Psychoeducation for Children with Chronic Conditions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of psychoeducational interventions in improving quality of life (QoL) for children with chronic conditions. METHODS: We identified 25 randomized controlled trials of psychoeducational interventions for children with chronic conditions that reported a QoL outcome and were published 1980-2018. Due to small numbers of interventions in other chronic conditions, comparisons between chronic conditions were limited to 17 studies addressing interventions for asthma and diabetes. RESULTS: Psychoeducational interventions were associated with a small, statistically significant improvement in QoL (standardized mean difference = 0.14; 95% confidence interval: 0.06-0.23). The effect was significantly larger for asthma interventions compared to diabetes interventions, and in interventions delivered to younger (under 12 years) rather than older children (12 years and over). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that currently evaluated psychoeducational interventions improve QoL for children with asthma but not for children with diabetes. Children with diabetes may require tailored interventions with additional components alongside psychoeducation. Further intervention studies are needed to generalize to other conditions and to draw conclusions about which settings and modes of delivery are most effective in improving QoL.

How can adolescent aggression be reduced? A multi-level meta-analysis.

Aggressive behaviour among adolescents has significant social and economic costs. Numerous attempts have been made to intervene to reduce aggression in adolescents. However, little is known about what factors enhance or diminish intervention effectiveness. The present systematic review and meta-analysis, therefore, seeks to quantify the effectiveness of interventions to reduce aggressive behaviour in adolescents and to identify when and for whom such interventions work best. Sixteen databases were searched for randomised controlled trials that assessed interventions to reduce aggression among adolescents. After screening 9795 records, 95 studies were included. A multi-level meta-analysis found a significant overall small-to-medium effect size (d = 0.28; 95% CI [0.17, 0.39]). More effective interventions were of shorter duration, were conducted in the Middle East, were targeted at adolescents with higher levels of risk, and were facilitated by intervention professionals. Potentially active ingredients were classified using the Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy. Behavioural practice and problem solving were components of more effective interventions targeted at the general population. Overall the findings indicate that psychosocial interventions are effective in reducing adolescent aggression. Future trials need to assess the effect of individual techniques and their combination to identify the key components that can reduce aggression in adolescents.