Externalizing Behavioral Problems Prevention Program
Problems addressed
Externalizing behaviors/problems
Effectiveness

Promising

.

.

.

.

.

Promising

Want to know more about this classification? Check out our methodological manual.

Life periods served
Children (4 to 13 years)
Early childhood (0 to 3 years)
Where the program was applied
Education establishment
Country of application
Germany
Description

This is a psycho-educational prevention program for parents and teachers, with the aim of reducing the externalization of problematic behaviors in children aged three to six, such as hyperactivity and disruptiveness, and preventing criminal behavior throughout life. The intervention is carried out through weekly sessions of 90 to 120 minutes held in the classroom.
The topics covered are:
1) Defining individual problematic situations and how to deal with them;
2) Teaching caregivers about behavior change strategies; and
3) Reminding parents of strategies for common problems.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation showed that the effect observed by mothers and teachers was moderate, but observers of the program stated that there were no significant changes in the children’s behavior [1].
The study had a Randomized Controlled Trial design using a sample of 155 children aged three to six with externalized problematic behaviors, recruited from 22 preschools located in communities in the city of Cologne. Of this total, 91 children were assigned to the intervention group with participation in the program and 64 children were assigned to the control group without access to the program intervention [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Hanisch, C., Freund-Braier, I., Hautmann, C., Jänen, N., Plück, J., Brix, G., Eichelberger, I. & Döpfner, M. (2010). Detecting effects of the indicated prevention Programme for Externalizing Problem Behavioral (PEP) on child symptoms, parenting, and parental quality of life in a randomized controlled trial. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 38(1), 95–112. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465809990440

Information source