Incredible years parenting program buffers prospective association between parent-reported harsh parenting and epigenetic age deceleration in children with externalizing behavior.

Harsh parenting has been shown to increase the risk of physical and mental health problems in later life. To improve our understanding of these risks and how they can be mitigated, we investigated associations of harsh parenting with a clinically relevant biomarker, epigenetic age deviation (EAD), using data from a randomized-control trial of the Incredible Years (IY) parenting program. This study included 281 children aged 4-8 years who were screened for heightened externalizing behavior and whose parents were randomly allocated to either IY or care-as-usual (CAU). Parents reported on their own parenting practices and their child's externalizing behavior at baseline and at a follow-up assessment approximately three years later. Epigenetic age, based on the Pediatric Buccal Epigenetic (PedBE) clock, was estimated from child DNA methylation derived from saliva collected at the follow-up assessment. PedBE clock estimates were regressed on chronological age as a measure of EAD. Moderation analyses using multiple regression revealed that harsher parenting at baseline predicted epigenetic age deceleration in children that received CAU (b = -.21, 95% CI[-0.37, -0.05]), but no association was found in children whose parents were allocated to IY (b = -.02, 95% CI [-0.13, 0.19]). These results highlight a prospective association between harsh parenting and children's EAD and indicate a potential ameliorating effect of preventive intervention. Future work is needed to replicate these findings and understand individual differences in children's responses to harsh parenting in relation to epigenetic aging.

DNA methylation variation after a parenting program for child conduct problems: Findings from a randomized controlled trial.

This study investigated associations of the Incredible Years (IY) parenting program with children's DNA methylation. Participants were 289 Dutch children aged 3-9 years (75% European ancestry, 48% female) with above-average conduct problems. Saliva was collected 2.5 years after families were randomized to IY or care as usual (CAU). Using an intention-to-treat approach, confirmatory multiple-regression analyses revealed no significant differences between the IY and CAU groups in children's methylation levels at the NR3C1 and FKBP5 genes. However, exploratory epigenome-wide analyses revealed nine differentially methylated regions between groups, coinciding with SLAMF1, MITF, FAM200B, PSD3, SNX31, and CELSR1. The study provides preliminary evidence for associations of IY with children's salivary methylation levels and highlights the need for further research into biological outcomes of parenting programs.

Effectiveness, working mechanisms, and implementation of youth-initiated mentoring for juvenile delinquents: a multiple-methods study protocol.

BACKGROUND: The societal costs associated with juvenile delinquency and reoffending are high, emphasising the need for effective prevention strategies. A promising approach is Youth-Initiated Mentoring (YIM). In YIM, professionals support youths in selecting a non-parental adult from within their social network as their mentor. However, until now, little (quasi-)experimental research has been conducted on YIM in the field of juvenile delinquency. We will examine the effectiveness, working mechanisms, and implementation of YIM as a selective prevention strategy for juvenile delinquents. METHODS: This multiple-methods study consists of a quasi-experimental trial and a qualitative study. In the quasi-experimental trial, we aim to include 300 juvenile offenders referred to Halt, a Dutch juvenile justice system organisation which offers youths a diversion program. In the Netherlands, all juvenile offenders between 12 and 18 years old are referred to Halt, where they must complete the Halt intervention. Youths will be non-randomly assigned to region-matched non-YIM-trained and YIM-trained Halt professionals implementing Care as Usual (CAU, i.e., the Halt intervention) or CAU plus YIM, respectively. Despite non-random allocation, this approach may yield comparable conditions regarding (1) the characteristics of professionals delivering the intervention and (2) case type and severity. Youth and caregiver(s) self-report data will be collected at pre-and post-test and a 6-month follow-up and complemented with official Halt records data. Multilevel analyses will test whether youths following CAU plus YIM show a stronger increase in resilience factors and a stronger decline in the need for formal support and delinquency than youths following CAU. In the qualitative study, we will organise focus group interviews with YIM-trained professionals to explore boosters and barriers experienced by professionals during the implementation of YIM. DISCUSSION: The proposed study will help identify the effectiveness of YIM in strengthening resilience factors and possibly decreasing juvenile delinquency. In addition, it may offer insights into how and for whom YIM works. Finally, this study can help strengthen the implementation of YIM in the future. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.Gov (# NCT05555472). Registered 7 September 2022. https://www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov/ct2/show/NCT05555472?cond=Youth+Initiated+Mentoring&draw=2&rank=1 .

