TY - JOUR
T1 - Does psychotherapy work with school-aged youth? A meta-analytic examination of moderator variables that influence therapeutic outcomes
AU - Fedewa, Alicia L.
AU - Ahn, Soyeon
AU - Reese, Robert J.
AU - Suarez, Marietta M.
AU - Macquoid, Ahjane
AU - Davis, Matthew C.
AU - Prout, H. Thompson
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Society for the Study of School Psychology.
PY - 2016/6/1
Y1 - 2016/6/1
N2 - The present study is a quantitative synthesis of the available literature to investigate the efficacy of psychotherapy for children's mental health outcomes. In particular, this study focuses on potential moderating variables-study design, treatment, client, and therapist characteristics-that may influence therapeutic outcomes for youth but have not been thoroughly accounted for in prior meta-analytic studies. An electronic search of relevant databases resulted in 190 unpublished and published studies that met criteria for inclusion in the analysis. Effect sizes differed by study design. Pre-post-test designs resulted in absolute magnitudes of treatment effects ranging from |-. 0.02. | to |-. 0.76. | while treatment versus control group comparison designs resulted in absolute magnitudes of treatment effects ranging from |-. 0.14. | to |-. 2.39. |. Changes in youth outcomes larger than 20% were found, irrespective of study design, for outcomes focused on psychosomatization (29% reduction), school attendance (25% increase), and stress (48% reduction). The magnitude of changes after psychotherapy ranged from 6% (externalizing problems) to 48% (stress). Several moderator variables significantly influenced psychotherapy treatment effect sizes, including frequency and length of treatment as well as treatment format. However, results did not support the superiority of a single type of intervention for most outcomes. Implications for therapy with school-aged youth and future research are discussed.
AB - The present study is a quantitative synthesis of the available literature to investigate the efficacy of psychotherapy for children's mental health outcomes. In particular, this study focuses on potential moderating variables-study design, treatment, client, and therapist characteristics-that may influence therapeutic outcomes for youth but have not been thoroughly accounted for in prior meta-analytic studies. An electronic search of relevant databases resulted in 190 unpublished and published studies that met criteria for inclusion in the analysis. Effect sizes differed by study design. Pre-post-test designs resulted in absolute magnitudes of treatment effects ranging from |-. 0.02. | to |-. 0.76. | while treatment versus control group comparison designs resulted in absolute magnitudes of treatment effects ranging from |-. 0.14. | to |-. 2.39. |. Changes in youth outcomes larger than 20% were found, irrespective of study design, for outcomes focused on psychosomatization (29% reduction), school attendance (25% increase), and stress (48% reduction). The magnitude of changes after psychotherapy ranged from 6% (externalizing problems) to 48% (stress). Several moderator variables significantly influenced psychotherapy treatment effect sizes, including frequency and length of treatment as well as treatment format. However, results did not support the superiority of a single type of intervention for most outcomes. Implications for therapy with school-aged youth and future research are discussed.
KW - Child outcomes
KW - Counseling
KW - Mental health
KW - Meta-analysis
KW - Quantitative review
KW - Therapy
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jsp.2016.03.001
DO - 10.1016/j.jsp.2016.03.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 27268570
AN - SCOPUS:84966702107
SN - 0022-4405
VL - 56
SP - 59
EP - 87
JO - Journal of School Psychology
JF - Journal of School Psychology
ER -