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Meta-Analysis
. 2015 Mar;18(1):77-97.
doi: 10.1007/s10567-015-0178-6.

A systematic review of meta-analyses of psychosocial treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Gregory A Fabiano  1 , Nicole K Schatz, Ariel M Aloe, Anil Chacko, Andrea Chronis-Tuscano
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

A systematic review of meta-analyses of psychosocial treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Gregory A Fabiano et al. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2015 Mar.

Abstract

The present report synthesizes outcomes across meta-analyses of psychosocial (i.e., non-pharmacological) treatments for ADHD. A total of 12 meta-analyses were identified that met search criteria. The meta-analyses were notable in that there was surprisingly little overlap in studies included across them (range of overlap was 2-46 %). Further, there was considerable diversity across the meta-analyses in terms of the inclusion/exclusion criteria, types of psychosocial treatments reviewed, methodological characteristics, and magnitude of reported effect sizes, making it difficult to aggregate findings across meta-analyses or to investigate moderators of outcome. Effect sizes varied across the outcomes assessed, with meta-analyses reporting positive and significant effect sizes for measures of some areas of child impairment (e.g., social impairment) and small and more variable effect sizes for distal and/or untargeted outcomes (e.g., academic achievement). Results are reviewed in light of the larger literature on psychosocial interventions for ADHD, and specific recommendations for future meta-analyses of psychosocial treatments for ADHD are offered.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Forest plot of effect sizes reported from the identified meta-analyses. The study label is on the left side of the figure, the effect size estimate is illustrated in the figure, and on the right side, k studies that contributed to the effect size, the effect size, and confidence interval are reported.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Illustration of effect size estimates based on total number of studies used to generate the effect size estimate within the meta-analyses for between group design studies. The study label is on the left side of the figure, the effect size estimate is illustrated in the figure, and on the right side, k studies that contributed to the effect size, the effect size, and confidence interval are reported.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect sizes for specific outcomes in within-group design studies. The study label is on the left side of the figure, the effect size estimate is illustrated in the figure, and on the right side, k studies that contributed to the effect size, the effect size, and confidence interval are reported.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect sizes for specific outcomes within single-subject design studies. The study label is on the left side of the figure, the effect size estimate is illustrated in the figure, and on the right side, k studies that contributed to the effect size, the effect size, and confidence interval are reported.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effect sizes for specific outcomes within meta-analyses that included multiple designs. The study label is on the left side of the figure, the effect size estimate is illustrated in the figure, and on the right side, k studies that contributed to the effect size, the effect size, and confidence interval are reported.
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References

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