Maternal personality change from pregnancy until 12 months postpartum: Associations with parenting.

Although many studies have shown that personality-as a relatively stable characteristic-is a predictor of parenting behavior, personality changes occur during adulthood. Therefore, we do not know whether previous findings based on personality assessed (long) after the birth of the child indicate that personality as assessed before the child is born predicts behaviors parents eventually display. Possibly, personality changes are additionally predictive for parenting behavior. With this three-wave longitudinal study, we aimed to examine whether mothers' personality change from pregnancy to postpartum predicts maternal parenting behavior above and beyond personality traits as assessed during pregnancy. A sample of 239 pregnant women participated in the study (Mage = 29.95 years, SD = 4.08, range 20-43; 53% primiparous; 95% of Dutch descent). Women reported their big five personality traits during pregnancy (T1), at six- (T2), and 12 months postpartum (T3). At the postpartum assessments, mothers also reported on their affectionate and hostile parenting behavior. Latent Difference Score models indicated that personality at T1 predicted hostile but not affectionate parenting behavior at T2. Changes in personality from T1 to T2 were associated with maternal hostile and affectionate parenting at T2, whereas changes from T2 to T3 were unrelated to parenting. Personality as assessed during pregnancy may thus be helpful in identifying mothers at risk of early hostile parenting behavior. Identifying predictors of personality change may inform preventive efforts aimed at reducing this risk, as personality changes from pregnancy to 6 months postpartum were more predictive of maternal parenting than initial levels. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

YouTube vloggers set the stage: How public (non)compliance with COVID-19 regulations affects adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: YouTube vloggers may be important socialization figures, yet their influence on adolescents' health-related behaviors and cognitions is largely untested. In this two-study mixed-method project, we first assessed the extent of (non)compliance to COVID-19 regulations by vloggers on YouTube and how viewers reacted to this. Second, we experimentally assessed the effects of vlogger behavior paired with viewer evaluations on adolescents' COVID-19-related attitudes, intentions, and behavior. METHODS: For Study 1, we coded 240 vlogs of eight popular Dutch vloggers on YouTube recorded in the period of February 2020-March 2021. For our 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment in Study 2, Dutch adolescents (N = 285, Mage = 12.99, SD = 1.02, 41.8% girls) were randomly assigned to conditions in which they saw vlogs showing either compliance or noncompliance to COVID-19 regulations, and to conditions in which they saw either supportive or dismissive comments under these vlogs. RESULTS: Study 1: Vloggers' noncompliance with COVID-19 regulations was not uncommon and received relatively more viewer support than compliance, suggesting that portrayed noncompliance may be potentially influential. Study 2: Adolescents were more worried about COVID-19 after they watched a compliant (vs. noncompliant) vlogger. Also, vlogger noncompliance decreased adolescents' perceived importance of COVID-19 regulations and rule-setting for adolescents who identified strongly with the vloggers they watched. CONCLUSIONS: Vloggers' (non)compliance affects adolescents' COVID-19-related worrying, and attitudes and behavior of adolescents who identify with vloggers strongly. This seems concerning given the sometimes harmful and risky behaviors vloggers portray online but could potentially also be employed to encourage healthy behaviors.

Editorial: Prevention is the best cure - or is it? A cautionary tale.

In large parts of the Western world prevention is considered a necessary, core component of successful youth care practice. Yet, mental health problems in young people do not appear to have declined over the past decades. How to explain this paradox? In this editorial for the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, several possible explanations are explored, one of which centers around how prevention is being operationalized-primarily, nowadays, as a screen-and-resolve 'troubleshooting' approach, rather than as an approach that supports the development of good health, competence, and resilience.

Intervention-induced temperament changes in children: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial of the Incredible Years parent program.

