A team from the University of Wales, Bangor, found that the evidence-based Incredible Years parenting programme, developed in the US, helped reduce stress and depression among parents and antisocial behaviour among children.
The researchers said their findings had 'important lessons' for Government.
'Unlike the disappointing results from the national evaluation of Sure Start, it shows that choosing an evidence-based programme can achieve remarkable outcomes in high-risk children whose parents generally fail to engage with services.'
The study, published on the British Medical Journal website, involved parents from socially disadvantaged areas with three- and four-year-olds at most risk of conduct disorder.
Lead researcher Dr Judy Hutchings said the programme 'uses all the reserves of 30 years of parenting research and puts that into a framework of building positive relationships and behaviour'. She added, 'All the evidence shows that if you do just one thing, just focus on problem behaviour, then it doesn't work.'
Liz Phenna-Williams, a health visitor with Conway and Denbighshire NHS Trust who worked on the programme in a Sure Start team, described it as 'the most powerful therapeutic intervention during my 30 years as a health visitor'.
Parenting intervention in Sure Start services for children at risk of developing conduct disorder is at www.bmj.com. See also www.incredibleyears.com.
Child behaviour and parenting skills were assessed at the start of the study and six months later through reports from the parents and by direct 'blind' observation. Children on the programme showed 'significantly reduced antisocial and hyperactive behaviour and increased self-control, compared to control children', the report said.