1. SUBJECTS 12 parents (10 mothers and 2 fathers – 2 couples) of preschool children in the 3-5 years of age range; 1 mono-parental family; middle class / upper-middle class families; average educational level far beyond the national average; without known risk factors; highly motivated. INSTRUMENT The Incredible Years Basic Parent Training Programme is delivered through 12 sessions, in which issues like play, praise, effective limit setting, and handling misbehaviour are addressed. The main goals of the program are: to strengthen parent- child relationship and encourage child cooperation; to increase parents’ nurturing and positive parenting skills; to encourage effective limit setting and definition of clear household rules; and to promote the use of non-violent discipline strategies. PROCEDURE The group was run weekly in a preschool setting, between 5.30 and 7.30 p.m. At the end of each session, parents were asked to fill in a questionnaire concerning their level of satisfaction with regard to each of the program’s components: content, DVDs, role-play, group leaders and group discussion. The parents’ attendance rate was also studied and taken as an index of parental satisfaction concerning the program. Finally, in the last session parents filled in a longer questionnaire, aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the program, the teaching format, the specific parenting techniques, the therapists and the overall program. SUBJECTS 12 parents (10 mothers and 2 fathers – 2 couples) of preschool children in the 3-5 years of age range; 1 mono-parental family; middle class / upper-middle class families; average educational level far beyond the national average; without known risk factors; highly motivated. INSTRUMENT The Incredible Years Basic Parent Training Programme is delivered through 12 sessions, in which issues like play, praise, effective limit setting, and handling misbehaviour are addressed. The main goals of the program are: to strengthen parent- child relationship and encourage child cooperation; to increase parents’ nurturing and positive parenting skills; to encourage effective limit setting and definition of clear household rules; and to promote the use of non-violent discipline strategies. PROCEDURE The group was run weekly in a preschool setting, between 5.30 and 7.30 p.m. At the end of each session, parents were asked to fill in a questionnaire concerning their level of satisfaction with regard to each of the program’s components: content, DVDs, role-play, group leaders and group discussion. The parents’ attendance rate was also studied and taken as an index of parental satisfaction concerning the program. Finally, in the last session parents filled in a longer questionnaire, aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the program, the teaching format, the specific parenting techniques, the therapists and the overall program. METHOD  Very good rates of parental satisfaction were observed: parents classified most of the program’s components in most of the sessions as “helpful” or “very helpful” (Figure 1); high rates of parents’ attendance (minimum 10 out of 12) (Figure 2); there weren’t any drop-outs; parents considered the program as useful and not difficult to follow; high levels of parental motivation and enthusiasm were observed, although those parents had no specific concerns regarding their children’s behaviour.  Each parent chose to use preferentially one or two strategies as a function of the child’s or his/her own characteristics;  Good conditions were provided to families and there was very good support from the nursery school; these conditions might be difficult to replicate in other situations (clinical, low-income, high-risk families; support from the school…).  In a broader perspective, the most prominent advantages of the Incredible Years Basic Parenting Program appear to be: its clear structure and easiness of implementation; the program’s principles must be followed strictly but flexibility in the implementation, according to the parents’ needs, is recommended; several parents at the same time can benefit from the program; home assignments allow for generalization; gives parents a good opportunity to think about their own parental practices; all this is achieved in a non-judgemental, supportive context.  As less positive features, we found that : there is too much material to be covered in each session; the fact that considerable physical and personal arrangements are necessary and that much time is required for preparation; and the cultural specificity of some contents – but these can be adapted and principles are universal.  Very good rates of parental satisfaction were observed: parents classified most of the program’s components in most of the sessions as “helpful” or “very helpful” (Figure 1); high rates of parents’ attendance (minimum 10 out of 12) (Figure 2); there weren’t any drop-outs; parents considered the program as useful and not difficult to follow; high levels of parental motivation and enthusiasm were observed, although those parents had no specific concerns regarding their children’s behaviour.  