Child temperament has long been viewed as a potential susceptibility factor in the link between parenting and child disruptive behavior (CDB). Specifically, the idea is that children with higher negative emotionality, surgency, and lower effortful control are more affected by their received parenting, but experimental evidence is scarce. Also, others have argued that child temperament might not be a susceptibility factor but a factor that can change through parents' participation in a parenting intervention. To test both hypotheses, we analyzed pretest, posttest, and 4-month follow-up data from 386 mostly Dutch parents, mainly mothers (92%; Mage = 38.1, SD = 4.8) with children (Mage = 6.31, SD = 1.33; 54.2% boys). The children had above-average disruptive behavior (i.e., ≥75th percentile Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory questionnaire; Eyberg & Pincus, 1999). The families participated in a randomized controlled trial of the Incredible Years (IY) parenting program. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that child temperament did not moderate IY intervention effects on CDB. Furthermore, parallel process analyses showed that the IY intervention led to direct, simultaneous decreases in both negative emotionality and CDB. These findings counter the widely held belief that temperament traits are static, unchangeable modulators of the links between parenting and CDB. Instead, child temperament (negative emotionality) can at least partly be influenced by parents' participation in a parenting program. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Differences in developmental problems between victims of different types of child maltreatment.

This study examined differences in developmental problems between children who were victims of two child maltreatment dimensions: abuse versus neglect, and physical versus emotional maltreatment. Family demographics and developmental problems were examined in a clinical sample of 146 Dutch children from families involved in a Multisystemic Therapy - Child Abuse and Neglect treatment trajectory. No differences were found in child behavior problems within the dimension abuse versus neglect. However, more externalizing behavior problems (e.g., aggressive problems) were found in children who experienced physical maltreatment compared to children who experienced emotional maltreatment. Further, more behavior problems (e.g., social problems, attention problems, and trauma symptoms) were found in victims of multitype maltreatment compared to victims of any single-type maltreatment. The results of this study increase the understanding of the impact of child maltreatment poly-victimization, and highlight the value of classifying child maltreatment into physical and emotional maltreatment.

Postmigration stress compromises refugee parents' self-efficacy and autonomy-supportive parenting: An experience sampling study.

Refugee parents raise their adolescent children in a world that is different from the world they themselves grew up in, often experiencing postmigration stress. This may hamper parents' confidence in their parenting skills and make it difficult for them to grant adolescent children the autonomy they desire and need. In this preregistered study, we aimed to advance our understanding of this process by examining, in daily life, whether postmigration stress contributes to less autonomy-supportive parenting through compromised feelings of parental self-efficacy. Fifty-five refugee parents of adolescent children resettled in the Netherlands (72% Syrian; Mage children = 12.81) reported on their postmigration stress, parental self-efficacy, and parental autonomy support up to 10 times a day for 6-8 days. We fit a dynamic structural equation model to test whether postmigration stress predicted reductions in parental autonomy support, and whether parental self-efficacy explained this link. Results showed that when parents experienced more postmigration stress, they granted their children less autonomy at a later timepoint, in part, through parents feeling less efficacious after having experiencing postmigration stress. Findings held after controlling for parents' posttraumatic stress symptoms, and when controlling for all possible temporal and lagged associations. Our results highlight that postmigration stress shapes parenting practices, above and beyond symptoms of war-trauma, in the daily lives of refugee families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Commentary: Why treatment is the best choice for childhood mental disorders - a commentary on Roest et al. (2022).

An important question in mental healthcare for children is whether treatments are effective and safe in the long run. Here, we comment on a recent editorial perspective by Roest et al. (2022), who argue, based on an overview of systematic reviews, 'that there is no convincing evidence that interventions for the most common childhood disorders are beneficial in the long term'. We believe that the available evidence does not justify this conclusion and express our concern regarding the harmful effects of their message. We show that there is evidence to suggest beneficial longer term treatment effects for each of the disorders and explain why evidence-based treatment should be offered to children with mental disorders.

What Works for Whom in School-Based Anti-bullying Interventions? An Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis.

