Adaptation of the “Incredible Years Child Training Program” and Investigation of the Effectiveness of the Program

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of the “Incredible Years (IY) Child Training Program” on behavioral problems, social competence, and social problem-solving skills. The research was performed using a pretest-posttest experimental design with a control group to determine the effects of the IY program on the level of behavioral problems among children. The study group comprised children aged 48–66 months, attending early childhood education institutions affiliated with the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) in Ankara, recruited through a staged sampling method. To collect data, the study used a personal information form, the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation (SCBE) scale, the Child Behavior Assessment (CBA) scale and the Wally Social Problem Solving (WSPS) test. The pretest and posttest scores for the experimental and control groups on the SCBE and CBA scales, and the WSPS scale, as well as the permanence measures, were analyzed using the Friedman test and the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Moreover, for the post hoc test statistics, Bonferroni correction was applied to the comparison test to determine the significance of differences between the groups. Following the experimental study covering 18 sessions, significant differences were determined in the scores for behavioral problems and social problem-solving between children who had and had not participated in the program. When the permanence measurements were examined, significant differences were determined in the social problem- solving scores between the experimental groups and control groups.