Fun FRIENDS is a school-based, universal preventative intervention for children aged between 4 and 7 years. It is delivered by psychologists, teachers, or allied health professionals and can be delivered across a flexible number and duration of sessions, provided the content is covered in the recommended order. The intervention aims to improve resilience skills in children, reduce anxiety, and improve mental health and wellbeing.
The information above is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
4 to 7 years old
Group
Fun FRIENDS is a school-based, universal preventative intervention for children aged between 4 and 7 years. The intervention aims to improve resilience skills in children, reduce anxiety, and improve mental health and wellbeing.
Fun FRIENDS is delivered by psychologists, teachers, or allied health professionals and can be delivered across a flexible number and duration of sessions, provided the content is covered in the recommended order, outlined below. In the studies evaluated, Fun FRIENDS was delivered by teachers to groups of children in the classroom across 9 to 10 weekly sessions of one hour’s duration, with two additional booster sessions provided in one study.
Fun FRIENDS uses a play-based approach incorporating stories, games, videos, and activities to teach children developmentally appropriate cognitive-behavioural strategies to promote resilience and social and emotional skills from an early age. Fun FRIENDS uses a combination of relaxation, cognitive restructuring, attention training, graded exposure to anxiety-provoking situations, and problem solving, alongside additional parent information sessions and the involvement of families and teachers to reinforce intervention content.
The FRIENDS name is an acronym of session content, which begins with developing a sense of identity, group cohesion, and acceptance, followed by a focus on Feelings, including identifying emotions and helpful and unhelpful coping behaviours; Remember to relax, including identifying physiological manifestations of anxiety and learning relaxation strategies; I can try my best! in which children learn about helpful and unhelpful self-talk, strategies for changing unhelpful self-talk to helpful and to use the helpful self-talk to achieve goals; Encourage, involving children breaking down tasks and using positive self-talk to try new things; Nurture, when children are introduced to the concept of role models and support teams; Don’t forget to be brave, including further discussion of support teams and planning ahead for difficult situations; and Stay smiling, in which children dress up as a favourite brave person and celebrate completing the intervention.
4 to 7 years
Disclaimer: The information in this section is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
Science-based assumption
Stressful and uncomfortable situations can lead to stress and anxiety in children.
Science-based assumption
Coping skills increase a child’s resilience and protects children from developing anxiety.
Science-based assumption
Children aged between 4 to 7 years
Intervention
Children learn coping skills such as understanding and managing emotions to better respond to uncomfortable emotions in appropriate and helpful ways.
Short-term
Improved awareness of their emotions.
Medium-term
Increased helpful emotion management techniques
Improved coping with stressful or uncomfortable situations.
Long-term
Reduced likelihood of developing anxiety disorders.
Children aged 4 to 7 years.
Fun FRIENDS is delivered in a variable number of sessions, for example five sessions of 2 to 2.5 hours’ duration each or 10 sessions of 1 to 1.5 hour’s duration each by one practitioner, to groups of children in the classroom.
The practitioner uses a play-based approach incorporating stories, games, videos, and activities to teach children developmentally appropriate cognitive-behavioural strategies, following the content order set out by the providers.
The aim of the intervention is to promote resilience and social and emotional skills from an early age.
The practitioner who delivers this intervention is a psychologist, teacher, or allied health professional.
The practitioners have eight hours of intervention training. Booster training of practitioners is recommended.
Supervision of practitioners is not required.
Intervention fidelity is maintained through the following processes:
Contact person: Casey Dick
Email address: licensing@friendsresilience.org
Website: https://friendsresilience.org/
*Please note that this information may not be up to date. In this case, please visit the listed intervention website for up to date contact details.
The most rigorous evidence for Fun FRIENDS comes from two cluster RCTs which were conducted in Australia. It has preliminary evidence of improving a child outcome, but we cannot be confident that the intervention caused the improvement.
These studies identified statistically significant reductions in behavioural inhibition and improvements in social-emotional strength, protective factors, and behaviour and emotional functioning consistent with our Level 2 threshold.
| Identified in search | 2 |
| Studies reviewed | 2 |
| Meeting the L2 threshold | 2 |
| Meeting the L3 threshold | 0 |
| Contributing to the L4 threshold | 0 |
| Ineligible | 0 |
| Study design | Cluster RCT |
| Country | Australia |
| Sample characteristics | 263 preschool children (mean age = 4.56) attending one of nine preschools in Brisbane, Australia |
| Race, ethnicities, and nationalities | Not stated |
| Population risk factors | None reported |
| Timing | Baseline and post-intervention |
| Child outcomes |
|
| Other outcomes | None |
| Study rating | 2 |
| Citations | Pahl, K. M.,& Barrett, P. M. (2010) Preventing anxiety and promoting social and emotional strength in preschool children: A universal evaluation of the Fun FRIENDS program. Advances in School Mental Health Promotion. 3 (3), 14–25. |
| Study design | Cluster RCT |
| Country | Australia |
| Sample characteristics | 488 Children aged 4 to 7 years attending one of 14 Catholic Education |
| Race, ethnicities, and nationalities | White |
| Population risk factors | None reported |
| Timing |
|
| Child outcomes |
|
| Other outcomes | None reported |
| Study rating | 2 |
| Citations | Anticich, S. A., Barrett, P. M., Silverman, W., Lacherez, P. & Gillies, R. |
No other studies were identified for this intervention.
Note on provider involvement: This provider has agreed to Foundations’ terms of reference (or the Early Intervention Foundation's terms of reference), and the assessment has been conducted and published with the full cooperation of the intervention provider.
Rated 1: Set up and delivery is low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of less than £100.
Rated 2: Set up and delivery is medium-low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £100–£499.
Rated 3: Set up and delivery is medium cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £500–£999.
Rated 4: Set up and delivery is medium-high cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £1,000–£2,000.
Rating 5: Set up and delivery is high cost. Equivalent to an estimated unit cost of more than £2,000.
Set up and delivery cost is not applicable, not available, or has not been calculated.
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Supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing child maltreatment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Enhancing school achievement & employment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing crime, violence and antisocial behaviour: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
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Rated 2: Has preliminary evidence of improving a child outcome from a quantitative impact study, but there is not yet evidence of causal impact.
Rated 2+: Meets the level 2 rating and the best available evidence is based on a study which is more rigorous than a level 2 standard but does not meet the level 3 standard.
Rated 3: Has evidence of a short-term positive impact from at least one rigorous study.
Rated 3+: Meets the level 3 rating and has evidence from other studies with a comparison group at level 2 or higher.
Rated 4: Has evidence of a long-term positive impact through at least two rigorous studies.
Rated 4+: Meets the level 4 rating and has at least a third study contributing to the Level 4 rating, with at least one of the studies conducted independently of the intervention provider.
Rating has a *: The evidence base includes mixed findings i.e., studies suggesting positive impact alongside studies, which on balance, indicate no effect or negative impact.
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