The prevalence of bullying worldwide is high (UNESCO, 2018). Over the past decades, many anti-bullying interventions have been developed to remediate this problem. However, we lack insight into for whom these interventions work and what individual intervention components drive the total intervention effects. We conducted a large-scale individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis using data from 39,793 children and adolescents aged five to 20 years (Mage = 12.58, SD = 2.34) who had participated in quasi-experimental or randomized controlled trials of school-based anti-bullying interventions (i.e., 10 studies testing nine interventions). Multilevel logistic regression analyses showed that anti-bullying interventions significantly reduced self-reported victimization (d = - 0.14) and bullying perpetration (d = - 0.07). Anti-bullying interventions more strongly reduced bullying perpetration in younger participants (i.e., under age 12) and victimization for youth who were more heavily victimized before the intervention. We did not find evidence to show that the inclusion of specific intervention components was related to higher overall intervention effects, except for an iatrogenic effect of non-punitive disciplinary methods-which was strongest for girls. Exploratory analyses suggested that school assemblies and playground supervision may have harmful effects for some, increasing bullying perpetration in youth who already bullied frequently at baseline. In conclusion, school-based anti-bullying interventions are generally effective and work especially well for younger children and youth who are most heavily victimized. Further tailoring of interventions may be necessary to more effectively meet the needs and strengths of specific subgroups of children and adolescents.

Exploring Parenting Profiles to Understand Who Benefits from the Incredible Years Parenting Program.

Behavioral parenting programs are a theory-driven and evidence-based approach for reducing disruptive child behavior. Although these programs are effective on average, they are not equally effective in all families. Decades of moderation research has yielded very few consistent moderators, and we therefore still have little knowledge of who benefits from these programs and little understanding why some families benefit more than others. This study applied a baseline target moderation model to a parenting program, by (1) identifying parenting profiles at baseline, (2) exploring their correlations with other family characteristics and their stability, and (3) assessing whether they moderate intervention effects on child behavior. Individual participant data from four Dutch studies on the Incredible Years (IY) parenting program were used (N = 785 caregiver-child dyads). Children (58.2% boys) were at risk of disruptive behavior problems and aged between 2 and 11 years of age (M = 5.85 years; SD = 1.59). Latent profile analyses indicated three distinct baseline parenting profiles, which we labeled as follows: Low Involvement (81.4%), High Involvement (8.4%), and Harsh Parenting (10.1%). The profiles caregivers were allocated to were associated with their education, minority status, being a single caregiver, and the severity of disruptive child behavior. We found neither evidence that baseline parenting profiles changed due to participation in IY nor evidence that the profiles predicted program effects on child behavior. Our findings do not support the baseline target moderation hypothesis but raise new questions on how parenting programs may work similarly or differently for different families.

Strengthening parental self-efficacy and resilience: A within-subject experimental study with refugee parents of adolescents.

Post-migration stress and parenting adolescents can reduce parental self-efficacy. This study tested the effects of strengthening parental self-efficacy in refugee parents of adolescents and whether this makes parental self-efficacy less impacted by post-migration stressors. Using a within-subject experimental design, experience sampling data were collected in 2019 from 53 refugee parents of adolescents (Mage  = 39.7, SDage  = 5.59, 73% Syrian, 70% mothers) in the Netherlands. Data were analyzed by dynamic structural equation modeling using interrupted time-series analysis. The single-session personalized intervention strengthened parental self-efficacy (small effect: between case standardized mean difference = 0.09) and made refugee parents less vulnerable to post-migration stressors. Findings suggest that parental self-efficacy is malleable and strengthening it fosters refugee parents' resilience. Replications with longer-term follow-ups are needed.

Editorial: Prevention is the best cure.

In this issue of Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, many interesting research findings converge to suggest that prevention and early intervention strategies can be the key to building healthier societies with happier people. Across different societies, we observe that scientific attention and practice is becoming more evenly divided between the traditionally dominant focus on clinical disorders and residential treatments on the one hand and a burgeoning focus on prevention and resilience in ambulant settings and younger populations on the other hand.

Does caregivers' use of praise reduce children's externalizing behavior? A longitudinal observational test in the context of a parenting program.

