Incredible Years – Attentive Parenting (IY Attentive Parenting) is for all parents with a child between the ages of 3 and 6 years old. It is delivered by two IY practitioners to groups of up to 14 parents through six to nine weekly sessions lasting 2.5 hours each. During these sessions, parents learn strategies for encouraging positive child behaviour and managing challenging child behaviour through age-appropriate discipline.
The information above is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
3 to 6 years old
Group
Incredible Years Attentive Parenting (IY Attentive Parenting) is part of the Incredible Years series of interventions for children, parents, and teachers. IY Attentive Parenting is specifically for all parents with a child between 3 and 6 years old. It is delivered in community centres or out-patient health settings and aims to prevent children’s socioemotional and behavioural problems. It can be used for prevention purposes within a general population or as booster sessions for parents who have completed the IY BASIC parenting intervention.
IY Attentive Parenting is delivered by two practitioners to groups of up to 14 parents through six to nine weekly sessions lasting 2.5 hours each. During these sessions, parents learn how to use child-directed play to build a positive relationship with their child and support the development of early competencies critical to children’s wellbeing and success at school.
A key aim of the intervention is to help parents apply key ‘attentive’ behaviours to support the development of important competencies. Examples of these skills include:
Parent learning is supported through homework, watching and discussing vignettes, and role-plays. Parents are also supported to increase their networks with community resources and other parents. Depending on the context, IY Attentive Parenting may include an introductory component where parents are asked to share their own upbringing and discuss their parenting motivations within the context of their culture.
3 to 6 years old
Universal intervention – all families with a child aged between 3 and 6 years old.
Disclaimer: The information in this section is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
Science-based assumption
Core competencies in the early years, including children’s vocabulary, prosocial skills and behaviour, and emotional self-regulation, are strongly associated with later success in primary and secondary school.
Science-based assumption
Parental sensitivity, communicated to the child through fun, non-directive play activities, supports the development of important early years competencies and other school readiness skills.
Science-based assumption
All parents have an interest in advice on supporting their child’s early development and school readiness.
Intervention
Parents learn to:
Effectively implement non-directive play to support early child confidence
Coach their child to support vocabulary development and preliteracy skills
Use emotion coaching to strengthen early emotion regulation
Use social coaching to support child friendships
Imaginative parenting to promote early self-regulation
Creative play to promote empathy and problem-solving
Develop better connections with other parents and the community.
Short-term
Parents are better able to support their child’s school readiness
Parents are better able to understand their child’s early developmental and learning needs
Parents are better able to help their children regulate their behaviour and emotions
Parents build better connections with other parents and the community.
Medium-term
Children have improved school readiness skills
Children are better able to regulate their behaviour and emotions.
Long-term
Improved school achievement in secondary and primary school
Reduced risk of behavioural and mental health problems as children develop.
Families with a child between 3 and 6 years old.
Two practitioners deliver IY Attentive Parenting to groups of up to 14 parents through six to nine weekly sessions lasting 2.5 hours each.
The intervention teaches parents various core parenting concepts and their value for children’s development.
Sessions include: Parent goal setting; collaborative group discussion to brainstorm potential benefits of positive parenting skills; use of video vignettes highlighting parenting skills to inspire discussion and role-play practices; use of role-plays to practise new skills and anticipate potential barriers; homework assignments to practise new parenting skills each week.
The intervention, as evaluated by Zhou et al. (2021), also included an additional introductory component where parents were asked to share their own upbringing and discuss their parenting motivations, based upon findings from previous cultural adaption work.
Practitioners with training in the Incredible Years model, typically with a qualification and or experience in a helping profession, such as social work or psychology.
The practitioners have 15 hours of intervention training.
It is recommended that practitioners are supervised through online consultation. Supervisors are accredited as IY group leaders, peer coaches and mentors. Practitioners have access to self-assessment tools that support fidelity.
Intervention fidelity is maintained through the following processes:
Contact person: Lisa Wallace-Gloria
Organisation: Incredible Years
Email address: lisawg@incredibleyears.com
incredibleyears@incredibleyears.com
Website: https://www.incredibleyears.com/early-intervention-programs/parents/preschoolers
*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.
IY Attentive Parenting’s most rigorous evidence comes from a pre–post study conducted in the United States, consistent with Foundations’ Level 2 evidence strength criteria.
This study observed statistically significant improvements in IY Attentive Parenting parents’ reports of their children’s conduct and prosocial behaviour. There was no comparison group, however.
IY Attentive Parenting has preliminary evidence of improving a child outcome, but we cannot be confident that the intervention caused the improvement.
| Identified in search | 2 |
| Studies reviewed | 1 |
| Meeting the L2 threshold | 1 |
| Meeting the L3 threshold | 0 |
| Contributing to the L4 threshold | 0 |
| Ineligible | 1 |
| Study design | Pre–post study |
| Country | United States |
| Sample characteristics | 152 parents of children between 3 and 6 years old, recruited by a community mental health agency |
| Race, ethnicities, and nationalities |
|
| Population risk factors | Families living in a disadvantaged community |
| Timing |
|
| Child outcomes |
|
| Other outcomes | Reduced parenting stress (parent report) |
| Study rating | 2 |
| Citations | Zhou, X., Lee, R. M. & Ohm, J. (2021) Evaluating the feasibility of the Incredible Years Attentive Parenting Program as universal prevention for racially diverse populations. Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion. 2 (1), 32–56. |
The following studies were identified for this intervention but did not count towards the intervention’s overall evidence rating. An intervention receives the same rating as its most robust study or studies.
Fields, J., Harty, C. & Desjardins, C. D. (2016) An evaluation of the cultural contextualization of the Incredible Years parenting program for African American and Hmong cultural groups. Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement.
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.
Preventing substance abuse: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing risky sexual behaviour & teen pregnancy: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing obesity and promoting healthy physical development: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
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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