The Empirical Status of Treatments for Children and Youth With Conduct Problems

Abstract

Objective: The present study identifies and summarizes treatment effects for children and adolescent conduct problems based on accrued meta-analytic studies. Method: Systematic search and coding procedures were used to summarize studies from 1980 to 2007. Results: A total of 26 meta-analytic reviews composed of nearly 2,000 studies revealed substantial variation in effect sizes. The majority (45%) of effect sizes was small to medium in magnitude ( d < .36). In terms of the distribution of effect sizes ( n = 125), the mean is d = 0.43 ( SD = 0.32). Conclusion: Although there is considerable variation in effect sizes, the results seem to demonstrate evidence for equifinality. Furthermore, these effects are sturdy across a number of interrelated outcomes. Practitioners who work with children and adolescents should be aware of the range of evidence-based treatments available for conduct problems. Limitations of taking stock of treatment outcome literature via meta-analyses are highlighted.

Ingredients for Criminality Require Genes, Temperament, and Psychopathic Personality

“…Besides wanting to know the truth this is important in order to build "bench to trench" preventive interventions that are possibly more sustainable because they are tied to underlying causal processes occurring relatively early in the life-course. Numerous syntheses of the knowledge base on the prevention of early conduct problems suggest promising results (Farrington & Welsh, 2007;Litschge, Vaughn, & McCrae, 2010;Welsh, Braga, & Sullivan, 2014). Moreover, prevention scientists have also pointed out that many effective interventions are biosocial in nature, which melds nicely with the core ingredients of criminality discussed in the present paper (Rocque, Welsh, & Raine, 2012).…”

Two-Year Findings from a National Effectiveness Trial: Effectiveness of Behavioral and Non-Behavioral Parenting Programs

“…Randomized controlled trial Parent training (PT) programs targeting children's externalizing behaviors are recommended in clinical practice to prevent problematic child behaviors from escalating into more serious concerns during adolescence, such as drug abuse, risky sexual behaviors, and delinquency (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence 2013). There is considerable evidence for the moderate short-term effects of some PT programs, at post measurement and at follow-up 4 months after the intervention (Litschge et al 2010;Maughan et al 2005; Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10802-016-0178-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Serketich and Dumas 1996) and recently reports also indicate that some of the programs evaluated have persisting effects on child externalizing behaviors for as long as 1 year after program completion (Furlong et al 2012).…”

“…Randomized controlled trial Parent training (PT) programs targeting children's externalizing behaviors are recommended in clinical practice to prevent problematic child behaviors from escalating into more serious concerns during adolescence, such as drug abuse, risky sexual behaviors, and delinquency (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence 2013). There is considerable evidence for the moderate short-term effects of some PT programs, at post measurement and at follow-up 4 months after the intervention (Litschge et al 2010;Maughan et al 2005; Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article ( …”

The Relationship Between the Level of Program Integrity and Pre- and Post-Test Changes of Responsive–Aggression Regulation Therapy (Re-ART) Outpatient

“…Re-ART Outpatient is largely individualized (Landenberger & Lipsey, 2005) and based on the RNR principles, with a special focus on both categories of the responsivity principle (Andrews & Bonta, 2010). Re-ART Outpatient uses cognitive-behavioral techniques, because international research shows that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) effectively reduces severe aggressive behavior (e.g., Hatcher et al, 2008;Hollin & Palmer, 2009;Litschge, Vaughn, & McCrea, 2010;Özabaci, 2011). Re-ART Outpatient particularly focuses on developing cognitive skills, such as cognitive restructuring (recognizing and adapting adequate rational cognitions), and training interpersonal problem-solving skills (Landenberger & Lipsey, 2005;Lipsey et al, 2007;McGuire, 2008;Wilson, Bouffard, & MacKenzie, 2005).…”