Meta-analysis of homework effects in cognitive and behavioral therapy: A replication and extension.

Abstract

Kazantzis, Deane, and Ronan (2000) estimated the effect size (ES) for homework's causal effects on outcome, but did not (a) estimate ES for ''control'' therapy conditions, (b) incorporate data from correlational studies, or (c) test for outliers. The present analysis (46 studies, N = 1,072) replicated and extended Kazantzis and colleagues' review and obtained a pre-posttreatment ES of d = 0.63 for control conditions, and a larger d = 1.08 for therapy conditions with homework. A pooled ES of d = 0.48 favoring homework was obtained when the analysis was restricted to controlled studies contrasting the same therapy. No evidence was found for outlier or publication bias effects. Results supported the conclusion that homework assignments enhance therapy outcomes.

Counselor Allegiance and Client Expectancy in Neuroscience-Informed Cognitive-Behavior Therapy: A 12-Month Qualitative Follow-Up

“…Client nonadherence to outside-of-session practice assignments was consistent with prior CBT studies that have found homework adherence rates of approxi mately 40% (e.g., Decker et ah, 2016), This nonadherence is significant when considering that clients who practiced outside of session saw beneficial effects, consistent with meta-analyses that have found outside-of-session practice to approach a medium-size effect (cl -0.48) on CBT outcome when compared with treatments that did not include a homework component (Kazantzis, Whittington, & Dattilio, 2010). Clients did not complete outside-of-session practice for several reasons.…”

Cognitive behaviour therapy versus eye movement desensitization and reprocessing for post-traumatic disorder – is it all in the homework then?

“…A recent a meta-analysis by Kazantzis, Whittington & Dattilio, (2010) of 46 studies (n = 1,072), directly contrasting therapies with and without homework produced a small to medium effect size in favour of therapy with homework. The authors conclude that homework assignments are clearly beneficial and increase the effectiveness of therapies which are already clinically robust.…”

“…This conclusion may not be applicable to all treatments though. Indeed the meta-analysis by Kazantzis et al, (2010) did not include studies of EMDR, a treatment known for its minimal homework requirements. Studies comparing CBT and EMDR reveal number of sessions to be comparable (Lee, Gavriel, Drummond, Richards, & Greenwald, 2002;Power et al, 2002), as well as treatment outcomes (in some cases EMDR has proven to be superior e.g.…”

Cognitive–behavioural therapy for patients with schizophrenia: a multicentre randomized controlled trial in Beijing, China

“…This was demonstrated in the follow-up stage that took place between weeks 24 to 84. Additionally, assigning and completing homework is a possible core mechanism to promote and sustain change gained during the first 12 weeks of CBT sessions (Kazantzis et al 2010). …”