Caregivers are often encouraged to praise children to reduce externalizing behavior. Although several theoretical perspectives suggest that praise works (e.g., praise reinforces positive behavior), others suggest it may not (e.g., children dismiss praise or experience it as controlling). This longitudinal-observational study examined whether (a) caregivers' praise and children's externalizing behavior were related; (b) an evidence-based parenting program increased caregivers' praise; (c) and increasing praise reduced children's externalizing behavior. Participants (387 caregiver-child dyads) were randomly assigned to a 14-session parenting program (aiming to improve parenting behavior, partly via praise) or a control group. Children (aged 4-8 years, 45% girls) scored at or above the 75th percentile on externalizing behavior problems. Caregivers (91% Caucasian, 85% born in the Netherlands, 50.5% highly educated) were mostly mothers (91%). At baseline, postintervention, and follow-up, we assessed caregivers' labeled and unlabeled praise via in-home observations, and children's externalizing behavior via caregiver-reports and observations. At baseline, caregivers' unlabeled praise was related to more (rather than less) externalizing behavior. The parenting program successfully increased praise and reduced caregiver-reported (but not observed) externalizing behavior; importantly, however, praise did not mediate the program's effect on caregiver-reported externalizing behavior. Although the program did not directly reduce observed externalizing behavior, it did so indirectly via labeled praise. Our results suggest that, although praise and externalizing child behavior are related, praise may not be a key mechanism underlying the effects of the parenting program. If praise has beneficial effects on children's externalizing behavior, these effects are probably limited to labeled praise. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Temper Tantrums in Toddlers and Preschoolers: Longitudinal Associations with Adjustment Problems.

OBJECTIVE: We examined parent reports of temper tantrum characteristics (e.g., frequency, duration, and behavioral profile) in toddlers and preschoolers and their longitudinal association with internalizing and externalizing adjustment problems. METHODS: Parents of 1- to 5-year-olds (N = 861, M age = 36 months, 47% girls) reported their child's temper tantrum frequency, duration, and behaviors. A subsample also reported on their child's tantrums and adjustment problems 1 year later (n = 252). We first compared the distribution of temper tantrum frequency and duration for different ages. Next, we examined which factors underlie the tantrum behaviors and whether behavioral profiles could be distinguished based on configurations of these factors within children. Finally, we performed regression analyses predicting internalizing and externalizing adjustment problems by temper tantrum frequency, duration, and behavioral profile, controlling for child sex and age. RESULTS: Chi-square tests indicated that overall, tantrum frequency declined, whereas tantrum duration increased across the 1- to 5-year age range. We found that based on 4 tantrum behavior factors (anger, distress, aggression, and self-injurious behavior), 3 profiles characterized the tantrum behavior of children in the sample: a low-intensity profile (26%), a moderate-intensity profile (32%), and a high aggressive/self-injurious profile (42%). More frequent tantrums predicted more externalizing problems, whereas longer tantrum duration predicted internalizing problems. The high aggressive/self-injurious profile predicted adjustment problems above and beyond tantrum duration and frequency. CONCLUSION: Parent reports of different tantrum characteristics are uniquely predictive of different types of problems and may each be important to include in screening efforts for adjustment problems in young children.

Specificity of Parenting Program Component Effects: Relational, Behavioral, and Cognitive Approaches to Children's Conduct Problems.

Childhood conduct problems (eg, defiance, anger, and aggression) compromise child and family well-being and development.1 Evidence-based programs to support parents in managing children's conduct problems exist, but most families do not have access to these programs.2 Implementation costs, certification and supervision demands, and limited possibilities to personalize evidence-based programs hinder their scalability. To improve the care that families receive, we need to identify and understand discrete therapeutic processes, rather than comprehensive treatment protocols, that can be flexibly implemented to effectively reduce key risk factors for children's conduct problems, and make them widely available as low-cost stand-alone therapy components.3 The present study therefore tests the effects of 3 stand-alone parenting program components.

Oxytocin system gene methylation is associated with empathic responses towards children.

Empathy is an essential component of sensitive caregiving behavior, which in turn is an important predictor of children's healthy social-emotional development. The oxytocin (OXT) system plays a key role in promoting sensitive parenting and empathy. In this study, we investigated how OXT system gene methylation was associated with empathic processes in nulliparous women (M age = 23.60, SD =0.44)-measuring both physiological facial muscle responses and ratings of compassion and positive affect to affective images depicting children. Linear mixed effects analyses demonstrated that lower methylation levels in the OXT and OXTR genes were related to enhanced empathic responses. The effect of OXT system gene methylation on empathic processes was partly qualified by an interaction with individual variations in women's care motivation. Our findings provide experimental evidence for an association between the methylation of OXT system genes and empathy.

Parenting in times of refuge: A qualitative investigation.

