It’s now well established that children who experience adversities or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are 6 to 10 times more likely to develop mental and physical health problems in later life.

In reviewing the available evidence on interventions that aim to prevent or reduce the negative effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on children’s mental health, the report looked at six broad categories of interventions including, community-wide initiatives, parenting programs, home visiting programs, economic and social service interventions, psychological therapies and school-based programs.

Both the programs that were rated as having a very high level of supporting evidence, Triple P and Incredible Years, were parenting programs. There were seven other parenting programs and 15 other programs reviewed. Most were found to have eiher a medium or high' level of supporting evidence, and one was found to have a low level of supporting evidence.

The report can be read in full here, having only been released publicly in late December 2020. It was prepared by the Centre of Research Excellence in Childhood Adversity and Mental Health (www.childhoodadversity.org.au, who are co-funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and Beyond Blue). The report’s seven authors represent the  Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne; the School of Psychological Sciences and Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University; the Faculty of Education, Monash University; and Health Services, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

In relation to Triple P, the report stated that:

“Data from meta-analyses of RCTs show that Triple P has led to…Short-term improvements in children's social, emotional and behavioural outcomes and parenting practice/s; Long-term improvements in children's social, emotional and behavioural outcomes and parenting practice/s behaviour; Long-term reductions in substantiated child maltreatment, out-of-home placements, hospitalization, or emergency room visits for child maltreatment injuries.”

The report also said the data showed Triple P as “effective across different settings including schools, community-settings or households” and “there is evidence of cost-effectiveness at reducing child behavioural and emotional problems and promoting effective parenting.”