Effects of emotionally oriented parental interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

ObjectiveThis systematic review and meta-analysis investigates the effects of emotionally oriented parental interventions.BackgroundSeveral emotionally oriented parental interventions have been developed during the last decade. Some of these have gained popularity and spread across several continents. The literature is growing and consists of qualitative studies; intervention only, quasi-experimental, case-control studies; and randomized controlled trials. They indicate effects for parents and children. However, no systematic review or meta-analysis has, to our knowledge, summarized the results.MethodUsing several search engines, we located 8,272 studies. After abstract and full-text screening, 33 studies were assessed for bias and included in the study. Outcomes for parents and children were extracted and combined into three constructs for parents and two for children. Meta-analyses were conducted for each construct to estimate the effect of the interventions using a robust Bayes meta-analysis.ResultsThe results indicate the presence of a small to medium effect on parents' mental health, behavior, and use of emotionally oriented parenting, as well as on children's internalizing and externalizing difficulties. Most participants were recruited from the general population, and clinical settings were rare. The results show little evidence of publication bias.ConclusionThere is evidence of a small to medium effect of emotionally oriented interventions on parents and children.Systematic review registrationhttps://osf.io/un3q4/.

Outpatient treatment of children and adolescents using emotion-focused family therapy (EFFT) caregiver workshops: A pre- to postintervention evaluation.

“…Evaluative evidence in support of family-based therapy involving caregivers of children and adolescents is strong for specific disorders including behavioral disorders, mood disorders, suicidal ideation and behavior, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, substance use, and eating disorders (Wittenborn & Holtrop, 2022). Recent systematic reviews report small to medium effects on caregivers and children for emotionally oriented parenting interventions (England-Mason et al, 2023; Zahl-Olsen et al, 2023). Evaluations for EFFT and other therapies for caregivers of children with range of and comorbidity of complex mental health difficulties within an outpatient community setting is an emerging area of evidence (Foroughe et al, 2023; Wilhelmsen-Langeland et al, 2020).…”