A Meta-analysis on the effectiveness of interventions applied to teens in multicultural families

Abstract

The purpose of this study identified the effectiveness of the existent interventions, which had been applied to the teens in multicultural families in South Korea. Totally 29 relevant studies, including dissertations and published articles, published from 2008 to 2014, were systematically searched and analyzed through meta-analytic method. The study results revealed the specific conditions which made the intervention more effective for the teens in multicultural families. Specifically, the program could be most effective when the program had a social adaptation intervention type as well as aimed to middle school students as a target population. Also, the program could be most effective when the program had lower than 8 sessions, run 3-5 times a week, and had from 21 to 30 participants in one intervention group. In addition, current existing programs showed higher effect sizes on outcomes focusing on relationships rather than on those focusing on psychological problems. This study is theoretically meaningful in terms of quantitatively synthesizing the existing intervention programs for the teens in multicultural families. In addition, we expect that this study would practically contribute to develop evidence-based programs for those teens in multicultural families.

Development and effects of a psychosocial adaptation program for North Korean adolescent defectors

“…The sample size was determined using the G*Power 3.0 program by applying the difference between two independent means (two groups) with a significance level of .05, power of 80%, and effect size of .80 [13]. Of the 42 adolescents who met the above selection criteria, 21 subjects were assigned to the experimental group and 21 to the control group.…”

“…The outcome variables that comprised the main factors affecting psychosocial adaptation such as self-efficacy, PTSS, and acculturation stress [3,5,9] were incorporated into the content and methods of the program based on previous studies [3,10,11,[13][14][15]17,18], and advice from related experts was sought to ensure the validity of the design and contents of the program and to increase its effectiveness. Two professors of nursing with specializations in children and adolescents with experience in North Korean defector research, one nurse with more than 20 years of experience at Hanawon (the settlement support center for North Korean refugees), and one pediatrician were consulted about the physical and mental condition of North Korean adolescent defectors.…”