Level 4 Standard Triple P
Level 4 Standard Triple P is for parents, with a child aged 0 to 12 years, who have concerns about their child’s behaviour.
Parents attend 10 one-to-one weekly sessions with an individual therapist lasting approximately one hour. The sessions are provided by a practitioner trained and accredited in Triple P. Practitioners also receive ongoing supervision.
Parents learn 17 different strategies for supporting their children’s competencies and discouraging unwanted child behaviour through role play, homework exercises and discussions involving video-taped examples of effective parenting.
EIF Programme Assessment
Child outcomes
This programme can affect outcomes for children in Active and healthy, physical and mental wellbeing.
According to the best available evidence for this programme's impact, it can achieve the following positive outcomes for children:
Preventing crime, violence and antisocial behaviour
Reduced disruptive behaviour
based on study 1
- Statement: 28.41-point improvement on the Eyberg Child Behaviour Inventory Intensity Score (mother report)
- Score: 22
- Timeframe: Immediately after the intervention
- Statement: 19.39-point improvement on the Eyberg Child Behaviour Inventory Intensity Score (father report)
- Score: 25
- Timeframe: Immediately after the intervention
Reduced problem child behaviour
based on study 1
- Statement: 4.47-point improvement on the Parent Daily Report Mean Problem Score (mother report)
- Score: 27
- Timeframe: Immediately after the intervention
- Statement: 2.21-point improvement on the Parent Daily Report Mean Problem Score (father report)
- Score: 23
- Timeframe: Immediately after the intervention
Reduced negative child behaviour in parent-child interactions
based on study 1
- Statement: 3.49-point improvement on the Family Observation Schedule
- Score: 9
- Timeframe: Immediately after the intervention
This programme also has evidence of supporting positive outcomes for couples, parents or families that may be relevant to a commissioning decision. Please see About the evidence for more detail.
Who is it for?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to the following age-groups:
Infants Toddlers Preschool Primary school
How is it delivered?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to implementation through these delivery models:
- Individual
Where is it delivered?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to its implementation in these settings:
- Home
- Children's centre or early-years setting
- Primary school
- Community centre
- Out-patient health setting
How is it targeted?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to its implementation as:
- Targeted indicated
Where has it been implemented?
- Australia
- Belgium
- Canada
- Denmark
- England
- Germany
- Ireland
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Scotland
- Singapore
- Switzerland
- United States
Ireland provision
Ireland evaluation
About the programme
What happens during the delivery?
How is it delivered?
- Standard Triple P is delivered in 10 sessions of one-hour duration to individual families by one Triple P practitioner.
What happens during the intervention?
- Parents learn 17 different strategies for improving their children’s competencies and discouraging unwanted child behaviour.
- Learning is supported through role play exercises, homework exercises and discussions involving video-taped examples of effective parenting strategies.
What are the implementation requirements?
Who can deliver it?
- The practitioner who delivers this programme is a Triple P Practitioner, who can come from a range of professions (eg family support worker) with recommended minimum NFQ-6 level qualifications.
What are the training requirements?
- The practitioner has three days of programme training, one day of pre-accreditation and a half-day accreditation workshop (accreditation workshops are held over two days; practitioners attend in groups of five).
- Booster training of practitioners is not required.
How are the practitioners supervised?
- It is recommended that practitioners are supervised by one host-agency supervisor with NFQ-9/10 level qualifications. There is no required training for the supervisor.
What are the systems for maintaining fidelity?
- Accreditation process
- Training manual
- Supervision
- Fidelity monitoring
Is there a licensing requirement?
There is no licence required to run this programme.
How does it work? (Theory of Change)
How does it work?
- Triple P is based on the idea that parents often unintentionally perpetuate unwanted child behaviour through ineffective parenting strategies.
- Triple P helps parents replace ineffective parenting strategies with effective methods for encouraging positive child behaviour.
- In the short term, parents learn more effective strategies for managing their child’s behaviour and the child’s behaviour improves.
- In the longer term, children should have greater self-regulatory skills and self-confidence and do better in school.
- It is also expected that children will be less likely to have behavioural problems and/or engage in antisocial behaviour.
Intended outcomes
- Achieving in all areas of learning and development
- Active and healthy, physical and mental wellbeing
- Safe and protected from harm
- Safe and protected from harm
Contact details
Matt Buttery
Triple P UK
matt.buttery@triplep.net
About the evidence
Level 4 Standard Triple P's most rigorous evidence comes from an RCT which was conducted in Australia.
This study identified statistically significant positive impact on a number of child and parent outcomes.
This programme is underpinned by one study with a Level 3, hence the programme receives a Level 3 rating overall.
Study 1
| Citation: | Sanders et al. (2000); Bor et al. (2002); Sanders et al. (2007) |
| Design: | RCT |
| Country: | Australia |
| Sample: | 305 families |
| Timing: | Post-test |
| Child outcomes: |
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| Other outcomes: |
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| Study rating: | 3 |
Sanders, M.R., Markie-Dadds, C. Tully, L.A. & Bor, W. (2000). The Triple P-Positive Parenting Program: A comparison of enhanced, standard, and self-directed behavioural family intervention for parents of children with early inset conduct problems. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68 (4), 624-640.
Bor, W., Sanders, M.R., & Markie-Dadds, C. (2002). The effects of the Triple P-positive Parenting Programme with co-occurring disruptive behaviour and attentional/hyperactive difficulties. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 571-587.
Sanders, M. R., Bor, W., & Morawska, A. (2007). Maintenance of treatment gains: A comparison of enhanced, standard, and self-directed Triple P-Positive Parenting Program. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35(6), 983-998.
Available at
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10965638
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12481972
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17610061
Study design and sample
The first study is a rigorously conducted RCT.
This study involved random assignment of children to one of three treatment conditions and a control group: Triple P (Level 4) Standard; Enhanced Triple P (including partner support and coping skills); Self-directed Triple P (involving 10 workbooks); and a wait-list control group.
This study was conducted in Australia, with a sample of 305 families with a preschool child (average age of 40.88 months). The parents were predominantly of lower socioeconomic class and Caucasian.
Measures
Child behaviour was measured using the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (Intensity score) (parent report). Child problem behaviours were measured using the Parent Daily Report (mean Problem score) (parent report). Observed negative child behaviour was measured using the Revised Family Observation Schedule (FOS-R-III) (expert observation of behaviour).
Parental sense of competency was measured using the Parenting Sense of Competency Scale (parent report). Conflict between partners over childrearing was measured using the Parent Problem Checklist (parent report). Quality of dyadic relationship adjustment was measured using the Abbreviated Dyadic Adjustment Scale (parent report). Parental symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress were measured using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (parent report). Observed negative maternal behaviour was measured using the FOS-R-III (expert observation of behaviour).
Findings
This study identified statistically significant positive impact on a number of child and parent outcomes.
Child outcomes include:
- Reduced disruptive behaviour
- Reduced problem child behaviour
- Reduced negative child behaviour in parent-child interactions