Dino Study: Daily Intervention-based Research on Nurturing Opportunities in Young Children

Launched by TILBURG UNIVERSITY · Jun 25, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying a program called the Incredible Years Dinosaur Program, which aims to help children aged 6 to 8 who have behavior problems like acting out or difficulty with emotions and social skills. The researchers want to see if this program can improve children’s emotional well-being, social interactions, and school performance, while also reducing challenging behaviors. They will also look at how the program affects daily parent-child relationships, hoping it leads to fewer emotional ups and downs and more positive moments between parents and children.

Children who take part will be randomly placed into two groups: one group will join the Dinosaur Program, which involves 18 weekly small-group sessions, and the other group will be on a waitlist and not receive the program right away. Parents and children will also use a smartphone app to keep daily diaries about emotions and behaviors for about 20 weeks, and both parents and teachers will fill out questionnaires before and after the program. To join, children must be between 6 and 8 years old, have at least one parent able to participate, and both need to speak Dutch well enough to complete the study activities. Children with significant intellectual disabilities or those who do not live mostly with a parent during the week cannot participate. This study is not yet recruiting participants but aims to better understand how this program can support children and families dealing with behavior challenges.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Children aged 4 to 8 years
• • At least one parent or primary caregiver willing and able to participate in the study and complete daily diary assessments
• • Sufficient Dutch language proficiency in child and parent to complete questionnaires and daily diary reports
• • Parental indication that the child shows elevated or (sub)clinical levels of conduct problems in daily life (e.g., frequent defiance, aggression, or rule- breaking behavior
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Intellectual disability in the child (IQ \< 70)
• • Child lives primarily in a different household during weekdays (e.g., institutional care, full-time co-parenting arrangement)
• • Parent/child does not have sufficient Dutch language proficiency