This qualitative study sheds light on how the different phases of refuge and resettlement shape parents' perceptions of their parenting. We used in-depth interviews to examine parents' accounts of how war and refuge gave rise to different stressors, and how these in turn shaped parenting. We interviewed 27 Syrian refugee parents recently settled in the Netherlands (16 families) twice, using a grounded theory approach. We distinguished five phases of refuge, namely prewar, war, flight, displacement, and resettlement. During flight and displacement, stressors associated with financial and material losses appeared to induce parental empathy for children's suffering, which seemed to increase parental leniency. Stressors emerging from family separation during displacement, however, were reported to burden parents and to lead to uncertainty, which seemed to compromise parental warmth and sensitive discipline. While narratives suggest that families reacted in similar ways during the phases of war, flight, and displacement, differences seemed to emerge during the resettlement phase. Some parents stated that in resettlement, they experienced post-traumatic growth (e.g., increased compassion for their children) and were more autonomy supporting than before the war. Other parents seemed to struggle with accepting and supporting their children's emotions and appeared to resort more readily to parental control. Our findings suggest that emotional exhaustion plays a key role in how parents viewed their parenting changed during refuge, and that individual differences in parents' abilities to recover from emotional exhaustion played a key role in shaping parenting in resettlement.

Este estudio cualitativo aclara cómo las distintas fases del asilo y el reasentamiento determinan las percepciones de los padres con respecto a la crianza de sus hijos. Utilizamos entrevistas detalladas para analizar las explicaciones de los padres de cómo la guerra y el asilo provocaron diferentes factores desencadenantes de estrés, y de cómo estos a su vez moldearon la crianza. Entrevistamos a 27 padres refugiados sirios asentados recientemente en los Países Bajos (16 familias) dos veces utilizando un enfoque de teoría fundamentada. Distinguimos cinco fases del asilo, por ejemplo, la preguerra, la guerra, la huida, el desplazamiento y el reasentamiento. Durante la huida y el desplazamiento, los factores desencadenantes de estrés asociados con las pérdidas económicas y materiales aparentemente provocaron empatía en los padres por el sufrimiento de los niños, lo cual pareció aumentar la indulgencia de los padres. Sin embargo, se informó que los factores desencadenantes de estrés que surgieron por la separación de la familia durante el desplazamiento agobiaron a los padres y condujeron a la incertidumbre, lo cual aparentemente comprometió la amabilidad de los padres y la disciplina sensible. Si bien las historias sugieren que las familias reaccionaron de maneras similares durante las fases de la guerra, la huida y el desplazamiento, parecieron surgir diferencias durante la fase del reasentamiento. Algunos padres declararon que en el reasentamiento vivieron un crecimiento postraumático (p. ej.: una mayor compasión por sus hijos) y que fomentaron más la autonomía que antes de la guerra. A otros padres les costó aceptar y apoyar las emociones de sus hijos, y recurrieron más fácilmente al control parental. Nuestros resultados sugieren que el agotamiento emocional juega un papel fundamental en cómo los padres observaron un cambio en la crianza durante el asilo, y que las diferencias individuales en las habilidades de los padres para recuperarse del agotamiento emocional jugaron un papel clave a la hora de determinar la crianza en el reasentamiento.

Effectiveness of the online mindset intervention 'The Growth Factory' for adolescents with intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND: This study examines participant satisfaction and effectiveness of the online mindset intervention 'The Growth Factory' (TGF) for youth with intellectual disabilities using a randomised controlled trial design. METHOD: Youth with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities (N = 119; 12-23 years) were randomly assigned to TGF (n = 60) or control group (n = 59). Primary outcome measures were mindsets and perseverance. Secondary outcomes were empowerment, mental health problems, self-esteem, treatment motivation, therapeutic alliance and challenge seeking. Measurements were conducted at pre-test, post-test and at 3 and 6 months follow-up. RESULTS: TGF had positive effects on perseverance, mental health problems, self-esteem and therapeutic alliance at post-test. TGF had follow-up effects on mental health problems (3 months), mindset of intelligence (3 and 6 months) and mindset of emotion and behaviour (6 months). CONCLUSIONS: TGF offers a promising add-on intervention complementing usual care programmes accelerating improvements in mindsets and mental health in youth with intellectual disabilities.