Efficacy of the Incredible Years Basic parent training programme as an early intervention for children with conduct problems and ADHD.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of the Incredible Years (IY) Basic parent training (PT) programme for a community-based sample of families with pre-school children at risk of developing both conduct problems and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was examined.

METHODS: Pre-school children displaying signs of both early-onset conduct problems and ADHD were randomly allocated to either IY PT intervention, or to a waiting list (WL) control group. Child symptoms were assessed before and after the intervention.

RESULTS: Post intervention, the intervention group was associated with significantly lower levels of parent-reported inattention and hyperactive/impulsive difficulties, even after controlling for post-intervention changes in child deviance. In addition, 52% of those in the intervention condition, compared with 21% in the control condition, displayed clinically reliable improvements post intervention, giving an absolute risk reduction of 31% and a number needed to treat of 3.23.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study indicate that the IY PT programme is a valuable intervention for many pre-school children displaying early signs of ADHD.