Does youth psychotherapy improve academically related outcomes? A meta-analysis.
To better understand the impact of psychotherapy on youth academic performance, the authors located and examined 83 studies of youth psychotherapy that contained 102 treatment comparisons. Results revealed a d = 0.46 overall effect size, with a d = 0.50 effect size for mental health outcomes, and a d = 0.38 effect size for academically related outcomes. Academically related outcomes were further categorized into teacher-rated classroom behavior (d = 0.26), academic achievement (d = 0.36), environmentally related outcomes (d = 0.26), and self-reported academically related outcomes (d = 0.59). Each of these effect sizes differed significantly from zero, and the 4 academically related categories were homogeneous. Participant racial and ethnic diversity and age were explored as moderators. The results point to psychotherapy benefiting student academics, regardless of age. Ethnically diverse participant groups in the studies fared better academically than did nondiverse groups. Implications discussed include counseling psychologists maintaining a holistic view of youth and of working more closely with educators.
School of Education, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, Enderis Hall 709, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413, USA. Baskin@UWM.edu
Thomas W
TW
Baskin
Christopher D
CD
Slaten
Carey
C
Sorenson
Jaquaye
J
Glover-Russell
David N
DN
Merson
D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D011613:Psychotherapy; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012919:Social Behavior; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*