Description
The project has the following main goals: i) promote mental health in preschool aged children; ii) increase the effectiveness of professionals dealing directly with these children (preschool teachers, psychologists, early intervention staff, other health care professionals); iii) promote the interaction between school, health care staff and families; iv) contribute to reduce the social inequalities. This project focuses in three main areas: Focus 1 consists of a common intervention in preschool settings, aiming to reduce negative educational practices and increase positive behaviors in preschool teachers; to increase the sense of self-efficacy and decrease professional stress; reduce negative behaviors and increase pro-social behaviors in children; Focus 2 is a selective intervention in health care centers; Focus 3: its major goal is to guarantee the sustainability of the results. These three areas have in common the implementation of programs from the Incredible Years Series (IY, Webster-Stratton). These evidence based programs aim to promote positive educational practices and its effectiveness has been largely demonstrated in the early prevention and intervention in children with behavior problems.
Summary of project results
The WHO reports that 1 in 5 children suffers from mental health problems. In this sense, early prevention/treatment of children with early-onset behavioural problems, by promoting preschool children mental health, will contribute to the reduction of maladaptive trajectories and the high personal, family, community and social costs associated with them, especially when society itself is going through an economic and social crisis. The project “Incredible Years for a Mental Health Promotion” (IY) contributed to the development of environments which promote health and well-being at preschools, and in the family, as well as for the articulation between the different systems with impact on the life of the children. This project qualified 56 preschool with the IY TCM Program (65 classrooms). In addition to these, other 25 professionals were trained in order to be able to foster, in the future and as a guarantee of sustainability, other groups of kindergarten teachers with the IY Program (training of trainers). In 11 primary healthcare centres, 152 health professionals received a brief training (9h) (subsequently, 25 of these professionals attended a 3-day certified training that enabled them to implement parenting groups with the IY Basic Parent Program and with the support and supervision of the project team, they implemented 12 parenting groups in primary healthcare centres, on which 135 parents of 108 children participated). The results of these different activities were disseminated at the final conference, in several participations in conferences and trough scientific papers, and can be maintained and amplified through materials produced during the project and available "on the field" (e.g., AI program dissemination DVD, parenting practices booklet, the most recent version of the IY program translated and subtitled in Portuguese). The reduction of risk factors for health problems, such as alcohol and tobacco consumption, advocated by NHS, was achieved with this project through this early intervention (at school and in the family). The achieved results show that interventions made accessible to children and families with less access to empirically validated interventions have contributed to the promotion of social skills and reduction of behavioural problems of children whose parents or preschool teachers participated in the implemented interventions, that is, to promote their mental health.
Summary of bilateral results
Bilateral relations with Tromsö University (Norway) allowed methodological advising in the design of the experimental study carried out in kindergartens, in the design of barriers and facilitators questionnaires regarding the implementation of the Incredible Years Basic Parents Program (questionnaire answered by parents), and in planning the way to disseminate results, through scientific articles to be published in international journals. This partnership also allowed statistical advice in the different stages of data processing, supervision of parent group leaders, through a Consultation Day, and supervision of the different stages of the project.