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.