Evaluation report of Early Intervention Program in Situations of Youth-to-Parent Aggression: What happens one year after?

Abstract

Introduction: The Early Intervention Program in Situations of Youth-to-Parent Aggression (EI-YPA) has a good level of protocolization and is open access. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the EI-YPA program on adolescents in the medium term. Methods: Among the participants who successfully completed the program, 22 adolescents (between 12 and 17 years old) and 49 parents from Spanish families participated in the study. A single-case experimental design was applied, allowing the monitoring of change within adolescents through comparison between phases (pre-, post-intervention, and follow-up at 6 months). Results: In the medium term after the intervention, it was observed reductions in youth-to-parent aggression, clinical symptoms (depressive symptoms, irrational beliefs, a lack of empathy, and emotional instability), and the perception of family conflict, alongside improved life satisfaction. Conclusions: This study improves the quality of the evidence of this pioneering program, having a positive impact on adolescents in the medium term and good acceptability; it can thus be considered a very promising program for the clinical and family protection context.