Each parent chose to use preferentially one or two strategies as a function of the child’s or his/her own characteristics;  Good conditions were provided to families and there was very good support from the nursery school; these conditions might be difficult to replicate in other situations (clinical, low-income, high-risk families; support from the school…).  In a broader perspective, the most prominent advantages of the Incredible Years Basic Parenting Program appear to be: its clear structure and easiness of implementation; the program’s principles must be followed strictly but flexibility in the implementation, according to the parents’ needs, is recommended; several parents at the same time can benefit from the program; home assignments allow for generalization; gives parents a good opportunity to think about their own parental practices; all this is achieved in a non-judgemental, supportive context.  As less positive features, we found that : there is too much material to be covered in each session; the fact that considerable physical and personal arrangements are necessary and that much time is required for preparation; and the cultural specificity of some contents – but these can be adapted and principles are universal. RESULTS Hutchings, J., Bywater, T., & Daley, D. (in press). Early prevention of Conduct Disorder: How and why did the North West Wales Sure Start study work? Journal of Children's Services, 2 (2). Brotman Miller, L., Klein, R. G., Kamboukos, D., Brown, E. J., Coard Irby, S., & Sosinsky Stout, S. L. (2003). Preventive intervention for urban, low-income preschoolers at familial risk for conduct problems. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32(2), 246-257. Webster-Stratton, C., & Reid, M. J. (2006). Treatment and prevention of conduct problems: Parent training interventions for young children (2-7 Years Old). In K. McCartney & D. A. Phillips (Eds.), Handbook on early childhood development (pp. 616-641). Malden, MA: Blackwell. Hutchings, J., Bywater, T., & Daley, D. (in press). Early prevention of Conduct Disorder: How and why did the North West Wales Sure Start study work? Journal of Children's Services, 2 (2). Brotman Miller, L., Klein, R. G., Kamboukos, D., Brown, E. J., Coard Irby, S., & Sosinsky Stout, S. L. (2003). Preventive intervention for urban, low-income preschoolers at familial risk for conduct problems. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32(2), 246-257. Webster-Stratton, C., & Reid, M. J. (2006). Treatment and prevention of conduct problems: Parent training interventions for young children (2-7 Years Old). In K. McCartney & D. A. Phillips (Eds.), Handbook on early childhood development (pp. 616-641). Malden, MA: Blackwell. REFERENCES Assessing the 'Evidence-Base' of Intervention for Vulnerable Children and their Families EUSARF – Padova, March 2008 Assessing the 'Evidence-Base' of Intervention for Vulnerable Children and their Families EUSARF – Padova, March 2008 THE WEBSTER STRATTON INCREDIBLE YEARS (IY) BASIC PARENTING PROGRAMME: PARENTAL SATISFACTION IN A COMMUNITY GROUP OF PORTUGUESE PARENTS Maria João Seabra-Santos&Maria Filomena Fonseca Gaspar (seabramj@fpce.uc.pt) (ninigaspar@fpce.uc.pt) Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences – Psychopedagogy Center University of Coimbra, PORTUGAL INTRODUCTION The Incredible Years Basic Parent Training Program is an evidence- based intervention, recommended by the American Psychological Association Task Force as meeting the criteria for empirically supported mental health intervention for children with conduct problems. This Programme is being used in several countries, like the UK, Ireland, Norway, Germany, Netherlands and New Zealand. The Incredible Years Basic Parent Training Program is an evidence- based intervention, recommended by the American Psychological Association Task Force as meeting the criteria for empirically supported mental health intervention for children with conduct problems. This Programme is being used in several countries, like the UK, Ireland, Norway, Germany, Netherlands and New Zealand. Play: Promote positive parent-child relations Praise and Incentives: Build social competence Effective limit setting: Increase cooperation Ignore, redirect, distract: decrease aggression Time-out Use selectively Use liberally CONCLUSIONS  The Incredible Years Basic Parent Training Program is valid for Portuguese low-risk parents, from a facial and ecological point of view;  Portuguese low risk parents show high levels of satisfaction concerning the Program.  The Incredible Years Basic Parent Training Program is valid for Portuguese low-risk parents, from a facial and ecological point of view;  Portuguese low risk parents show high levels of satisfaction concerning the Program. Fig. 1: Parents’ satisfaction with the Program Fig. 2: Parents’ levels of participation GOALS Previously to the implementation of the Program with at risk and clinical samples, it was our aim to test its validity in a low-risk group, composed of 12 parents of preschool non- referred children (case-study).