prof Gurch Randhawa has been added as a scientific contact